MAP News Issue #582 – October 7, 2023

CAYMAN ISLANDS – The Mangrove Rangers offer their congratulations to fellow Ranger Ileann Powery on winning the Miss Universe Cayman Islands, pageant. Ileann has been an integral part of the Mangrove Rangers for the past two years. Using her talents as a videographer and reporter, she has followed the trail of the Rangers as they apply their education programs to Cayman’s cmmunities and their schools. As the rangers’ founder and executive director of its parent organization the Mangrove Education Project (MEP), Martin Keeley says “I cannot emphasize enough how much Ileann has been a key part of showing Cayman exactly what the rangers do and the vital importance to Cayman of our coastal ecosystem with its mangroves, seagrass and reefs. She is an extremely talented videographer and it shows in her productions.” Ileann has also helped the rangers produce a series of “how to” videos which show teachers just how to carry out hands-on activities with their students.

INDONESIA – Along the Asian coastlines there are many areas where rural communities experience alarming rates of sea level rises due to land subsidence up to 10 cm per year. This causes tremendous challenges on how to live there and protect these coasts. A Dutch-Indonesian team of scientists jointly investigated the potential and limitation of mangrove restoration as a cost-effective and sustainable solution for coastal protection in rapidly subsiding areas. They have published their findings in Nature Sustainability.

KENYA – Under new landmark legislation passed by Kenyan lawmakers, profits from clean air projects will be granted to citizens most affected by the effects of Earth’s rising temperatures.Communities will receive 40% of the profits generated by land-based air pollution reduction initiatives in their local area, and 25% of the money raised by water-based investments, such as the planting of mangrove forests, will also be diverted. This move sees Kenya doubling down on its commitment to carbon tax credits. 

KENYA – According to Julie Mulonga, the Director of Eastern Africa at Wetlands International, Kenya has witnessed the loss of 1,000 hectares of mangrove forest over the past two decades. Hence, various stakeholders have made concerted efforts to plant mangroves, with the aim of bolstering the forest cover and fostering biodiversity in the region. However, scientists have expressed growing concerns about the manner in which mangrove conservation is being conducted. Dr Dominic Wodehouse, the Executive Director of the Mangrove Action Project (MAP), emphasises that mangrove ecosystems differ significantly from terrestrial forests.

MYANMAR – With about 500,000 hectares of mangroves along its coastline at the edge of the Bay of Bengal, Myanmar has the eighth largest area of mangroves in the world. They not only nurture highly productive and biologically rich ecosystems for many species, but also absorb huge amounts of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and provide protection from erosion by the sea. But Myanmar’s mangroves used to be even bigger, as vast areas of these valuable coastal forests have been swallowed up for agriculture, urban expansion and economic development since the mid-1990s. According to the United Nations Development Programme, mangroves disappeared from Myanmar at an average of 3.6 to 3.9 percent per year between 1996 and 2016.

AUSTRALIA – People are being warned to stay away from a popular and vast mangrove area after one stretch of water experienced a radical change in colour. In a bizarre photo shared to Reddit on Monday, the water near a walkway appeared bright pink. A Brisbane City Council spokesperson said on Tuesday council officers would visit the site to assess the health of the waterway but stressed pink water can occur naturally as a result of environmental factors. “Warmer weather and low rain fall can lead to less water flow and higher salt levels, causing the algae and bacteria in the water to turn pink,” the spokesperson said.

AUSTRALIA – A shift in the way we think about the benefits mangroves provide to coastal regions could yield significant economic and biodiversity gains and protect millions from flooding, research has revealed. The University of Queensland-led study shows current conservation efforts typically target biodiversity protection while minimizing conflict with economic interests, failing to consider the huge benefits provided by ecosystems. The research is published in Nature Communications. “As it stands, current conservation efforts just aren’t doing enough to take advantage of these services.”