Mangrove Action Project Joins Calls to Protect Mexico’s Jaguars and Mangrove Habitats |
GLOBAL – a global environmental non-profit dedicated to conserving and restoring mangrove forests worldwide – has joined the Mexican NGO Pronatura Noroeste along with other Mexican conservation groups in calling for the urgent protection of local mangroves and the at-risk jaguars that call these forests home. Jaguar populations were once nearly ubiquitous to the Americas, but have been decimated over the last 200 years. Unregulated development and urban expansion along Mexico’s mangrove coasts threatens the last stands for the country’s embattled jaguars, once referred to by the famous 18th century explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt as the “Tigers of Latin America”. Hoping to shed light on the big cat’s plight, MAP is working with Victor Hugo Luja, a conservation biologist, professor and researcher at the Autonomous University of Nayarit, who for the past 15 years has documented the lives of jaguars in a 368-hectares protected area. Luja’s captivating work drew MAP’s attention when he entered the group’s annual photography contest, the Mangrove Photography Awards, in 2020, winning first prize for his beautiful photo of a mother jaguar and her cub at play in the mangroves of La Papalota reserve. |
Open For Submissions: Children’s Mangrove Art Contest 2024! |
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Conservationists: Half of Mangrove Ecosystems at Risk |
GLOBAL – Half of the world’s mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse due to climate change, deforestation and pollution, according to a study published on May 22. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), known for its Red List of Threatened Species, has for the first time taken stock of the world’s mangroves, evaluating 36 different regions. IUCN director general Grethel Aguilar said the assessment “highlights the urgent need for coordinated conservation of mangroves — crucial habitats for millions in vulnerable communities worldwide.” Mangroves are trees or shrubs that grow mainly in seawater or brackish water along coastlines and tidal rivers, in equatorial climes. Released on the International Day for Biodiversity, IUCN said its findings show that “50% of the mangrove ecosystems assessed are at risk of collapse” — categorized as either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. According to the assessment, 20% were at severe risk of collapse. Around 15% of the world’s coasts are covered by mangroves, covering about 150,000 square kilometers. |
| ‘There are mangroves in Georgia!’ Climate change lures tropical trees to state’s coast |
USA – Even seemingly small discoveries can illustrate the outsized impact of a warming planet. That was the case recently when three curious nature explorers confirmed that a prominent tropical plant species had made its way to Georgia’s coast. Ches Vervaeke, a coastal ecologist with the National Park Service, and his two companions had spent a day searching the northern Florida shoreline for mangroves, the saltwater-loving trees whose barbwire-like roots have long lined tidal banks in the southernmost reaches of that state as well as the Carribean and Central America. Vervaeke and his companions – Candy Feller, a Smithsonian Institution ecologist who has studied mangroves for nearly a half century, along with a reporter from Scientific American magazine – began their exploration near Amelia Island, Florida, then the northernmost siting of the now-migrating plants. |
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Tamil Nadu forms 20 village committees to strengthen protection of mangrove ecosystem |
SRI LANKA – The International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN) has listed mangroves in coastal regions spanning Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and Maldives as ‘critically endangered’ in its first global assessment of mangrove ecosystems. To protect mangrove cover, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has constituted 20 village mangrove committees, an official said. Of the 36 geographical areas spanning tropical, sub-tropical and some warm temperate coasts across the world, only South India, Sri Lanka & Maldives, besides warm temperate northwestern Atlantic region, have the critically endangered status as per the IUCN study released on May 22. In the South India ecoregion, mangroves in Muthupet (Thiruvarur district), Ramanathapuram, and a small part of southern Kerala were considered for the assessment. Mangrove ecosystems are important for biodiversity conservation, provision of essential goods and services to local communities, and reducing the impact of climate change. |
| “Roots of Resilience” Programme to Restore Bolgoda River’s Mangroves |
SRI LANKA – Hayleys Fentons Limited celebrated the inauguration of the “Roots of Resilience” biodiversity conservation programme. The project began with the signing of the MoU on November 7, 2023. This significant endeavour was carried out in collaboration with the Government of Sri Lanka and the Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management (CCCRMD). The “Roots of Resilience” biodiversity conservation programme aims to reinstate the vital mangrove ecosystem in the Bolgoda River. This river, a valuable natural treasure, was selected due to its ecological importance and the environmental threats it faces. The project witnessed the planting of 1,000 mangrove saplings on the banks of the river, an initial step towards the project’s long-term goal of enriching biodiversity and supporting local communities. “Mangroves are highly productive but extremely vulnerable ecosystems found in the intertidal zone of coastal environments, including lagoons. In Sri Lanka’s Coastal Zone and Coastal Resources Management Plan (CZ&CRMP), |
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Ogoni Cleanup: HYPREP Moves To Address Community Conflict, Train Chiefs On ADR |
NIGERIA – The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has announced plans to train all traditional rulers and chiefs of the Ogoni ethnic nationality in Rivers State in dispute management and peacebuilding by building their capacities in Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms. The move, according to the Project Coordination Office(PCO) of HYPREP, is aimed at addressing the community disputes that have been hindering the implementation of the project. As the body responsible for the cleanup of the Ogoni environment, HYPREP has also commenced the assessment of complex sites in the ongoing remediation work in Ogoni. Speaking during a Project Review Meeting with Ogoni Key Stakeholders, organised by the Federal Ministry of Environment through HYPREP Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey said assessment is a crucial step towards ensuring the effective restoration of the environment and improving the quality of life for the Ogoni people. Zabbey said the meeting was to review and discuss the success of the project, as well, get feedbacks from the leaders of Ogoni, noting that the reports were necessary for the success of HYPREP in the cleanup project. |
| Study On Peatlands And Mangroves Sets New Wetlands Emission Reporting Standard |
INDONESIA – Honing greenhouse gas emission factors for Indonesian peatlands and mangroves
New research provides “common credible reference” for reducing emissions from wetlands Scientists at the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) have published a study that is set to lift the game in emissions reporting for high-carbon wetland ecosystems. For countries’ emission-reduction efforts under the Paris Agreement to be effective – and to grow trust in climate finance schemes more broadly – baseline emission/removals levels and reporting must be as transparent and accurate as possible. In the Indonesian context, that means taking a closer look at its wealth of high-carbon tropical peatlands and mangrove forests, of which it holds some of the largest areas in the world – and which currently sequester a combined total of around 31.2 gigatonnes of carbon. About 60% of Indonesia’s national emission reduction targets by 2030 depend on mitigation in the Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) sector. Yet national emissions continue to grow, with the sector contributing as much as 50% at present. As such, protecting and restoring mangroves and peatlands ought to be a high priority for national emission reduction efforts. |
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MANGROVE PHOTO CONTEST NOW OPEN MAP has launched our 10th Mangrove Photography Awards. The competition invites photographers of all ages and levels to submit images that showcase the beauty, diversity and fragility of mangrove forests worldwide. Want to learn more about mangroves?
VISIT MANGROVEACTIONPROJECT.ORG
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Mangrove Action Project Report |
MAP is proud of our annual accomplishments and financial health for 2022. Check out a global map of the places we’re working, and highlights from all of our programs. Thank you to our many supporters who made this work possible, and to all of our friends and partners working to protect mangrove forests, worldwide. |
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