MAP News Issue #592 – Feb 24, 2024 |
CO2 emissions from degraded mangrove forests set to increase by 50,000% |
GLOBAL- Annual carbon emissions from degraded mangrove forests could escalate by nearly 50,000% by the end of the century. This startling projection comes from a recent study led by Montclair State University. The surge in emissions will primarily take place across degraded mangrove forests in regions like southern India, southeastern China, Singapore, and eastern Australia. These mangrove forests are crucial for carbon storage
, particularly in their soil. Despite their importance, human development activities have led to a noticeable decline in these vital carbon stocks. Over the past two decades, the conversion of mangrove forests to agricultural, aquacultural, and urban areas has resulted in the loss of 158.4 million tons of global mangrove carbon stocks
. This loss equates to the carbon emissions generated by transporting the entire population of the United States from New York to London by air, illustrating the substantial environmental impact of such degradation. The investigation, led by Professor Jennifer Krumins of Montclair State University, together with PhD candidates Shih-Chieh Chien and Charles Knoble, aimed to examine the correlation between human population density and soil carbon stocks in urban mangrove forests. The research contributes to understanding the global carbon budget’s dynamics concerning these ecosystems. The findings highlight a concerning trend: in areas with a population density of 300 people/km2 – comparable to the population density of the UK or Japan – the carbon stored in mangrove soils near populated regions is about 37% less than in isolated mangrove forests. Furthermore, the study estimates that the current annual rate of carbon emissions from mangrove loss is 7.0 Teragrams, a figure that is expected to increase to 3,392 Teragrams by the end of the century, in line with current predictions and increasing population densities. |
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Give a Village a Mangrove
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BRAZIL – Extractive reserves are a common type of protected area in Brazil; they conserve the landscape while allowing communities to continue sustainably harvesting their resources. Around 300 families, known as ribeirinhos—or river people—live in 28 villages inside the reserve; another 2,000 families live nearby. Together, they comanage the area with government agencies and have exclusive rights to harvest crabs and shellfish and carry out small-scale agriculture. Their dependence on the natural abundance binds them intimately to the reserve’s 11,000 hectares of mangroves. The mangroves, in turn, play an essential role in the larger ecosystem. Those in Cassurubá are part of what some researchers and conservationists refer to as the Abrolhos seascape: a network of coral reefs and mangrove forests that harbors some of the highest-known marine biodiversity in the South Atlantic. The mangroves’ leggy roots trap sediment that otherwise would smother coral reefs, and they absorb nutrients that could disturb the estuary’s delicate chemical balance. The trees’ roots and shoots form a natural net that protects breeding sharks and small fish from larger predators and storms. Yet as rising seas from climate change submerge some mangroves and others fall to development, stands like those in Cassurubá grow more precious. |
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More than 300 hectares of mangrove to be reforested after construction of Cancun’s Nichupté Vehicular Bridge
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MEXICO – More than 300 hectares of mangrove will be reforested once the Nichupté Vehicular Bridge is done. According to the Ministry of Communication and Transportation (SICT), the total environmental impact will be on less than four hectares. The Undersecretary of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation, Jesús Felipe Verdugo López, stated that the Nichupté Vehicular Bridge project in Cancun will have the largest environmental restoration program that the SICT has carried out. He explained that in the construction process of the bridge, the environmental compensation and mitigation work includes 306 hectares of mangrove reforestation, while the impact will be less than four hectares. The bridge consists of 8.8 kilometers, two interchanges (Colosio and Kukulcán), a bicycle lane, bus stops, a system of walkways and lighting as well as an “arch” bridge. Once built, it will be equipped with intelligent transportation systems (ITS) connected to a C4 security.The bridge will have a cross section of 14.9 meters to accommodate three traffic lanes, one for each direction of traffic and another that will be reversible, depending on traffic demand. |
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USGS and CEOS hold Workshop on Deforestation Alerts, Mangrove Mapping and Monitoring in Gabon
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GLOBAL – In pursuit of harnessing the potential of Earth observation data for global climate surveillance and governance, a consortium of experts has convened in Libreville, Gabon, for a workshop jointly organised by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and the SilvaCarbon programme of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from February 21 to 29, 2024. This workshop will explore two key themes: deforestation alerts and mangrove mapping and monitoring.The inaugural session commenced with presentations from notable speakers, including the Director General of the Gabonese Agency for Space Studies and Observations (AGEOS), Abubakar Mambimba Ndjoungui, representing the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Andreas Vollrath and Sylvia Wilson from the SilvaCarbon programme at USGS. They set the stage for discussions on integrating Early Warning Systems (EWS) into National Monitoring Systems, emphasising the pivotal role of satellite data in detecting and addressing deforestation challenges. The emphasis on Early Warning Systems and their integration into National Monitoring Systems highlights a proactive approach to environmental management. By detecting and responding to threats such as deforestation in real time, countries can potentially mitigate the adverse impacts on biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and assist local communities dependent on forest ecosystems. |
| Kigamboni mangrove ecosystem being restored through FAO EU-funded project |
TANZANIA – It is said that “nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” (Lao Tzu). Mangroves are one of nature’s true accomplishments. These tropical plants are adapted to loose, wet soils, salt water tides and provide a natural infrastructure — a safety net — for their surroundings. They reduce soil erosion and absorb storm surges during extreme weather events. Their environmental impact protects both people and biodiversity. Tanzania’s total forest vegetation covers 48.1 million hectares (ha), while the mangrove forest ecosystem in Tanzania covers an area of 158,000 ha — 0.32 percent of total forest cover. Despite their small area coverage, mangrove forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including coastal protection, breeding sites for various aquatic inhabitants, biofiltration of pollutants, provision of habitat for birdlife and wildlife. They also increase the potential of carbon sequestration, contributing to the improvement of climate change. Opportunities for beekeeping and ecotourism also directly benefit. Any source of mangrove degradation or decline has major implications for both marine resources and livelihood of adjacent mangrove-dependent communities. To ensure people continue to benefit from mangroves and to halt illegal cutting for charcoal production rather than their degradation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through the European Union funded “Multilateral Environmental Agreements in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Countries – Phase III (ACP MEAs 3)” project, has supported restoration of two hectares of mangrove forest close to Tundwi Songani village in the Kigamboni district. |
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The beekeepers of Sine Saloum: How all-women team tends to Senegal mangrove
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SENEGAL – Clutching a purse and clad from head to toe in white protective gear, Bintou Sonko removes a small metal kettle from her purse and releases smoke into one of the 50 beehives nestled in the dense mangrove outside her town in Senegal. Pacifying the bees, the 53-year-old extracts a dark golden liquid from within. In 2022, she, her sister, and several others in the 67-strong women’s cooperative in Joal-Fadiouth, a town 100km (62 miles) south of Dakar, spent a month learning how to make honey, build hives and interact calmly with the bees. Despite an initial fear of being stung, she is in no doubt of their importance in the mangrove. For Sonko and her colleagues who have long been shellfish gatherers, their newfound occupation as beekeepers provides additional income. But as climate change and deforestation threaten the mangrove, many say beekeeping is good for the invaluable biodiversity haven and carbon sink that stores up to five times more carbon than tropical rainforests. “Bees and honey protect the mangrove,” says Sonko, president of the cooperative Mboga Yaye, which means “a good Serrer” in the local language of the Serrers, the main ethnicity in the mangrove-rich delta of Sine Saloum. The delta was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011. Sonko explains that the bees pollinate the mangrove forest, creating more habitat for fish, shellfish and shrimp that the women traditionally collect. But more importantly, she says, “it allows the mangrove to rest”. |
| Restoring Mangroves in Minecraft and Real Life with Sound Off Films |
USA – Minecraft’s ‘Rooted Together: The Mangrove Restoration Project’ is a campaign that aims to raise awareness – and money – for mangrove ecosystems around the world. Vital to the environment and local communities globally, the plants are surprisingly unknown – leaving the teams involved with quite the PR challenge. Turning gamers into mangrove enthusiasts and raising over $200,000 for The Nature Conservancy, Xbox and Mojang Studios, the Swedish developer behind Minecraft, partnered with creative agency 215McCann and mission-driven boutique production company Sound Off Films to create a documentary about mangrove conservation, shot half in the real world and half in Minecraft’s virtual world. A custom map was also built inside the game by Everbloom Games, a 50-minute experience visualising 50 years of mangrove restoration. Working with director Haimy Assefa, and several remote units in Kenya and the Philippines, Sound Off’s global partnerships and in-house scientists allowed them to create a sustainable and inclusive production in three different countries. The project has now won two Gold Medals in the Sustainability, Environment and Climate category at the Anthem Awards, and three PRWeek Purpose Awards for its impact in this area. To find out how the film was crafted, block-by-block, LBB’s Ben Conway spoke with Sound Off Films’ creative producer, Sophie Morgan.
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