MAP News Issue 430 November 25, 2017

A Global Day of Giving Tuesday November 28

#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving. MAP works to empower coastal communities around the world, providing support and building the local capacity to maintain stewardship over mangrove forests. MAP has chosen to remain small, partnering with other community-based non-profits in Asia, Latin America and Africa, while planting seeds of knowledge and support through a wide variety of projects and campaigns. As a result, most of MAP’s funding goes directly toward these efforts. We need your help to maintain and complete these projects. In areas where MAP works, communities lack the capacity and the capital to engage in sustainable livelihoods and rise out of poverty. Your support of MAP flows directly to others around the world; you enable MAP to carry on its work, and we need your help today.

AFRICA

Fish vs. forests? Madagascar’s marine conservation boom

MADAGASCAR – For a few days each year, fishermen here can travel back in time. When octopus season opens on a new part of the reef every three months, a single boat with three or four divers might catch as much as 200 pounds in a few hours. That, says Jean François, a fisherman who goes by the nickname Retsipa, is almost as good as the good old days. In the 1990s, wholesalers working with the French- and Malagasy-owned seafood company COPEFRITO regularly bought 3,000 pounds of octopus each time they came to the village. “Today, 400 pounds for the whole village is a good day,” said Retsipa, who serves as treasurer of Vezo Mitsinjo ny Ho Avy, or “Vezo, Look to the Future,” a fishermens’ association named for the local Vezo ethnic group. “It’s the same trend with lobsters, squid, fish: It’s not the same as before.” He shook his head. “Now, we have to choose the fish we eat — only the little ones, the fish we can’t sell…Before, the Vezo wouldn’t eat ‘fiandolo,’” Retsipa said, referring to the small, spiny striped eel catfish (Plotosus lineatus). “Now, we do.” READ MORE

Play Your Part in protecting the environment

SOUTH AFRICA – Although South Africa faces the challenge of deteriorating environmental quality, everyone can play a part in tackling this task. Increasing quantities of waste, poor waste management and lack of access to waste services lead to pollution, health risks and environmental degradation. To address this, Brand South Africa joined the National Clean-up and Recycle 2017 initiative organised by Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife and Plastics South Africa in the Durban Beachwood Mangrove Nature Reserve on 16 September 2017. The monitored and collaborative coastal clean-up, with schools and community members, aimed to contribute to the preservation of the environment and to remove rubbish from the oceans that could be harmful to fish and other marine creatures. About 500 community members, including learners from three different schools, took part in the clean-up. READ MORE

ASIA

As the Chitra turns saline, mangroves appear

BANGLADESH – Environmentalists have consistently warned that climate change would adversely affect the world’s largest mangrove forest and World Heritage Site, the Sundarbans, with the reduction in flow of fresh water, and increase in salinity. In reality, salinisation of the freshwater river Chitra – adjacent to the Sundarbans – started a couple of decades ago. Now, new mangrove forests are springing up, replacing other vegetation and spelling the end of an ecosystem that was heavy with sweet water vegetation and fish. The newly emerged mangrove forest stretches across three and half kilometres, in the villages of Goalbari, Putia and Gurguria in Begerhat district. “The Chitra has always been a freshwater river [but] since our youth, we have seen Sundari, Keora, Golpata, Ura and other trees spreading along two sides of the river,” Tauhidul Islam, a former chairman of Mulghor, told thethirdpole.net, adding that the trees grow in the saline waters of the Sundarbans. READ MORE

Save mangrove forests from destruction

INDIA – Officials of the Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) have cautioned the government over destruction of forest land, particularly the mangrove forests, along the coastal mandals in Krishna district. The V&E teams, which visited the seabed villages, were worried over the poor implementation of the AP Forest Act 1967 and Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. They submitted a report to the government recently on the need for a ‘Mangrove Restoration Project’ to protect the vegetation. Researchers say the mangrove forests will act as shields and protect the habitations from cyclones and sea erosion. The stilt roots of the plantations are the nurseries for many marine species, animals and birds, the environmentalists said. The V&E Department asked the government to take measures to protect the forests located in Kruthivennu, Machilipatnam, Nagayalanka and Avanigadda mandals. They suggested for a detailed survey of the mangrove forests to protect them. READ MORE

President Abdulla Yameen: Stop Destruction of Kulhudhuffushi Mangrove 

Kulhudhuffushi Mangrove is the largest black mangrove forest in the Maldives. It hosts 8 species of true mangrove plants, 42 associated plant species and supports the entire ecosystem of the island.  Maldives is extremely vulnerable to climate change. We receive millions of dollars each year for climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. Just this year we received USD 23 million from the Green Climate Fund. It is hypocritical to actively destroy our most critical ecosystems while taking this money. As the chair of Alliance Of Small Island States (AOSIS) and our obligations under international environmental conventions, we must show leadership in taking action against climate change. The Environmental Impact Assessment done for the project itself states that “the positive impacts might not outweigh the negative impacts associated with the project”. We ask you to therefore reconsider the development of the airport by reclaiming the mangrove of Kulhudhuffushi and causing irreversible damage to island ecosystem. READ MORE

Soon, take a walk through mangroves

INDIA – In what would be a first of its kind initiative in Maharashtra, the State Mangrove Cell is planning to build a 2.8-kilometre boardwalk inside mangroves, which will be laid in a manner to resemble a flamingo. Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (APCCF), Mangrove Cell, N Vasudevan said that the boardwalk will be part of the Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Centre (CMCB) at Airoli, located within the 1,690 hectares of Thane Flamingo Sanctuary declared by Maharashtra government on August 6, 2015. Vasudevan informed that the boardwalk will lead into four different paths, while one will provide a view of migratory birds that flock the Thane creek during winter, others will showcase the mangroves, aquatic life as well as insects and reptiles dwelling inside the mangroves. The boardwalks will be made using environment-friendly materials and the path will have to be created ensuring that there is no damage to the mangroves. “A major challenge will be providing supports for the boardwalk, and hence it will take some time. We are hoping that it will be ready by early 2019,” said another senior official from the Mangrove Cell. READ MORE

WHITEPAPER – Mangroves as protection from storm surges in Bangladesh

BANGLADESH – This paper evaluates the protective capacity of mangrove forests against storm surge in seven coastal locations of Bangladesh, where surge heights can range from 1.5 to 9 meters. Estimates confirm varying levels of protection from different species, width, and density of mangrove forests. The findings highlight that mangroves must be used along with built infrastructure such as embankments. However, mangroves in the foreshore of embankments will contribute to savings in maintenance costs by protecting the built infrastructure from breaching and other damages. Mangrove forests can reduce the vulnerability of adjacent coastal lands from storm surges by slowing the flow of water. Although the potential utility of mangroves in disaster risk reduction is increasingly recognized by coastal managers, efficient use of this ecosystem-based protection is often hindered by the scarcity of location-specific information on the protective capacity of mangroves. READ MORE

In the steps of the Olive Ridley, here’s some interesting facts

INDIA – Olive Ridley sea turtles have started arriving offshore for mating. This congregation offers a spectacular sight along Odisha coastline, which fascinates both nature lovers and scientists. Mating happens in the sea itself and the males usually go back to their feeding grounds while the females linger around for almost a month till they are ready to lay their eggs. They then scale the sand slopes to lay eggs in January and February. Odisha coast has the world’s largest known rookery of Olive Ridley sea turtle. Besides Gahirmatha rookery, two other mass nesting beaches are on the mouth of Rushikulya and Devi rivers. Scientific findings have revealed that 50% of the world population of the turtles is endemic to Odisha and 90% of them along the Indian coastline comes to the Odisha coast for nesting. While the state Forest Department is making all efforts to protect these endangered turtles, several NOGs are also working in non-protected areas to ensure safe return of the hatchlings to the waters. READ MORE

AMERICAS

Mangrovealliance.org launches Mangrove Knowledge Hub

USA – Developing this Mangrove Knowledge Hub delivers on a shared vision of the Global Mangrove Alliance and BMZ’s Save Our Mangroves Now! effort. We set out to create a clearinghouse for information that is accessible to anyone via an easy-to-navigate website. Information is critical if we’re to collectively increase the world’s mangrove cover at a scale that really matters for people and the planet. The Hub has general education content on mangroves as well as the details of projects making an impact around the world. We are also collecting and posting the types of resources that help communities, governments, policy-makers, the private sector and non-governmental organizations take action and support proven approaches that restore and protect mangroves. And we’re just getting started. Access to knowledge enhances collaboration and coordination among those on the front lines of protecting and restoring mangrove forests. The Mangrove Knowledge Hub will continue to grow and expand in ways that create efficiencies to help create change. READ MORE

EUROPE

From the Everglades to Kilimanjaro, climate change is destroying world wonders

SWITZERLAND – From the Everglades in the US to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, climate change is destroying the many of the greatest wonders of the natural world. A new report on Monday from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reveals that the number of natural world heritage sites being damaged and at risk from global warming has almost doubled to 62 in the past three years. Those at high risk include iconic places from the Galapagos Islands to the central Amazon and less well known but equally vibrant and unique sites such as the karst caves of Hungary and Slovakia and the monarch butterfly reserves in Mexico. Coral reefs are particularly badly affected by rising ocean temperatures, from the Seychelles to Belize, where the northern hemisphere’s biggest reef is situated. Global heating is also causing mountain glaciers to rapidly shrink, from Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch – home to the largest Alpine glacier. Other ecosystems being damaged are wetlands, such as the Everglades, where sea level is rising as the ocean warms and salt water is intruding. In the Sundarbans mangrove forest on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal, two islands have already been submerged and a dozen more are threatened. Fiercer storms are also increasing the risk of devastation. READ MORE

GLOBAL

WHITEPAPER – Global significance of seagrass fishery activity
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/faf.12259/asset/image_n/faf12259-fig-0001.png?v=1&t=jaeshz4m&s=f9caa588f8ffd75b056545c418a0b95d502b3b2d
GLOBAL – Seagrass meadows support fisheries through provision of nursery areas and trophic subsidies to adjacent habitats. As shallow coastal habitats, they also provide key fishing grounds; however, the nature and extent of such exploitation are poorly understood. These productive meadows are being degraded globally at rapid rates. For degradation to cease, there needs to be better appreciation for the value of these habitats in supporting global fisheries. Here, we provide the first global scale study demonstrating the extent, importance and nature of fisheries exploitation of seagrass meadows. Due to a paucity of available data, the study used a global expert survey to demonstrate the widespread significance of seagrass-based fishing activity. Our study finds that seagrass-based fisheries are globally important and present virtually wherever seagrass exists, supporting subsistence, commercial and recreational activity. A wide range of fishing methods and gear is used reflecting the spatial distribution patterns of seagrass meadows, and their depth ranges from intertidal (accessible by foot) to relatively deep water (where commercial trawls can operate). Seagrass meadows are multispecies fishing grounds targeted by fishers for any fish or invertebrate species that can be eaten, sold or used as bait. In the coastal communities of developing countries, the importance of the nearshore seagrass fishery for livelihoods and well-being is irrefutable. READ MORE

 

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