MAP NEWS ISSUE 418, JUNE 10, 2017

AFRICA

Gambian wildlife reserve facing depletion, Chinese company blamed

GAMBIA – Gambia’s first Community Wildlife Reserve in the village of Gunjur, 35 kilometers from Banjul is facing depletion as its stream has turned red and wildlife found dead. Villagers from the community were shocked by the discovery last week and suspected a nearby Chinese fish processing company, Golden Lead Factory of poisoning the reserve, Dutch wildlife conservation organisation Green Wall Warriors announced. “The locals think it might be a toxic which is used in the factory. While fearing for their health, the local environmentalists managed to fill a plastic bottle as a sample for research. With tears in their eyes they shot some pictures and went back home,” they added with pictures showing the damage. The result of the sample is not yet available to determine the actual cause of the red water and dead wildlife. The same company is also accused of disposing off suspected toxic waste into the sea via pipes, resulting in the washing ashore of dead fish along the coastline. READ MORE

Will Chinese fishing destroy the Gambia’s tourism?

GAMBIA – When you think about the Gambia, you will probably think about the famous smiling coast with its beautiful tropical beaches. Well forget that, that was the old Gambia. A better name nowadays would be ‘The Smelling Coast’ since the construction of two Chinese fish processing plants in Gunjur and Kartong. A thirth one is to be expected in Abéné (Senegal).Last year the Chinese built two fish processing plants in Gunjur and eco-village Kartong. The processing plant in Kartong is as large as a football field to give you any idea about the scale. The name is Golden Lead import and export company. This Factory is run by two Chinese persons Robin & Jojo. Could u ever imagine a huge factory like this being deployed in an offcial eco-village? Well, it really happened. Since the Chinese processing plants are built a new pipeline had been put into the ocean so the factory can get rid of their wastewater easily. Since this pipe has been build every day thousands of dead fish wash up the beaches of Kartong and Gunjur. It is not surprising that thousands of people living in Kartong and Gunjur fear for their own health when you see the amounts of dead fish washing up shore. According to locals, “Bolongfehyoto wildlife reserve where the wastewater was initially pumped, was contaminated resulting in dying of fish and mangroves”. READ MORE

ASIA

Request for Emergency relief program for Bangladesh Super cyclone (MORA) victims

BANGLADESH – A severe cyclone hit the coast of Bangladesh Tuesday, 30 May. Winds of up to 120 – 146 kph hit areas around Cox's Bazar and Chittagong. The cyclone and subsequent storm surge has displaced up to half a million people from low lying areas along the coast and on near-by islands. Government sources confirmed 9 deaths on Tuesday, 30 May but unofficial sources claim the number will be higher. However, it seems the loss of lives has been much less than was anticipated. Unofficial reports available indicate that almost all kutcha houses in the affected areas have been destroyed leaving large numbers of people homeless. Extensive damage has also been caused to schools, roads, standing crops, livestock, industry, business establishments, salt beds, shrimp culture, roads, telecommunications and electrical supply networks. APCD, reported that an estimated 48,400 people had sought refuge at their 45 cyclone shelters in the Cox's Bazar district and will remain there until alternative shelter arrangements are completed. Reports reaching Dhaka from various sources indicate the affected people are in immediate need of food, shelter, drinking water and clothing. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in the open or in makeshift shelters. Rescue operations are continuing and emergency relief work is being undertaken by the government and NGOs. READ MORE

Coastal Livelihood And Environmental Assets Restoration In Rakhine (CLEARR)

MYANMAR – The purpose of the CLEARR project is to increase food and livelihood security in the coastal communities through agricultural and livelihood supports, mangrove areas rehabilitation and management. The project is implemented by the MERN network which includes 6 local partners: Border Areas Development Association (BDA), Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA), Ecosystem Conservation and Community Development Initiative (ECCDI), Economically Progressive Ecosystem Development (EcoDev), Swanyee Development Foundation (SDF) and Rakhine Coastal Region Conservation Association (RCA). The main results include: 5300 acres of mangrove forests as community forest with sole use by the villagers; Creation of two biodiversity hotspots for the conservation of the critically endangered species Bruguiera hainesii and endangered sea turtles; Establishment of Village Conservation Communities (VCCs); Managing a Revolving Fund system that provides loans at low interest READ MORE

AMERICAS

Marvellous Mangroves Ten Years in Brazil

BRAZIL – It has been over ten years since work started to translate and adapt Marvellous Mangroves for use in Brazilian schools by MAP’s partners, Instituto BiomaBrasil (IBB). In April, 2006, the process began when IBB’s Clemente Coelho Jnr. and Renato Almeida observed and participated in a MM workshop held in Tilapa on the Northwest coast of Guatemala. Organised in conjunction with the local NGO Amigos Del Bosque and CORALINA – based in San Andres, Colombia, – Tilapa was the launch for teachers of the Guatemala(Spanish) version of MM. It was only six months later that MAP Education Director Martin Keeley and Elaine Corets (then South American co-ordinator for MAP) rejoined Clemente and Renato together with several teachers and scientists in Cariacica, southeast Brazil, and started work on adapting and translating MM into Portuguese for use in Brazilian schools. READ MORE

Brazilian mangroves threatened by shift in local traditions

BRAZIL – In the village of Tramataia, Brazil crab-pickers, or caranguejeiros, walk to the shoreline at night with an offering of tobacco to Father Mangrove. They ask for a bountiful hunt and seek permission to enter the mangroves safely. Father Mangrove is a revered man of great stature who smokes a pipe and carries a “sambura,” a handmade basket to fill with fish. Caranguejeiros who disrespect the spirit by using harsh words or harming mangroves consequentially suffer animal attacks, damaged canoes, unlucky hunts, or total disorientation – they can’t find their way home in the nearly-impenetrable mangrove forest. Brazil lays claim to 8.5 percent of the world’s mangroves, spanning from Amapá in the north to Santa Catarina in the south and covering approximately 13,000 square kilometers. It is the second largest area of mangrove forests on the planet. Native communities here rely on these mangroves for food, building materials, and medicines. For example, most families in the village of Tramataia (population 1,100) in Paraíba State rely on large mangrove crabs (Ucides cordatus) for subsistence and also as their main source of income. Men traditionally harvest crabs, while women dissect the meat. But markets are changing, and crabbing communities in Paraiba State are not immune to the globalization of trade. READ MORE

Launch global call to protect the mangroves

USA – The Organization of United Nations (UN) launched during the International Week of the Forest-a global call to protect the mangroves, which disappear at an “alarming rate” of one percent each year, according to environmentalists. In the framework of the celebration, various environmental organizations reported that 67 percent of the mangrove forests have been destroyed to date, which is conjugated with the threats emanating from climate change, so he called to reverse the situation. The organizations stressed the importance of these ecosystems to protect coastal communities from waves, violent storms and even tsunamis. In the Fourth World Summit of the Ocean, held between the 22 and the 24 of February in Bali (Indonesia) organized by The Economist, the World wide Fund for Nature, Conservation International and the nature conservancy teamed up to announce the Global Alliance of Mangroves. READ MORE

LAST WORD

Dear Friends

Greetings from MANGROPEDIA, a multi-lingual, open-sourced, free and online based encyclopedia on mangroves!

We are inviting write-ups from all ecologists, conservation activists, experts, literateurs and journalists for the first issue of MANGROPEDIA Quarterly Magazine. All write-ups should be minimum 500 words and maximum around 2,500 words. The topics are but not limited to:

Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) has been facilitating MANGROPEDIA since 2015. Although it is yet to be finalized, you may visit Mangropedia Website, Facebook page or Twitter for details.

Besides the online knowledge platform, we have taken an initiative to publish quarterly Bilingual (Bengali and English) magazine with the same name (MANGROPEDIA). The size of the magazine will be Demy Octavo (8.5" X 5.5") with photo, graphics and texts. The first issue (July – September 2017) will be published on International Day for the Conservation of Mangrove Ecosystems (26 July 2017).

Please submit your write-up to editor.mangropedia@gmail.com on or before 17 June 2017, Friday, 5:00 PM Bangladesh time (UST+6:00).

PARTNERSHIP
We are also welcoming conservation organizations to be a partner of this initiative. If you are interested, please mail to: clean.khulna@gmail.com.

Sincerely Yours
Hasan Mehedi
Editor, Mangropedia