FEATURE Cayman Environmental Education Focus Group Established
CAYMAN ISLANDS – A range of Cayman-based environmental organisations have joined forces to provide an integrated and exciting spectrum of curriculum-linked outdoor teaching activities for the local community starting with a strong focus in Cayman’s primary schools. This group is currently made up of representatives from the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Reef Environmental Educational Foundation, Mangrove Education Project, Central Caribbean Marine Institute, Sea Elements, together with the Energy Policy Coordinator from the CPI and representatives from the DoE, DES and MEYSAL. By working together, participating organisations hope to increase access and utilisation of supplementary materials and activities developed by these organisations to aid teachers and parents. In addition, teachers will be provided with outdoor field trips to explore Cayman’s unique natural resources both on and offshore. In class activities will provide supporting resources to highlight the knowledge acquired during the field trips. READ MORE GLOBAL Pandemic Side-Effects Show Us a Glimpse of an Alternative Future on Earth Day 2020
EARTH – The skies are clearing of pollution, wildlife is returning to newly clear waters, a host of flights have been scrapped and crude oil is so worthless that the industry would have to pay you to take it off their hands – a few months ago, environmentalists could only dream of such a scenario as the 50th anniversary of Earth Day hove into view. But this disorientingly green new reality is causing little cheer given the cause is the coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged much of the world. "This isn't the way we would've wanted things to happen, God no," said Gina McCarthy, former head of the US Environmental Protection Agency in the Obama administration. "This is just a disaster that pointed out the underlying challenges we face. It's not something to celebrate." Wednesday's annual Earth Day event, this year largely taking place online, comes as public health restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in a sharp dip in air pollution across China, Europe and the US, with carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels heading for a record 5 percent annual drop. READ MORE Mass mangrove restoration: Driven by good intentions but offering limited results
GLOBAL – There is an urgent need to address the global degradation of coastal ecosystems, but are mass mangrove planting initiatives sustainable? In recent years, hundreds and sometimes thousands of volunteers have been involved in mass mangrove planting efforts, gaining media recognition and even earning entries into the Guinness Book of World Records. This has drawn attention to the urgent need to address the global degradation of coastal ecosystems. But are these planting initiatives sustainable? Do they have the desired impact? In short, do they work? Coastal communities are first to face the impacts of coastal degradation – reduced flood protection, decreased water quality, extreme soil erosion and a rapid decline in the variety and abundance of food sources (many of which come from mangroves in the tropics). Mass mangrove plantings should help address these challenges in certain areas, but instead many restoration efforts worldwide (for example, in the Philippines) are failing. READ MORE AFRICA Clean energy, mangroves and fish stocks: How is the UAE preserving its nature?
UAE – The woody mangroves of Jubail Island in Abu Dhabi have become a hub for biodiversity along the UAE’s coastline. The project, which is continuation of the ecological vision of the country’s late founder, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, is a playground for gazelle and flamingos. “The vision extends to the entire 32 square kilometer island. And our vision is to create a very low-density development in harmony with the surrounding protected and environmental areas,” says Richard Russell, COO of the Jubail Island Investment Company.“We have probably over 80 species of birds, 13 species of crabs and mollusks and a myriad of varying fish species.” A report by the World Wildlife Fund states that the Earth’s ecosystems are in steep decline and this could ultimately put global economies at risk. Heeding this, is the Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD), which launched in 1996 to become the largest environmental regulator in the Middle East. READ MORE AMERICA Advocate for coastal wetlands
USA – Alma Vázquez-Lule grew up in Mexico City with few parks. She got hooked on mangrove forests, a type of tropical coastal wetland, as soon as she saw one on a field trip in college. She continued to work on mangroves throughout her undergraduate years as she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and then during her master’s degree in geomatics from the Research Center of Geography and Geomatics in Mexico. She then worked for eight years for the Mexican government studying mangrove forests. Vázquez-Lule is a coauthor on a guide to Mexico’s mangrove forests published in 2018. “The guide includes different laboratory and fieldwork methods to characterize the forest structure of mangroves and to identify environmental variables that can help to explain and understand the high structural diversity of this ecosystem in Mexico,” she said. READ MORE The effect of mangrove restoration on avian assemblages of a coastal lagoon in southern Mexico
MEXICO – Mangrove forests provide many ecosystem services, including the provision of habitat that supports avian biodiversity. However, hurricanes can knock down trees, alter hydrologic connectivity, and affect avian habitat. In 1995, Hurricanes Opal and Roxanne destroyed approximately 1,700 ha of mangrove forest in Laguna de Términos, Mexico. Since then, hydrological restoration has been implemented to protect the mangrove forest and its biodiversity. Since avian communities are often considered biological indicators of ecosystem quality, avian diversity and species relative abundance were evaluated as indicators of mangrove restoration success by comparing undisturbed mangrove patches with those affected by the hurricanes. Using bird surveys, similarity analyses, and generalized linear models, we evaluated the effects of water quality variables and forest structure on the relative abundance and diversity of the avian community in disturbed, restored, and undisturbed mangrove patches. Collectively, our results strongly suggest that hydrologic restoration helps to enhance niche availability for different bird guilds, including water and canopy bird species. Our work can help inform management strategies that benefit avian communities in mangrove forests and wetland systems. READ MORE Water, Trees And Optical Illusions Inspire Earth Day 2020 Art
USA – This week is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, but the fIrst year that it takes place entirely online. Without events and demonstrations, this is a clear departure from previous years, but one thing hasn’t changed. Ever since the first protest in 1970, Earth Day has worked closely with both scientists and artists to draw awareness to the planet. Mira Lehr was one of the artists involved in the very first Earth Day. To mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the now 85-year-old artist has an exhibit at the Mennello Museum of American Art in Orlando, Florida. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the museum has had to close, but Lehr’s exhibit can be viewed as a virtual tour on her website. The exhibit includes the work “The Protectors”, inspired by a mangrove forest. In Florida and other areas, mangrove trees play an important role in protecting coastal areas from erosion. Lehr paid homage to these trees by recreating their root system in the gallery space. READ MORE The Power of Trees
USA – Climate change is making the impact of hurricanes and other storms more dangerous — and more expensive. As the costs loom over coastlines across the globe, vulnerable communities are looking for new ways to mitigate the economic impact. Alejandro Del Valle and Mathilda Eriksson of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business recently found that mangrove trees, which grow in coastal waters and have dense and stable root structures, may be one useful tool. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a group of researchers led by Del Valle and Eriksson documented how the presence of mangroves alters the relationship between hurricane strength (wind speed) and human-made light patterns as observed from space. “Because the consumption of artificial light during the night time increases with income, the amount of human-made lights present after a storm tells us how quickly areas are recovering,” says Del Valle, assistant professor of risk management and insurance, who worked with researchers at Georgia State and the World Bank. READ MORE ASIA A vital mangrove forest hidden in Vietnam’s largest city could be at risk
VIETNAM – As the largest urban area in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is known for its kinetic pace of life, rivers of motorbike traffic, and relentless construction. With an official population of 9 million and a booming economy based on manufacturing, real estate and tourism, there is often little space for nature. It may come as a surprise, even to many who live in Ho Chi Minh City, that one of the world’s great restored mangroves forests lies within the city’s borders. The Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve covers 75,740 hectares (187,160 acres), and encompasses all of Can Gio district, the largest and one of the least populated of Ho Chi Minh City’s 24 districts. Can Gio sits between the central districts and the South China Sea, called the East Sea by Vietnam. From above, it’s a surprisingly green stretch of land, especially compared to the gray tentacles of concrete that spread out farther from the city every day. While Can Gio’s core is very well-protected, there are areas of concern on its fringes. Earth sciences professor Marchand saw the impact of shrimp farming in the reserve’s outer areas, where trees are cleared and the ground is drained to create shrimp ponds. “What I observed is that the core of the mangroves is really protected,” he said. “But on the edge, each time I went there were new projects, and I saw some mangroves which were destroyed.” READ MORE Stopping floods, protecting lives, and saving money? Mangroves do it all for free
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PHILIPPINES – Our ever-growing human population is increasing demand for development and urbanization of coastal areas that are close to trade routes, food resources, and recreation. As a result, governments are now confronting the risks of flooding to coastal economies and populations. For example, in the Philippines, one of the top three countries at risk from severe weather and flooding events, devastating routine flooding in urban areas forced the government to enact a drastic flood protection plan that is expected to cost $500 million USD. The proposal calls for the construction of man-made barriers like dams, improvement to drainage systems, and relocation for people living in flood plains. Even these efforts will not eliminate flood risks, and they require future investments into the maintenance of man-made infrastructure. But the Philippines and many coastal areas in the tropics and sub-tropics already have a natural defense against storms, flooding, and coastal erosion: mangroves. READ MORE Two New Papers on Mangrove Ecosystems in India’s Sundarbans Biosphere
INDIA – Qi Zhang, a post-doctoral associate at the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, recently published two papers on the mangrove ecosystems in India’s Sundarbans Biosphere Region (SBR), a biodiversity hotspot that is acutely susceptible to the impacts of climate change. The region makes up nearly 3 percent of the Earth’s total area of mangroves, and has been designated as a UNESCO world heritage site for its profound social-ecological and biodiversity importance. In the first paper, published in the journal Science of The Total Environment, the authors identified and examined natural and human forces that affect the dynamics of the region’s mangrove ecosystems, and found that climate change is the most dominant driver of the degradation of ecosystem services in the SBR. In the second paper, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, the authors quantified the biophysical and economic values of key ecosystem services, based mainly on net primary productivity (NPP) models. They found that NPP increased from 1982-1999, but declined significantly from 2000-2017, suggesting that the effects of climate change and land-use dynamics on ecosystem services were significant over the past two decades. READ MORE LAST WORD The world recently celebrated International Day of Forests (March 21) and World Water Day (March 22) and Earth Day (Apr 22) in a very low key manner due to the spread of the coronavirus. But let's look at it from another perspective. The decision by governments to impose lockdowns and movement control actually puts less pressure and disturbance on the environment. But once these measures are lifted, will the air and water be as clean? Or will the impact be worse than before? Surely there are a lot of things that can be learned from this pandemic, and one of them is realising that we can take stern actions to resolve issues that compromise our health and survival. Let us take this time to also reflect on the impact on mangroves and the environment. Dr A. Aldrie Amir Coordinator The Malaysian Mangrove Research Alliance and Network (MyMangrove)
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