What are mangroves worth? There’s no easy answer 
GLOBAL – People have long depended on natural systems for our survival and development, nowhere more visible than in our history of extracting minerals and fuel products. However, we have also started to see the importance of healthy ecosystems for providing essential goods and services, especially as these stocks of natural capital disappear. In response, action is being taken to restore and protect ecosystems, including global efforts aimed at estimating the economic value of the Earth’s natural capital – in hard numbers. Knowing the economic worth of ecosystem services can help ensure that those who rely heavily on ecosystems – from governments to industries and businesses to all of us as citizens – see their value and can account for restoration and conservation in their planning and use. Mangrove ecosystems in particular provide a multitude of goods and services, including: provision of food and clean water (provisioning services), influence climate regulation, soil composition regulation and disaster risk reduction (regulating services), and recreational and spiritual space (cultural services). The natural capital of mangroves thus has immense worth not only in sustaining lives and livelihoods of millions of people along the world’s coasts, but also in real economic terms.
READ MORE AFRICA
Africa’s tropical forests under threat from our coffee addiction
CAMEROON – Your coffee and/or chocolate addiction is destroying Africa’s tropical forests. Growing global demand for coffee and cocoa has led to severe deforestation across sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new study. Africa already produces more than 70 percent of the world’s cocoa — a demand that requires more than 325,000 acres of new farmland each year. Much of this new farmland comes from chopping down Africa’s tropical forests. The study, published in the Environmental Research Letters, looked at the impact crop expansion was having on 25 tropical-forest countries. In addition to coffee and cocoa, the demand for palm oil, soy, sugarcane, maize and rice has also grown. Researchers found that, specifically, countries along the Congo Basin forests have become the most vulnerable to deforestation. READ MORE
Kenya’s lifeblood strains under development and drought
KENYA – The extensive mangrove forests that abound in the Tana Delta — which were declared part of a protected site under the RAMSAR convention (an intergovernmental treaty on wetlands) in 2012 — are under threat from drought, decreasing water levels and pastoralists who graze their cattle in the forests. Ramsar notes that it is the second most important estuarine and deltaic ecosystem in Eastern Africa. Local and international non-governmental organizations say that upstream development on the Tana River, including numerous hydroelectric dams, massive irrigation schemes and pipelines to Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, have strained resources in the delta. An ongoing drought is compounding the problem. The Red Cross estimates 2.7 million people now need “urgent food assistance” overall in Kenya due to drought, which has been particularly harsh in coastal regions like Tana Delta. “Those developing the river don’t care about us in the delta,” said Awadh Mubarak, chairman of the Kipini Community Conservation Management Forum, which manages and protects the mangrove forests along the delta and is supported by Wetlands International. “We didn’t find out about the new dam and irrigation scheme until they were already under way.” READ MORE
Conserving Congo’s wild places on a shoestring
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – The Mangrove Marine Park along the DRC’s tiny coastline is a last line of defense against illegal logging and poaching and is a haven for sea turtles. Two elephant tusks are wedged behind a photocopier. A stuffed antelope stands by the door and a large framed photograph of President Joseph Kabila hangs on the back wall. Cosma Wilungula sits behind his desk in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, patiently explaining his quandary. For 12 years he’s run the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), the government agency responsible for the country’s protected areas. He knows only too well the limits of his influence. The truth is that the ICCN’s nearly 70 national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas — covering 25 million hectares or roughly 10 percent of the country’s landmass — are largely left to fend for themselves. Some rise to the challenge, while others don’t fare as well. The Mangrove Marine Park, 250 miles west of Kinshasa, is one of the ICCN’s sites trying to make the best of the unpromising hand it’s been dealt. The 76,000-hectare (around 188,000 acres) expanse of ocean, beach, savannah and mangroves hugs Congo’s 23-mile strip of coastline and the home strait of its eponymous river. Here, at the mouth of the Congo River, this waterway of monstrous dimensions concludes its epic passage across equatorial Africa and, raging at its denouement, has carved a 100-mile-long canyon into the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. READ MORE
ASIA
54.4 hectares of mangrove forest in Kasaragod now reserve forest
INDIA – As many as 54.4 hectares of mangrove forests spread across Manjeswaram and Kasaragod taluks will soon be declared as reserve forests. The move has become a huge setback for those engaged in sand mining and encroaching river banks and seas shores for construction of resorts. A total of 21.694 hectares in Kasaragod village near the Chandragiri river have been notified as reserve forest. Also moves are on to declare 10 more acres in Shiriya and Mogral areas as reserve forest. Earlier, 237 hectares in Kannur was declared as reserve forest. Now, all rules pertaining to reserve forests will invite one to three years of imprisonment and seizure of equipment. A notification was issued by the forest department in September last year. Aggrieved parties were told to approach RDO within 3-6 months. Now, only an official declaration by the government is remaining. This marks the fruitful culmination of efforts undertaken by the Forest department for the last one year. The action was initiated by district forest officer A P Imthiyas and a meeting involving district collector and revenue officials decided to conduct a survey. Based on this, a sketch was prepared. READ MORE
DENR secretary pushes for mangrove, bamboo planting
PHILIPPINES – Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Regina Paz “Gina” Lopez said she will push for mangrove and bamboo planting in Negros Occidental. Lopez, who inspected the closed mine site in Sipalay City on Tuesday, said the DENR will do an area development for the province, which will be implemented this year. She said the program, which will help the host community, will also guarantee residents an income. The DENR chief said there is a need for more mangroves because an area without mangroves suffers more damage in terms of property and lives during typhoons and calamities. Lopez also cited the importance of planting bamboo, which is good in carbon sequestration. It is also a low-cost material for housing, she added. “We will work with Negros. We will make sure,” she said. She said DENR wants to work with the Negrenses “to lift this (province) up and “make this a great, big, magnificent economic zone.” Lopez added that she loves the Negrenses because they are “so sweet, and so nice.” Lopez presented an alternative livelihood program to some residents in Sipalay City who attended the mining forum the other day. READ MORE
Encroached mangrove forest seized in Trat
THAILAND – About 50 police and military personnel took part in the operation launched at 10am on Wednesday by the department's Chalam Khao (white shark) unit, the unit's commander, Ratchai Pornpa, said. The Chalam Khao Operations Unit had been set up specifically to combat illegal encroachment on state land by investors who used it for shrimp farms, resorts, oil palm plantations and swallow breeding areas for the collection of bird nests, he said. The 228 rai of seized mangrove forest is in five tambons of Muang district. The encroachment was most rampant at Moo 8 village of tambon Wang Krachae. The encroachers included villagers and local politicians. "The land seized today will be reforested and clearly defined to prevent a repetition of the encroachment. Encroachers will be subject tough legal action," Mr Ratchai said. READ MORE
Mangroves planted to mark Earth Day
PAKISTAN – Mangroves were planted at a joint event to celebrate Earth Day was held at Khipranwala Island near the coast of Karachi on Saturday. The event was a joint collaboration of Mera Karachi, Caritas Pakistan, Sindh Forest Department, FARD LSO Rehri, International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN] Commission on Ecosystem Management and Mangroves for Future. More than 80 experts, stakeholders, local community representatives, government officials and students sailed from Korangi Fish Harbour to the island to participate in the event. The event included speeches from organisers and experts who shed light on the necessity of tree plantation to deal with climate change. The speeches were followed by a mangrove-planting activity in which 3,000 mangrove saplings were planted at the island by the participants. READ MORE
Mangroves can Help Develop Ecotourism
INDONESIA – Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar stated that mangrove planting, aimed at preventing soil erosion, can also serve as a means to develop ecotourism. "We highly support the development of ecotourism, particularly the planting of mangrove seeds," she said after planting mangrove seeds in Morosari coast in Demak, Central Java, on Saturday. Besides serving as a tourist site, mangrove forests can also be used to boost production to support the economy, she stated. Moreover, President Joko Widodo himself has stated that Java has beautiful scenery and that mangrove was a good choice to develop ecotourism, she added. Demak Deputy District Head Joko Sutanto meanwhile noted that the Demak district government was encouraging local people, particularly those who earn their living as farmers and fishermen, to switch to develop tourism sector. Among the popular tourist sites in Demak are Morosari coast and Syeh Abdullah Mudzakir grave, he remarked. READ MORE
New Mangrove Tree-Climbing Crab Species Found In Hong Kong
HONG KONG – A new species of a micro-crab, which sprints up on mangroves in Hong Kong is called Haberma tingkok. The tree-climbing crab has been found and named by the Mangrove Ecology and Evolution Lab, led by Dr. Stefano Cannicci at the Swire Institute of Marine Sciences (SWIMS) and School of Biological Sciences, the University of Hong Kong (HKU). The description of the tree-climbing crab has been published in ZooKeys. This is a global journal that deals with animal taxonomy. Called Haberma tingkok, the crab species were seen at about 1.5 to 1.8 meters above chart datum. They were spotted walking on the branches of the mangroves of the Ting Kok area. The tree-climbing crabs were pretty tiny, each one less than a centimeter. They were dark brown and covered with square carapaces, long legs, and orange claws. The crabs seemed to represent the second endemic mangrove crab species. The earlier species, called Pseudosesarma patshuni, was described in 1975, according to Science Daily. READ MORE
AMERICAS
Disney believes in Cape Coral teen's mangrove magic
USA – Maegan Mikkelson kneels at the edge of a 4-acre pond at Galt Preserve, using a stick to dig a well before guiding the roots of a red mangrove seedling into it. The muck sucks at her tennis shoes, and she wobbles as she regains her balance. She buries the bottom 5 inches of the thin plant, three leaves awkwardly protruding from the top as the waves gently lap at its base. Then she steps back to admire her work. The Cape Coral 17-year-old has been planting the "walking trees" over five years at the St. James City site and watching them grow, rimming the pond along the sandy shore. The tallest are 6 feet, the newest about 18 inches, and they are reclaiming their space among exotics such as the Australian pine and melaleuca. "Mangroves are extremely vital to the environment," Mikkelson said. "They are a hurricane buffer, protect shorelines, (and) are a habitat and ecosystem for the fish." A member of the Trail Blazers 4-H club, she is one of 340 young leaders across the U.S. to receive a $500 Disney Summer of Service grant to help make their communities healthier, greener and stronger. READ MORE
OCEANIA
Mangrove illustrations reflect a lifelong passion
AUSTRALIA – At first glance the world of the botanical illustrator would appear to be one of calm gentility with little, if any, excitement. But that couldn't be further from the truth for Deirdre Bean, who, regularly tackles crocodiles, clouds of mosquitoes and marauding green ants as she pursues her quarry – the not-so humble mangrove. Her closest call came while hunting Sonneratia alba on the estuary mouth of Newell Beach, near Port Douglas. "I was looking for this thing and I thought I'd come back the next day because I didn't want to pick anything if I wasn't going to use it," Bean says. "I went back the next day to get a flower and I heard this splashing and there was a crocodile standing in my footprints from the day before!" Then there are the crocs on the South Alligator River in Arnhem Land. "They're something else! Enormous. I once saw a crocodile that would have been 5m go almost vertically up a sand bank. That scared the daylights out of me." These Mick Dundee-esque tales of derring-do are in sharp contrast to her exquisitely detailed illustrations of many of Australia's 45 mangrove species. READ MORE
LAST WORD
