MAP News Issue 349 - October 11, 2014

Partnering with mangrove forest communities, grassroots NGOs, researchers and local governments to conserve and restore mangrove forests and related coastal ecosystems, while promoting community-based, sustainable management of coastal resources.
The MAP News 349th Edition                                October 11, 2014
Action Alerts: FREE MAP Mangrove e-cards CLICK HERE MAP’s e-Cards offer you a unique way to spread the work about MAP’s good works, while sharing beautiful photographs of the mangroves Mexican Everglades Threatened A great threat looms over EVERGLADES NATIONAL largest mangrove area in the Mexican Pacific due to the interest of building the project: Canal Centenary and hydroelectric Las Cruces, in the state of Nayarit. Please spread this open letter to the President of the Mexican United States where we request the cancellation of the project. READ MORE EN ESPANOL Information sheds clear light on shrimp-mangrove connection SEE DETAILS MANGROVE/SHRIMP CBEMR work on Klang Island, Krabi is Finally Underway – MORE INFO CALLING FOR MANGROVE ART SUBMISSIONS! A fun and exciting Art Contest for children 6 to 16 years old. We invite all primary school children from tropical and sub-tropical nations, and whose schools are located near mangroves, to create art telling us “why mangroves are important to my community and me?”. Selected winners will be published in a 2016 calendar to be distributed internationally to raise awareness of mangrove forest ecology.  READ MORE SHARE MAP'S VISION  CLICK HERE to watch short introductory video. Together we can work "at the roots of the sea".  Join us in saving our beautiful country! We hope you have been following the ongoing battle in Bimini, Bahamas. We are in need of your help more than ever Click here   Exclusive Interview with Alfredo Quarto, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Mangrove Action Project - See more    MAP VOLUNTEERS NEEDED IN THAILAND VIEW REQUIREMENTS Order your 2015 Calendar 1-20 calendars, $12 each plus shipping 21-49 calendars, $10 ea plus shipping 50-100 calendars, $8 each plus shipping. Over 100 $7 each plus shipping Save the Sundarbans from Rampal power plant – View Sample Letter to Minister Sign the Petition   Question Your Shrimp- Don't Buy or Sell Imported Tropical Shrimp! Sign the Petition Donate to MAP via Paypal Giving could never be easier It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.   —Mahatma Gandhi Green Planet Fundraising Assists MAP – LEARN MORE MANGROVE ISSUES  View New Videos posted by MAP Asia intern, Delphine. CLICK HERE   The importance of restoring mangroves in an effective, long-term manner. Mangrove video - VIEW Please view our new video for our Question Your Shrimp Consumer/Markets Campaign! It is now on our website under the Question Your Shrimp section heading. WATCH VIDEO Mangrove Restoration in Asia – Watch Short Video   READ A MOSAIC OF LIFE” Peek into the underwater world of mangroves, "womb of the sea." By Liz Cunningham Photos By Wes Matweyew and Liz Cunningham View MAP’s uploaded Videos at MAPmangrover’sChannel “Education In The Mangroves" can now be seen on the  PhotoPhilanthropy website here! Marvellous Mangroves – A Curriculum-Based Teachers Guide. By Martin A. Keeley, Education Director, Mangrove Action Project Read this 10 page history of the development of MAP’s educational curriculum VIEW DOCUMENT FOR MORE ON MAPs AWARD WINNING CHINA MANGROVE CURRICULUM VISIT THESE SIGHTS SLIDE SHOW     VIMEO SHOW Education In The Mangroves Six minute video features discussion of Mangrove Action Project’s Mangrove Curriculum VIEW THE VIDEO   Article in Canada's Green Teacher Magazine - Read More   "Question Your Shrimp" Campaign Learn more about the affects of the shrimp industry on mangroves by visiting our blog Editor’s Note: Mangrove Action Project’s Executive Director, Alfredo Quarto was interviewed about shrimp by Green Acre Radio’s Martha Baskin LISTEN TO INTERVIEW Join MAP on Facebook Sign the Consumer's Pledge to avoid imported shrimp Not yet a MAP News subscriber? Click here to subscribe. Mangrove Action Project Note to Our Readers: We strive to keep active links in our newsletter. However, due to circumstances beyond our control, occasionally links to stories may become broken. If you find a link to a story is not functioning, please cut and paste the headline into your browser search bar. In most cases you should be able to locate the original story. Help Mangrove Action Project through your recycled E-Waste.  List of Accepted E-waste Items: Injet Cartidges, Cell Phones, Pagers, GPS, Radar Detectors, Mobile Hot Spots, Calculators, eBook Readers, iPods/MP3 players, Digital/Video Cameras/Camcorders, PDAs, iPads/Tablets/Laptops, Video Game Consoles, Handheld Video Games Visit the Mangrove Action Project recycle website Click on the recycle button then click on the Download Shipping Label, and follow the instructions.	FEATURED STORY UN report warns of ‘devastating’ effects from ongoing destruction of mangrove forests The world is losing its mangroves at a faster rate than global deforestation, the United Nations revealed today, adding that the destruction of the coastal habitats was costing billions in economic damages and impacting millions of lives. In a new report launched today at the 16th Global Meeting of the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans, held in Athens, Greece, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) warned that the deforestation of the planet’s mangroves was exceeding average global forest loss by a rate of three to five times, resulting in economic damages of up to $42 billion annually and exposing ecosystems and coastal habitats to an increased risk of devastation from climate change. “The escalating destruction and degradation of mangroves – driven by land conversion for aquaculture and agriculture, coastal development, and pollution – is occurring at an alarming rate, with over a quarter of the earth’s original mangrove cover now lost,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. “This has potentially devastating effects on biodiversity, food security and the livelihoods of some of the most marginalized coastal communities in developing countries, where more than 90 per cent of the world’s mangroves are found,” he added. READ MORE   AFRICA   Study demonstrates value of mangroves for Liberia LIBERIA – The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study for Liberia should focus on revealing the economic and cultural benefits gained from conservation or restoration of wetlands in five study sites along the coast of Liberia. This was the recommendation of 18 participants attending the TEEB Scoping Workshop for Liberia held in the country’s capital Monrovia from 10 to 11 June 2014, to identify policy questions that the TEEB country study would inform. Nearly 58% of the population of Liberia lives within 40 miles of the coast, dotted with mangroves, forests and reeds that extend up to 25 miles inland. Local communities in particular depend on mangroves for fish, wood for fuel and as a buffer against coastal flooding. Unfortunately mangroves suffer from continual degradation mainly caused by urbanization and agricultural expansion, fuel wood harvesting, mining, as well as limited institutional presence and capacity to ensure their protection. “Very little of the national budget is allocated to conservation efforts in Liberia and this is because policy makers know very little about conservation and sustainable use of natural resources”, said J.S.Datuama Cammue, Official of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  READ MORE   ASIA   “Shrimp rush” damages protective forests in central coastal provinces VIETNAM - The movement to develop shrimp hatcheries has become stronger than ever in the coastal communes of Ha Tinh Province. Dozens of hectares of casuarinas forest in coastal areas have been chopped down to clear land for the so-called “clean shrimp hatchery on sand”. When reporters visited Ky Phuong Commune of Ky Anh District, they saw machines leveling the ground to make room for shrimp ponds next to the coast. Two months ago, the trees in the land area, which was a casuarinas forest, were felled. Many local residents gathered there trying to protect the trees from being cut. However, they were reportedly moved away by “competent agencies’ officers” to create favorable conditions for deforestation. A man in Ba Dong Hamlet said he was shocked that the local authorities agreed to the deforestation. “The forest was planted by our fathers and grandfathers many years ago. It has prevented damage from sand and storms and protected the villages. In the past, we would be heavily punished even if we cut one tree branch,” he said. READ MORE   Finding a level playing field for mangroves INDONESIA – To prepare for a rise in sea level, you should surely first know where sea level is. The dense mangrove forests around many of Asia’s coasts appear flat, but there is an invisible gradient hidden in them. As you move landward from the sea, the amount of salt dissolved in the water decreases. The waters become less saline and more brackish, as seawater increasingly mixes with fresh water from rivers and other inland sources. Change the sea level by even centimeters, and that hidden gradient of salinity will be immensely altered. Mangrove plants are rooted in this water. They are highly adapted to the salinity and frequency of inundation by sea water from tides. There are dozens of species with various coping mechanisms. If sea levels rise, to do anything meaningful to tackle the results, we need to know in some detail where sea level actually is, or was. We also need to know how mangroves play their roles, and react to tides and moving sediments. It may not be at all obvious. READ MORE   AMERICAS   Mangrove Action Project Receives Disney Conservation Grant USA - Mangrove Action Project (MAP) has been awarded a $24,300.00 grant from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF). The conservation grant recognizes Mangrove Action Project’s efforts to educate young people throughout the world on the vital importance of mangrove wetlands, in this instance the focus is on introducing MAP’s “Marvellous Mangroves” curriculum to Bangladeshi schools. “Bangladesh is the twelfth country throughout the world where MAP has begun the process of translating, adapting, researching and introducing “Marvellous Mangroves” – a 300-page curriculum linked teaching resource guide,” said MAP Global Education Director Martin Keeley. “The Disney grant will enable us to complete this exciting program for the home of and inspire local people to protect the magnificent Sundarbans mangrove forest.” In the past twelve years, thousands of teachers and over 250,000 students in eleven countries worldwide have learned through exciting hands-on science the wonders of tropical mangrove wetlands through the Mangrove Action Project. The expansion and adaptation of MAP’s innovative education program into Bangladesh will include recent additions focusing on restoration, ecotourism and research. The Marvelous Mangroves Teachers' Resource Guide will become the core of community understanding of mangrove ecology.  READ MORE   Mangrove Habitats Protect Corals From Climate Change US VIRGIN ISLANDS - Certain types of corals, invertebrates of the sea that have been on Earth for millions of years, appear to have found a way to survive some of their most destructive threats by attaching to and growing under mangrove roots. Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and Eckerd College recently published research on a newly discovered refuge for reef-building corals in mangrove habitats of the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than 30 species of reef corals were found growing in Hurricane Hole, a mangrove habitat within the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument in St. John. Corals are animals that grow in colonies, forming reefs over time as old corals die and young corals grow upon the calcium carbonate or limestone skeletons of the old corals. Coral reefs make up some of the most biologically diverse habitats on Earth, and face many threats such as coastal pollution, dredging and disease. However, some of their most widespread threats involve warming ocean temperatures, solar radiation and increased ocean acidification. READ MORE   Mangrove proposal among 2014 Climate CoLab Winners USA - Climate CoLab, a project of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Collective Intelligence (CCI), released 34 winning proposals that outline effective actions to combat climate change (editor - among the winners was a proposal to create community mangrove nurseries). “What makes these proposals unusual is that they weren’t hashed out in oak paneled conference rooms at elite international meetings,” says MIT Professor Thomas Malone, Director of CCI and Principal Investigator for the Climate CoLab. “These proposals were conceived and developed by people from many different backgrounds from all over the world and then selected as sound ideas by respected science and policy experts.” The Climate CoLab, an online platform designed to allow anyone in the world to submit plans for how to respond to climate change, now has more than 32,000 members from over 120 countries. In addition to contributing ideas, community members can also comment on, support and join teams working on proposals to help develop them further. READ MORE EUROPE   Destruction of Carbon-Rich Mangroves Costs up to US$42 billion Annually NETHERLANDS - Mangroves are being destroyed at a rate 3 - 5 times greater than the average rates of forest loss, costing billions in economic damages and denying millions of people the ecosystem services they need to survive, according to a new report launched today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Importance of Mangroves: A Call to Action launched at the 16th Global Meeting of the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans, describes how emissions resulting from mangrove losses make up nearly one-fifth of global emissions from deforestation, resulting in economic damages of some US$6 - 42 billion annually. Mangroves are also threatened by climate change, which could result in the loss of a further 10 - 15 per cent of mangroves by 2100. Found in 123 countries and covering 152,000 square kilometers, over 100 million people around the world live within 10 kilometres of large mangrove forests, benefiting from a variety of goods and services such as fisheries and forest products, clean water and protection against erosion and extreme weather events. READ MORE LAST WORD(S)   Dear adventurers,   I'd like to invite you to join me in launching a creative exploration of our ancient evolutionary origins. By climbing through the branches of a pristine tropical forest, we get an incredible workout, and a way to re-experience what our own primate ancestors felt as they climbed through the trees millions of years ago.   This adventure will take place in a living jungle gym: the mangrove forests on the west coast of Mexico, this December 8th-18th (dates of participation are flexible). We'll be camping on a beautiful beach with a restaurant nearby. I did this trip last year and it was fantastic. I'm asking participants to cover their own costs, but I'm not charging any money for guiding this trip.   Watch my 2-minute video invitation at http://bit.ly/1qKFjq6, and respond to me at mangroving@gmail.com to learn more and reserve your spot! Please feel free to forward this email to absolutely anyone you think might be interested. You can learn more details about the project at www.mangroving.com.   Thank you! Jonathan View Facebook profile BACK TO TOP Not yet a subscriber? Click here to subscribe. Please cut and paste these news alerts/ action alerts on to your own lists and contacts. Help us spread the word and further generate letters of concern, as this can make a big difference in helping to halt a wrongdoing or encourage correct action.
Mangrove Action Project