Together we’re protecting mangrove forests. 
EL SALVADOR – Mangrove forests provide a wide array of valuable ecosystem services and play a critical role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. They sequester vast amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, slow coastal erosion, and form a natural barrier that protects coastal communities from extreme weather. Mangrove ecosystems are a refuge for juvenile fish, a nesting habitat for migratory birds, and a breeding ground for sea turtles. They also provide sustainable economic opportunities for local communities who fish and develop ecotourism initiatives. The most extensive remaining mangrove forest in Central America is located in El Salvador's Bay of Jiquilisco. Unfortunately, El Salvador has lost sixty percent of its mangrove forest coverage since 1950, and continues to lose mangroves at a rate of 681 hectares (1683 acres) each year. This loss threatens the livelihoods and safety of the communities and wildlife that depend on the health of this ecosystem for their survival.
READ MORE AFRICA
Cost of coastal environmental degradation, multi hazard risk assessment and cost benefit analysis : Ghana
This document presents the report identification and justification of disaster risk management and climate change adaptation measures for Ghana. It aims to identify possible adaptation options to reduce, prevent and mitigate risks, through ecosystems reinforcement and other measures. DOWNLOAD HERE
ASIA
Community celebrates nine years of mangrove restoration
INDIA – As an environmental protection initiative, a group of volunteers have planted more than 150,000 mangrove saplings from 2009 which have now grown into 7 ft tall mangrove plants. 5th June is celebrated as the World Environment Day across the world. This initiative began in 2009 and till today nearly a stretch of 15km of mangroves has been reforested. To mark the celebration of “World Environment Day”, June 4th, teachers from NARBHAVI VIDYALAYA primary school, Gandhi Nagar near Neyveli Township, Thiyagavalli, a coastal village in the Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, visited the mangrove forests in Thiyagavalli. The benefits of mangroves to mankind were explained to them by Mr Arjunan Elayaraja, Secretary, Aalamaram NGO. They were given saplings to plant along the banks of the back waters. The team of 36 teachers happily planted the saplings and promised to spread the benefits of reforestation and afforestation to the students community. The arrangements were done by the volunteers of the Aalamaram team. READ MORE
A robotic fish could help mangroves grow
THIALAND – Mangrove forests are important ecosystems. Their tangled roots hold land in place, preventing the sea from washing it away. Those roots also shelter young fish and other animals as they grow. But the mangrove forests of Thailand have come under threat. People have cut many of them down to build fish farms and expand cities. Some efforts to regrow mangrove forests have been successful; others, not so much. Naphat Cheenchamrat, 18, and Pattharaphol Chainiwattana, 16, wanted to figure out why. For mangroves, mud matters. And to find out if mud is thick enough to plant new mangroves, the pair have just what everyone needs: a fish robot. Naphat is a senior and Pattharaphol a junior at Bangkok Christian College in Thailand. The two brought their muddy results here, to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). READ MORE
Monitoring mangrove forests after aquaculture abandonment using satellite images
INDONESIA – Revegetation of abandoned aquaculture regions should be a priority for any integrated coastal zone management (ICZM). This paper examines the potential of a matchless time series of 20 very high spatial resolution (VHSR) optical satellite images acquired for mapping trends in the evolution of mangrove forests from 2001 to 2015 in an estuary fragmented into aquaculture ponds. Evolution of mangrove extent was quantified through robust multitemporal analysis based on supervised image classification. Results indicated that mangroves are expanding inside and outside ponds and over pond dykes. However, the yearly expansion rate of vegetation cover greatly varied between replanted ponds. Ground truthing showed that only Rhizophora species had been planted, whereas natural mangroves consist of Avicennia and Sonneratia species. In addition, the dense Rhizophora plantations present very low regeneration capabilities compared with natural mangroves. Time series of VHSR images provide comprehensive and intuitive level of information for the support of ICZM. READ MORE
A fishing village and mangrove habitat in the Philippines faces threats of reclamation
PHILIPPINES – Obando Fishport, located north of the capital city of Manila in the Philippines, bustles with activity at 6:00 a.m. A colorful and tightly packed flotilla has gathered, fishing boats slipping and sliding carefully past each other to take turns docking. The bustle slowly fades to an idyllic backwater when traveling via pump boat to the coastal village of Taliptip in Bulakan town, Bulacan province. Its surrounding seas are home to some 5,000 fishers and salt-makers who get their bounty of fish, mussels, crabs, shrimp, and krill from these gentle waters and mangrove corridors. On this collection of small island communities, a 2,500-hectare reclamation project by the San Miguel Corporation is being aggressively pursued, threatening to convert everything in its wake into a so-called ‘aerotropolis complex’ of airports, expressways, and urban expanse. READ MORE
Dead whale sparks marine fears
THAILAND – The death of a male short-finned pilot whale with a shocking number of plastic bags in its stomach in Songkhla province has sparked grave concerns about marine debris and the threat it poses to the marine ecological system. The whale died on Friday, a few days after it was beached in Chana district on May 28, and drew wide public attention to yet another case of a marine animal ingesting human refuse after 80 plastic bags, weighing about 8kg, were found in its stomach. As a result, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources is seizing on this opportunity to raise public awareness about marine litter, especially plastics, which are known to be responsible for the deaths of seabirds and marine mammals. Jatuporn Buruspat, the department's director-general, said on Friday, which was also World Ocean Day, that the agency will meet those in the plastic bag supply chain, including producers and users, to discuss how they can work to curb the amount of plastic that ends up in the sea. READ MORE
AMERICAS
How Mangrove And Salt Marsh Seedlings Respond To CO2 And Drought
USA – Scientists have documented landward shifts of mangrove forests over the past several decades along the Gulf and in other regions of the world (e.g., Australia, China, Mexico, New Zealand). In many settings, mangrove forests have encroached into marshes and mudflats, replacing those habitat types. Similar inland migration of brackish and salt marshes can be prevented in some areas by existing human infrastructure, including roads, housing, and commercial development; this process has been described as “coastal squeeze.” As a consequence, marsh habitat loss has occurred, and the type and quantity of ecosystem goods and services provided have been affected. Mangrove expansion in the Gulf has been attributed primarily to sea-level rise, reduced freshwater input, and increased intervals between winter freeze events, all factors that favor the expansion of cold-intolerant and salt-tolerant mangrove species. Drought is an additional factor that affects the resiliency of Gulf coastal wetlands, and it has been implicated as a contributing factor in severe vegetation dieback events that have occurred in brackish and salt marshes. READ MORE
Our Land, Our Life – A Participatory Assessment of the Land Tenure Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Guyana
GUYANA – In Guyana, customary lands and forest that communities depend on are being illegally destroyed by extractive industries -operating within and outside of allocated concessions- and communities are suffering because they do not have title to the full extent of their traditional lands, or have no title at all. In addition to the fact that large parts of communities’ customary land have been left out of titled areas on paper, even more land has been cut off during demarcation of titles thereby eroding their customary land rights or causing boundary conflicts with neighbouring communities. This report seeks to present a detailed picture of the current status of land rights for communities in the Potaro-Siparuni region (Region 8) in west-central Guyana. The study covers 22 villages and settlements. Fifteen of those villages have land titles, however, fourteen of those said they were not consulted and did not give their consent to the area granted as title. READ MORE
Plastic Tsunamis Threaten Coast in Latin America
BRAZIL – Although Latin America produces just five percent of the world’s plastic, it imports billions of tons annually for the use of all kinds of products, some of which end up in the sea as garbage. It thus contributes to this kind of artificial tsunami that threatens the biodiversity of the oceans, where 13 million tons of waste, mostly disposable plastics, are dumped each year at a global level, according to UN Environment – enough to wrap around the Earth four times. The impact is such that it also affects human health, as this resistant waste enters the food chain, and has led the United Nations to declare “Beat Plastic Pollution” as the theme for this year’s World Environment Day, on June 5. READ MORE
Work underway in Suriname to restore ecosystems after closure of mining site on indigenous land
SURINAME – International experts have visited Suriname as part of a mission to restore ecosystems around a now closed bauxite mining site on indigenous territory. The delegation visited the Wane Hills site in Marowijne, which was first mined by BHP Biliton and later by Suralco, which is part of Alcoa. The site is now considered mined out and Alcoa has closed operations in Suriname. The mission, from 25-30 March, was also joined by representatives of the Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname, VIDS – who have been asked by the Bauxite Institute Suriname to be the counterpart in this mission and assist in the development of an action plan. The closed mine site is located in the self-demarcated customary territory of the Lokono and Kalin’a communities in Marowijne, and the action plan will restore forest and savannah ecosystems so communities can again benefit from this area of their territory. READ MORE
OCEANA
Lecturer, students rediscover ‘near-threatened’ mangrove
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – University of PNG’s Dr Lawong Balun and third-year biology students have rediscovered a near-extinct mangrove in Rigo, Central. The species, Ceriops decandra, found in Hood Lagoon has a restricted distribution in PNG and the rediscovery last month could mean it is potentially the only place where this rare species survives today Lecturer Dr Balun, a mangrove specialist, who has done extensive research on the ecophysiology of New Guinea mangroves, said: “It is threatened by habitat loss from coastal development and subsistence harvesting for construction purposes throughout its range. Its population is estimated to have been reduced between 10 and 30 per cent over the last two decades and listed as ‘near-threatened’ by Food and Agriculture Organisation in 2007.” Dr Balun said the biggest concern about the species was the lack of knowledge about its ‘reproductive viable population’ status. READ MORE
LAST WORD – WELCOME ABOARD KATE!!!
Greetings everyone at MAP,
I am Kate, the new volunteer at the MAP Asia office here in Trang. I am a British and Thai national who spent my primary years growing up in South East Asia and former years in England. I recently graduated in a degree in International Development from the University of Leeds and am taking time to gain work experience in the field of environmental conservation and development. I am really excited therefore to be spending the next few months with MAP.
During my degree course I have taken every opportunity to focus on the environment and international development which has allowed me to investigate a range of topics such as community-based forest management in Thailand, the impact of shrimp farming and slave labor in continuing the economic and social divide between the Global South and North, and the implications of post disaster relief and reconstruction policies on land-based relations and rural livelihoods with a focus on the Asian tsunami. I was also lucky enough to spend a year abroad studying in Accra, at the University of Ghana and spent large periods of this time carrying out research and focus group interviews with local communities in the North as part of the basis for my dissertation on the impact of large dams on the environment and sustainable livelihoods.
While volunteering at MAP I hope to build on my interest in environmental conservation and livelihood development and learn about the specific role mangrove ecosystems play within that. I’m looking forward to gaining experience in working in a professional NGO setting and to visiting field projects first hand.
Look forward to working with you all.
Kate Knight
Office Development & Field Project Assistant (Intern)
