FEATURED STORY
‘Mangrove Man’ inspired by world travel

CAYMAN ISLANDS – He’s traveled half a million miles over the years – enough to go around the world 12 times, or to the moon and halfway back – so it’s little wonder that writer, photographer, conservationist and educator Martin Keeley continues to find inspiration for his work. Keeley’s latest trips are with the Marvelous Mangrove education curriculum, a program that teaches schoolchildren about the importance of mangroves and the eco-systems which they support worldwide, as well as training teachers to teach both students and other teachers.  The program was developed by Cayman Brac-based Keeley in 1999 and initially was incorporated into Cayman’s primary school curriculum. It is part of the Mangrove Action Project, a conservation group comprised of more than 300 scientists and academics spanning more than 60 nations.  The Marvelous Mangrove program is now in 11 countries, with the expansion this year to South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and Queensland, Australia. “For me, the mangrove trips continue to stimulate the creative process,” said the writer.  READ MORE

AFRICA

Fish Dealers Challenged to Protect Mangrove for Sustainability of Natural Resource
GAMBIA – Fatou Camara of the Department of Fisheries and Water Resources has challenged fish dealers to protect the mangrove for the sustainability of the natural resources. Camara made this call during a daylong sensitization on the importance of mangrove to fish dealers at the fishing community-landing site, in old Jeshwang. Organized by the Department of Fisheries and Water Resources, in collaboration with the National Sole Fishery Co-Management Committee (NASCOM), under the Technical Cooperation Program (TCP) support for Climate Change Adaptation in Marine Artisanal Fisheries Communities in West Africa project, it was co-funded by the West African Rural Foundation (WARF) and FAO for a period of two years. The concept of the project is to support and promote climate change adaptation among value-chain actors in the selected artisanal fisheries communities in Sierra Leone, Senegal and The Gambia. READ MORE

Whistle-blowing website wildleaks targets powerful poaching networks

KENYA – Wildleaks, a new website in the vein of WikiLeaks has set its sights on taking down powerful poaching networks and illegal logging operations. The site says it is the first anonymous and secure whistle-blowing site dedicated to wildlife and forest crime and it couldn’t come any sooner. Poaching has skyrocketed in recent years as the black market for rhino horn, elephant ivory and tiger parts has grown rapidly. A large part of these transactions are controlled by poweful networks of wealthy traffickers that have previously been untouchable. The anonymous and secure nature of Wildleaks lets people give tips on poaching activity while staying safe themselves. After it launched in February, WildLeaks received its first tip within 24 hours. READ MORE

ASIA

Mangrove plantation leader arrested
MYANMAR – A leading environmental activist has been arrested for public order offences after planting mangroves in an area devastated by Cyclone Nargis. U Tun Tun Oo, a member of Human Rights Watch and Defend Network, was charged under section 61 of the forestry law by a Dedaye township forestry officer and has been detained in Pyapon prison. The arrest, in Ayeyarwady Region, took place on August 29. He is scheduled to appear in court on September 12. U Aung Kyaw San, who joined the defendant and others in the mangrove-planting campaign, told The Myanmar Times that police had accused U Tun Tun Oo of destroying state-owned crops on a sandbank in Kyone Ka Nat village used by grazing cattle, but most of the plants were already dead. “This is ridiculous. Ko Tun Tun Oo didn’t do anything to the plants,” he said. The mangrove planters’ group met Ayeyarwady Region Chief Minister U Thein Aung and legal and forestry experts on April 9 to seek permission to plant mangroves on the grazing land. The group said it would help to protect the village from future natural disasters. “The minister gave us verbal permission,” said Ko Aung Kyaw San. Led by U Tun Tun Oo, the group started planting on May 12, and wrote to the state and regional governments to inform them when planting was complete. However, on June 3 a group opposed to the planting destroyed the mangroves. READ MORE

Editor’s Note: the following story demonstrates the importance of continuing education about the benefits that mangroves provide to mankind, and highlights the ease at which environmental issues become political.
Villagers in Lantau destroy mangrove in bid to halt ‘protected status’ plan

CHINA – Dozens of villagers in northern Lantau chopped down a mangrove near an ecologically sensitive bay yesterday to protest against a government move to zone areas on the fringes of their villages as protected land. Excavators were brought in to raze trees, while machete- and hoe-wielding villagers chopped down shrubs on the coast of Tai Ho Wan, which is known for its oyster-rich mudflats and horseshoe crabs. Together with the three rivers that feed it, Tai Ho Wan is now designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), but not yet zoned as such. Statutory planning rules would ensure government departments give due consideration to conservation if the proposal was approved later this year. But indigenous villagers of the San Heung community, which includes Pak Mong, Ngau Kwu Long and Tai Ho villages, fear their rights to farm and build small houses will be restricted if the restrictive development plans are agreed to. READ MORE

Mangroves undergo change in Sunderbans
BANGLADESH – A recent study of mangrove forests in Sunderbans has revealed a change in their vegetation pattern, with the high salt-tolerant Avicennia species being edged out by Ceriops decandra, a relatively less-salt tolerant variety of mangrove, suggesting an evolution of the mangroves. The study titled ‘Benchmark Studies on the Status of Mangrove Forest’ has been conducted by the Nature Environment & Wildlife Society (NEWS), sponsored by the Sunderban Biosphere Reserve under the ‘Mangrove For Future’ theme of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. “It was earlier believed that salinity is the main determining factor for the mangroves in the Sunderbans. But the study points to pH ( which determines the acidity and alkalinity of water) also being an important factor,” Himadri Sekhar Debnath, principal scientist involved with the project and former Joint Director of Botanical Survey of India ( BSI) told The Hindu. A change in the mangrove species may lead to change in biodiversity, ecology species variation and finally to the variation in gene pool, Ajanta Dey, project director (NEWS) said. READ MORE

Coastal communities to be given awareness about disaster risks
PAKISTAN – The Mangroves for the Future (MFF) programme has decided to focus on developing shared understanding among coastal communities against disaster risks and climate change impacts. In MFF’s national coordinating committee meeting held here on Wednesday, to mark the beginning of the third phase with emphasis on regional initiatives and private sector engagement, the experts agreed that equal attention would be paid towards building resilience through capacity building among ecosystem dependent coastal communities. The NCB members decided that the new phase, from 2014 to 2018, will continue to make optimum utilization of the significant achievements realized by the MFF over the past seven years. The programme will also continue to build on its efforts to influence coastal management policy with an increased emphasis on expanding knowledge management and capacity development activities. READ MORE

AMERICAS

MAP’s Program recognized for its global impact
USA – There is no doubt that the world is losing species at an alarming rate.  That’s why the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund is focused on supporting nonprofit organizations that provide expertise and solutions to make positive conservation impacts worldwide. Today we are recognizing the Mangrove Action Project as one of these organizations, and we are proud to support your efforts to protect the planet for future generations and inspire our conservation leaders of tomorrow. Congratulations on being selected as one of 141 projects chosen this year! You can learn more about Disney’s commitment to conservation by visiting our website. READ MORE

MAP’s Program recognized for its global impact
USA – There is no doubt that the world is losing species at an alarming rate.  That’s why the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund is focused on supporting nonprofit organizations that provide expertise and solutions to make positive conservation impacts worldwide. Today we are recognizing the Mangrove Action Project as one of these organizations, and we are proud to support your efforts to protect the planet for future generations and inspire our conservation leaders of tomorrow. Congratulations on being selected as one of 141 projects chosen this year! You can learn more about Disney’s commitment to conservation by visiting our website. READ MORE
 
Climate Change Will Disrupt Half of North America’s Bird Species

USA – The Baltimore oriole will probably no longer live in Maryland, the common loon might leave Minnesota, and the trumpeter swan could be entirely gone. Those are some of the grim prospects outlined in a report released on Monday by the National Audubon Society, which found that climate change is likely to so alter the bird population of North America that about half of the approximately 650 species will be driven to smaller spaces or forced to find new places to live, feed and breed over the next 65 years. If they do not — and for several dozen it will be very difficult — they could become extinct. READ MORE
 
LAST WORD(S)

Dear Alfredo,

Thank you very much on your Kind e.mail. it is very nice to get your kind information. Still we are friendly with our hearts. We are dedicated to MANGROVES. Very recently, due to our influence, All of Sri Lanka mangroves have declared as conservation Forest in Sri Lanka by Minister of Environment of Sri Lanka. This was one of our great victory on conservation of MANGROVES.

Please visit at any time.

We are not deviated from MAP. MAP is living in our hearts.

Kind regards!

Anu
SMALL FISHERS FEDERATION of SRI LANKA (SFFL)
http://www.smallfishers.com/

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