FEATURED STORY
International Mangrove Action Day is July 26

The International Day for the Protection of Mangroves was formally institutionalized in 2004 at the Second Assembly of the International Redmanglar, umbrella organization of communities, organizations, scholars, scientists and activists, for the defense and protection of the mangrove ecosystems. The celebration of this day has its origins in 1998, when traditional fishers of Ecuadoran mangrove forests joined forces with environmental organizations and representatives of Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia and the United States, the national and international press and the crew of the ship "Rainbow Warrior" of GreenPeace. The action sought to restore mangrove dynamics in response to illegal shrimp farming in the area. Mangrove Action Day aims to promote the importance of mangroves, as one of the most important and productive ecosystems on the planet, highlighting the multiple benefits for local communities and biodiversity and ecological processes. The day is also a day to remember the importance of mangroves as natural buffers against the effects of storms, hurricanes and tsunamis; and support livelihoods of human communities that depend directly or indirectly from it. READ MORE (en espanol)
 
AFRICA
 
FAO supports mangrove planting in coastal areas

SIERRA LEONE – Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in collaboration with the West African Rural Foundation and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security has supported the Tombo Community to embark on massive mangrove planting in the coastal land. The planting process witnessed the overwhelming participation of women and men from nine villages in the Tombo Community who are in dire demand of mangrove trees in the coastal land. According to the Assistant FAO Representative, Programmes, Joseph Brima, the project is a pilot phase of the support for sustainable Climate Change Adaptation for marine artisanal fisheries communities, and it is simultaneously implemented in Sierra Leone, Senegal and the Gambia. Brima stated that the pilot phase of the project is targeting the Portee and Tombo communities who during a meeting with FAO proposed the planting of trees as a major step to be taken in order to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. READ MORE
 
ASIA
 
‘Protect mangroves, mudflats or flamingoes may not return’

INDIA – The government has sanctioned a project by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) to study the migration system of 'lesser flamingoes', the smallest species of the bird. Once a regular visitor to Sewri mudflats and Thane creek, these flamingoes are now a near extinct species. The project, said to be a first such exercise, is scheduled to begin in October, when the migratory birds start arriving in the city. However, conservationists are worried that these mudflats may have lost or will soon lose their distinction of being a second home to these migratory birds if they are not protected. The creek has been under constant threat from slum encroachments, discharge of effluents from industrial units in the Thane-Belapur industrial complex, reclamation for industrial projects and debris dumping. A professor with St John, the Baptish Junior College in Thane, Clara Correia had complained to Kopri police that debris is being dumped in huge quantities along the Thane creek which is destroying the mangroves. "There has been systematic destruction of the wetland by cutting off inflow of water, indiscriminate burning and encouraging cattle grazing,'' she said. READ MORE
 
Diesel pipeline ruptures at Kamothe, mangroves in Taloja at risk if it rains
INDIA – A rupture in an HPCL pipeline near the under-construction Kamothe toll plaza has resulted in spillage of at least 50,000 litres of diesel. The rupture occurred around noon on Thursday and the Kalamboli fire station received information about it at 1pm. The fuel spilled into a drainage channel next to the pipeline, but its flow was restricted along a length of 800 metres between two blocks. Work on pumping out the fuel is expected to last till Friday evening. If it rains heavily by then, there is a risk of the diesel overflowing and entering Taloja creek, thus affecting mangroves. The fire station's in-charge, M D Naik, said, "Liquid suction vehicles have been brought by the HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited) for the recovery operation. The pipeline starts from Chembur and ends in Pune. Because of concretization and widening of the highway, the pipeline is now buried underground." READ MORE http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Diesel-pipeline-ruptures-at-Kamothe-mangroves-in-Taloja-at-risk-if-it-rains/articleshow/38564700.cms
 
Fishermen claim livelihood affected by lost mangroves
MALAYSIA – A 20ha stretch of mangrove forests on the banks of Sungai Dinding near Kampung Baru Setiawan, about 10km from Setiawan, has been cleared and is believed to be causing extensive damage to the ecosystem. Residents claim the land-clearing activities have caused the native aquatic wildlife population, insects and birds to drastically dwindle and affect the fishing community. It is learned that the stretch of mangroves is part of the 101ha Batu Undan permanent forest reserve de-gazetted by the state government in May 2009. The residents claim the trees were only felled a few months ago. The destruction has affected many who make their living off natural resources, claims village head Khairi Badrin, 47. “The mangroves act as the breeding grounds for fish and the lack of mangrove forests has caused them to move to other areas,” he told reporters. READ MORE
 
Phl, Australia launch project on coral reefs, mangroves

PHILIPPINES – The Philippines and Australia have launched a project that aims to determine the value and market potential of local coral reef and mangrove ecosystem services, environment officials announced yesterday. Under the Capturing Coral Reef and Related Ecosystem Services (CCRES) project, the two countries will come up with innovative models for valuing mangrove, sea grass and coral reef ecosystem services. “The move aims to enhance the sustainability of marine-based enterprises and marine spatial planning in select coastal communities in the Philippines,” said Theresa Mundita Lim, director of the Biodiversity Management Bureau, an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Lim said the agency is looking forward to implementing the project, which recognizes the value of blue capital and its potential for growth. ”The project will help us convince stakeholders that the environment is a good investment as it benefits the communities,” she said. READ MORE
 
Officials warn of dying mangrove forest
INDONESIA – Officials have said that years of efforts to improve the poor condition of a mangrove forest in the Segara Anakan lake and Nusakambangan island area of Cilacap regency, Central Java, are likely to see disappointing results as the replanting program can not keep up with deforestation and sedimentation. Cilacap regency spokesman Ansor Basuki said newly planted mangroves were often quickly swept away by waves. Meanwhile, Segara Anakan Management Office head Supriyanto said water in the area had become extremely shallow because the mangroves were disappearing and the area received hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of mud annually from the Citanduy and Cimeneng rivers in West Java. READ MORE
 
AMERICAS
 
Shrimp’s New Path to the Plate

USA – In a warehouse south of Boston, miles away from the city’s bustling harbor, James Tran, a semiconductor designer, is incubating an unlikely product: shrimp. Mr. Tran, who started Sky8 Shrimp Farm two years ago, is one of a growing number of small, high-tech shrimp farmers in America racing to meet the country’s seemingly insatiable appetite for scampi, without ravaging the environment, using harmful chemicals or depending on overseas suppliers accused of labor rights violations. “To go on getting shrimp the way we have is wishful thinking,” said Mr. Tran, cupping several twitching, ready-to-ship scampi in his hand. His extended family in Vietnam engages in traditional coastal shrimp farming, the kind often linked to environmental, food safety and labor troubles. READ MORE
 
91% of Seafood in the United States Came from Another Country
Eat fish in the last few days? Unless you fished it yourself, chances are it wasn’t from the United States. Today, 91 percent of the seafood that we eat comes from abroad, according to Paul Greenberg, author of American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood. You could assume that maybe this has to do with demand, that the supply of local seafood isn’t enough. And yet, surprisingly enough, one-third of the seafood that Americans catch gets sold to other countries. What gives? Greenberg calls this the “fish swap.” “What we’re doing is we’re sending the really great, wild stuff that we harvest here on our shores abroad, and in exchange, we’re importing farm stuff that, frankly, is of an increasingly dubious nature,” Greenberg told Terry Gross in an NPR interview. “We export millions of tons of wild, mostly Alaska salmon abroad and import mostly farmed salmon from abroad. So salmon for salmon, we’re trading wild for farmed.” Our consumption of imported seafood certainly has its consequences for us and those abroad. As a country, the United States’ biggest seafood consumption is shrimp; the average American eats more shrimp per capita than both tuna and salmon combined. But where does that shrimp come from? Right now, the largest shrimp producer for the nation is Thailand, a country whose fishing industry is linked to human trafficking and slave labor. READ MORE
 
EUROPE
 
Myanmar, Norway to cooperate in mangrove conservation

NORWAY – Myanmar and Norway are seeking cooperation in mangrove forest conservation and a conservation plan in this respect is being worked out between the two countries, official media reported recently. At a meeting between Myanmar Minister of Environmental Conservation and Forestry U Win Tun and visiting head of Norwegian Parliament's Standing Committee for Energy and the Environment Ola Elvestuen, the two sides discussed cooperation with international non-governmental organizations in rehabilitation programs, mangrove forest conservation activities between the ministry and the Worldview International Foundation and a memorandum of understanding in this regard is expected to be signed. Norway has been helping Myanmar with the programs on conservation of biodiversity and forest resources. READ MORE
 
LAST WORD
 
Dear colleagues,
 
Over the last year, the IUCN Red List Unit has been working on developing a short animated video that briefly explains what The IUCN Red List is and some of its uses. This has now been completed and the video is available at http://youtu.be/VukyqMajAOUd. Currently this is only available in English, however we are working on also getting this available in French and Spanish (at least with subtitles, if we can't manage fully translated versions).
 
The purpose this animation originally was to add to the materials available on the online IUCN Red List Training course. However,  if you would like to use this (e.g., to post on your own website), please feel free to do so.
 
Best wishes,
 
Caroline
 
Caroline Pollock
Programme Officer
Red List Unit
Global Species Programme
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)
219c Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 ODL United Kingdom
Tel. +44 (0)1223 277966; Fax +44 (0)1223 277845;
www.iucnredlist.org
www.iucn.org  www.worldparkscongress.org

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