MAP News Issue 437, March 03, 2018

Mangrove Myths & Legends book donated to Cayman Islands Schools

CAYMAN ISLANDS – MAP’s Education Director, Martin Keeley, has donated copies of his book Marvellous Mangroves Myths & Legends to every Year 5 teacher in the Cayman Islands. Presenting the books to Catherine Childs, National Trust Education Officer, Mr. Keeley explained that the Marvellous Mangroves education program has been part of the school curriculum since it was first introduced to Cayman in 2001. “As we enter the eighteenth year of mangrove education in Cayman I felt that it would be great to add yet another dimension to this popular hands-on science education program,” he said. Ms. Childs is responsible for delivering the program in Cayman’s schools every year to all Year 5 students. The National Trust of the Cayman Islands considers it one of its most valuable learning tools, she says, and is able to continue delivering the program annually thanks to the support of the Caribbean Utilities Corporation (CUC), which has sponsored the program since its initiation. READ MORE

AFRICA

Seychelles is swapping its sovereign debt with a plan to protect its ocean

SEYCHELLES – In what is being hailed as a global first, Seychelles has agreed to swap parts of its debt in return for designating nearly a third of its waters as protected areas. The island nation will secure roughly 210,000 square kilometers (81,000 square miles) at the Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, from fishing, oil exploration, and commercial development. The debt-for-nature deal was brokered by NatureVest, the conservation investing unit of the US-based The Nature Conservancy. As part of the plan, the group will purchase up to $21.6 million of the nation’s over $400 million debt at a discount, and will redirect the payments from creditors to a newly-created local trust. The trust will then use the payments to repay the initial capital raised and also fund marine conversation plans. These will include restoring coral reef and mangrove restoration, improving sustainable tourism and fisheries, and balancing the country’s conservation and climate change adaptation goals with their development needs. READ MORE

Oil Minister opens mangrove nursery

BAHRAIN – A pilot mangrove tree nursery was opened at the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) yesterday. Oil Minister, Bapco Chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa visited Bahrain refinery and inaugurated the project. The event was attended by Arabian Gulf University (AGU) President Dr. Khalid Al-Ohali, officials representing the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), the Oil and Gas Holding Company, the environment affairs and Bapco executive management members. The minister stressed the importance of ecological projects aimed at achieving sustainable development, hailing initiatives aimed at protecting the environment and expanding green spaces in Bahrain. The minister was briefed about the goals of the pilot mangrove tree nursery, which was set as part of national efforts to bolster biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gases. The minister inaugurated the ecological island “Bapco Oasis”, which underwent a major revamp over the past months to serve as a platform to hold meetings, lectures and other events. READ MORE

ASIA

Meet the citizens who're working to reclaim city's lost mangroves

INDIA – The cities of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, as we know them today, were forged on reclaimed land. The process of reclamation — filling portions of the sea with sand to extend the coastline — has had an adverse impact on the city. The city's wetlands have also been severely depleted as a consequence. “Apart from coastal wetlands, there are inland wetlands — the smaller lakes, ponds, wells. These have suffered too, as the city's continued its massive growth spree," explains Stalin D, an expert on wetland protection. The mangrove plants, known for their aerial roots and the ability to grow in salty water, are an integral part of the wetland system that blankets Mumbai. “Mangroves are the interface between the land and the sea, and by some estimates, they are the most diverse forms of life,” says Darryl D’Monte, an award-winning environmental journalist. In the space-crunched city that is Mumbai, builders and corporations have been flaunting laws and encroaching on wetlands for years. As a result, the city floods every monsoon. Stalin states that the prime reason for the floods is the loss of wetlands and the tampering with natural drainage channels such as the Mithi river that runs through the heart of the city. The internet has, to some extent, increased awareness among people and warned them of the impending dangers of infringing any further on the mangroves. In 2016, when a construction company tried to intrude on the Seawoods Lake in Nerul, local residents Sunil and Shruti Agarwal decided to approach the authorities against this illegal encroachment. READ MORE

Denmark supports Myanmar mangrove forest project

MYANMAR – THE Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation will cooperate with Denmark on the Project for Administration of Mangrove Forests in March, said U Bo Ni, director of the Forest Department. The terms of the cooperation with Denmark, which is part of the Denmark-Myanmar 2016-2020 Programme, was signed by Denmark’s Ambassador to Myanmar Peter Lysholt Hansen and the Environment Ministry at Nay Pyi Taw on Sunday. Denmark will provide the equivalent of US$5.5 million and technology for the project. It is intended for people in coastal regions of Rakhine State and Tanintharyi Region and will be carried out over five years, until March 2023. The project includes promoting locally owned forests, decreasing dependence on mangrove forests, improving locals’ capacity to carry out other projects, providing maritime businesses designed to preserve mangrove forests and making enhanced energy stoves to lower timber usage. READ MORE

Okhna owns land at site of illegal Koh Kong mangrove filling

CAMBODIA – A section of protected mangrove forest in Koh Kong that in December was discovered to have been filled with sand was illegally sold to tycoon Chea Leanghong in 2017, documents show, with local authorities having signed off on the deal. In March 2017, Sok Kimhong and his wife, Siv Chou, sold the 13 hectares of land inside Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary to Leanghong, according to a copy of the sale contract obtained by The Post. Leanghong is the chairman of the development and real estate company KH Niron Investment. The sale was approved by former Stung Veng Village Chief Chhung Thavon and former Stung Veng Commune Chief Khung Vichhean, the document shows. Koh Kong provincial officials earlier this week said a committee was investigating the illegal filling-in of the flooded mangrove forest, but claimed they still did not know who was behind the crime. Authorities first inspected the location in December, where they also found an illegal sand-dredging operation filling in the area. Koh Kong Deputy Governor Sok Sothy, who earlier this week dismissed allegations that Leanghong was behind the scheme as just “rumours”, yesterday declined to comment. READ MORE

AMERICAS

Venezuela Fishermen Fight an Oil Giant

VENEZUELA – The aging fisherman — his sandals sinking into the sand, his optimism unflagging — looked out across the water and took the measure of his long, losing battle. At his toes was Amuay Bay, and the life-giving fish stock it supported: That’s what he was fighting for. Way over on the opposite shore, beyond the wind-kicked whitecaps, sat his adversary: the hulking, state-run oil plant and its failing machinery. “The company hates this man,” said the fisherman, Esteban Sánchez, a calloused index finger pointing at his own chest. “But I don’t care. I’ll continue denouncing them.” For generations, Amuay’s fisherman have pulled snapper, mackerel, sardines, clams and crabs from these waters to feed their families and sell to wholesalers who cart the catch to markets and restaurants elsewhere. But the plant, part of the largest refinery complex in Venezuela, has from time to time spewed contaminants into the bay and the adjoining Caribbean Sea, threatening the livelihood of families living in this poor fishing village of several thousand on the country’s northwest coast. READ MORE

Satellite Data Reveals State of the World’s Mangrove Forests

USA – The word “forest” often calls to mind a dense landscape of towering trees. However, some of the most carbon-rich and productive forests are clustered along coastlines in the tropics and subtropics. Mangrove forests, made up of salt-tolerant trees and shrubs, play a vital role in erosion and flood control, fisheries support, carbon storage, biodiversity conservation and nutrient cycling. Many coastal communities rely on mangroves for food, forest products and tourism revenue, and the forests provide a natural coastline defense to storm surges by reducing wave and wind velocity. New analysis relies on satellite data to survey the state of these important ecosystems. Asia is a hub for global mangrove loss, with annual loss rates nearly double the global average. More than half of the mangrove loss over the past decade occurred in the Asia Insular region, comprised of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Brunei, East Timor, Singapore and the Philippines. READ MORE

Restoring mangrove forest in Puerto Rico wrecked by Hurricane Maria

COSTA RICA – Months after Hurricane Maria hit the island, Puerto Rico is still recovering from the storm’s devastating aftermath and continues to need help. Quinnipiac University recently sent the first academic group to aid the relief effort in Cataño, where eight students and three professors have been helping restore the mangrove forest and seeing firsthand the effects of the disaster. The group is there working with CARAS de las Américas, a nonprofit organization that works on environmental and educational efforts in San Juan, Cataño and Guaynabo. They landed on the island Jan. 10. “Mangroves are important to the environment here,” Margarita Diaz, associate professor of journalism at Quinnipiac, said from the island where she’s a native. “It’s a plant designed to survive coastal water and provides habitat for wildlife, birds, fish and crustaceans that rely on mangroves. It’s a really strong resilient plant.” READ MORE

LAST WORD

Dear Alfredo,
 
Hope you are doing well and hope this information finds you well. We published a book on the fishermen of the Sundarbans coastal region of Bangladesh so we are happy to share this book with the MAP.

Please find a soft copy of this Fisherman Story Book for your kind consideration.

We are also sharing another publication : A guidebook on traveling to the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest in Bangladesh

Take care and best wishes,

Maksud
BADNGLADESH ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY (BEDS)
BEDSBD.org 
<info@bedsbd.org>

 

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