|
The MAP News
512th Edition Jan. 16, 2021 |
|
|
2020 Hurricanes Damage Vulnerable Mangroves  GLOBAL - Central America experienced one of its most intense hurricane seasons in 2020. Two major hurricanes and a handful of other late-blooming storms took many lives, displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and caused billions of dollars in economic losses. The storms also left severe scars on the landscape, particularly in some mangrove ecosystems. “Extreme events in the Caribbean are not new, but we are seeing more of them in recent years,” said Rosa Roman-Cuesta, a tropical forest ecologist at Wageningen University (The Netherlands). “We are trying to understand how coastal systems are responding to these events. That’s why studying the effect of the 2020 mega-hurricane season is important.” Roman-Cuesta said the type of hurricane damage has evolved over the years. In years past, she explained, hurricane winds typically caused most of the mangrove damage by uprooting trees, defoliating entire areas, and blocking drainage to the ocean. But in recent years, storms have been rapidly intensifying and stalling more often. The result is extreme precipitation and flooding that affects oxygen concentrations in soils and hinders photosynthesis for mangroves. Large storm surges also physically damage the trees. READ MORE GLOBAL World Wetalnds Day is Feb 2, 2021  “Wetlands and water”, the theme for WWD 2021, shines a spotlight on wetlands as a source of freshwater and encourages actions to restore them and stop their loss. We are facing a growing freshwater crisis that threatens people and our planet. We use more freshwater than nature can replenish, and we are destroying the ecosystem that water and all life depend on most – Wetlands. The 2021 campaign highlights the contribution of wetlands to the quantity and quality of freshwater on our planet. Water and wetlands are connected in an inseparable co-existence that is vital to life, our wellbeing and the health of our planet. READ MORE New science: restoring forests, coastal protection and more  GLOBAL - With extinction rates accelerating around the world, a recent study identified areas where forest restoration could have the most profound impacts on protecting threatened species. Buffeted by human activities that destroy habitats and degrade ecosystems, more than 35,000 species are classified by as “threatened” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Roughly 80 percent of threatened amphibian, bird and mammal species live in forests around the world. “The world’s wildlife is in crisis, biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate,” said Conservation International scientist Neil Cox, a co-author on the study. “As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, our relationship with nature has significant consequences for our ecosystems, economies and well-being. Pinpointing where forest restoration provides the greatest conservation gains for threatened species can help guide our efforts over the next decade.” The study’s authors found that tropical forests — particularly in the Northern Andes Mountains, Central America, the Philippines, Brazil, the Caribbean Islands and eastern central Australia — are priorities for restoring wildlife habitat. READ MORE AMERICAS Coastal Watch launches new mangrove initiative  USA - Coastal Watch reported that mangroves are a vital source of energy, provide nursery habitats for juvenile fish, nesting habitat for wading birds, stabilize shorelines by reducing erosion and are a buffer against storm damage. Many people are familiar with these iconic trees, but few may understand how tightly linked they are to the marine ecosystem in Southwest Florida. This year, Coastal Watch is embarking on a new initiative to teach the value of mangroves on the islands through community involvement. Through the educational initiative, “Back to Our Roots,” it is inviting residents to “adopt” their own mangrove to nurture so it can be planted at a mangrove restoration site on Sanibel or Captiva. READ MORE ASIA Indonesia renews peat restoration bid to include mangroves, but hurdles abound  INDONESIA - An Indonesian government initiative that fell short of its goal to rehabilitate degraded peat forests will get another chance to do so — plus the added task of rehabilitating mangrove habitats. Indonesian President Joko Widodo extended the mandate of the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) through to 2024, after it expired at the end of 2020. He had established the agency in 2016 in the wake of widespread peatland fires the previous year, and tasked it with restoring more than 2.6 million hectares (6.4 million acres) of degraded peatlands — an area nearly three times the size of Puerto Rico — to prevent future fires. The 2.6 million hectares target consists of 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) of peat outside concessions and 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) inside concessions. By the end of 2020, however, the BRG had managed to restore 835,288 hectares (2.06 million acres) of peatland outside concession areas, or 94% of its target. READ MORE Tigers stalk as storms, poverty force Indians deep into mangrove forests  INDIA - On a warm November afternoon, Parul Haldar balanced precariously on the bow of a small wooden dinghy, pulling in a long net flecked with fish from the swirling brown river.Just behind her loomed the dense forest of the Sundarbans, where some 10,000 square km of tidal mangroves straddle India’s northeastern coastline and western Bangladesh and open into the Bay of Bengal. Four years ago, her husband disappeared on a fishing trip deep inside the forest. Two fishermen with him saw his body being dragged into the undergrowth - one of a rising number of humans killed by tigers as they venture into the wild. That Haldar, a single mother of four, is taking such risks is testament to growing economic and ecological pressures on more than 14 million people living on the Indian and Bangladeshi sides of the low-lying Sundarbans. They have led to a reduced dependence on agriculture, a rising number of migrant workers and, for those like Haldar who can’t leave the delta to work elsewhere, a reliance on the forests and rivers to survive. READ MORE Climate change caused mangrove collapse in Oman 6,000 years ago  OMAN - Most of the mangrove forests on the coasts of Oman disappeared about 6,000 years ago. Until now, the reason for this was not entirely clear. A current study of the University of Bonn (Germany) now sheds light on this: It indicates that the collapse of coastal ecosystems was caused by climatic changes. In contrast, falling sea level or overuse by humans are not likely to be the reasons. The speed of the mangrove extinction was dramatic: Many of the stocks were irreversibly lost within a few decades. The results are published in the journal Quaternary Research. Fossil finds prove that there used to be many mangrove lagoons on the coast of Oman. However, some 6,000 years ago these suddenly largely vanished - the reasons for this were previously disputed. Over the past few years, Decker traveled several times to the easternmost country of the Arabian Peninsula to pursue this question for her doctoral thesis. With the support of her doctoral supervisor Prof. Gösta Hoffmann, she compiled numerous geochemical, sedimentological and archaeological findings into an overall picture. "From our point of view, everything suggests that the collapse of these ecosystems has climatic reasons," she says. READ MORE New mangrove forest mapping tool puts conservation in reach of coastal communities  MYANMAR - Despite their obvious value, aquaculture, agriculture, urban development and unmanaged harvest are converting mangrove ecosystems across much of the tropics. Approximately 35 per cent of global mangrove cover was lost in the 1980s and ‘90s. While the rate of loss slowed in the past two decades — to an estimated four per cent between 1996 and 2016 — many regions remain hotspots for mangrove loss, including Myanmar. My colleagues and I use satellite imagery and field measurements to study mangrove ecosystems in several countries. We’ve developed an accessible and intuitive tool that provides coastal managers with the accurate, reliable, up-to-date and locally relevant information they need for effective community-based conservation of these critical blue (marine) forests. Until now, information from satellite imagery on mangrove extent and change was either global in coverage and not intended for the smaller areas typically covered by community-based conservation efforts, or — if focused on a local scale — required substantial and costly technical expertise. READ MORE Alarm raised over systematic destruction of mangroves in Maharashtra  INDIA - Activists allege that they have made several complaints to all the concerned authorities, who sadly appear to be unconcerned. Environmentalists have raised concerns over the massive destruction of mangroves at Ulwe and Kharghar in Raigad district and Vashi in Thane district of Maharashtra. They have appealed to the Bombay high court appointed mangrove protection and conservation committee to intervene before the sea forests vanish. The development comes before the mangroves’ land gets transferred to the forest department. Navi Mumbai based environment protection organisation NatConnect Foundation alleged that the attempt to destroy the mangroves’ land appears to be systemic. “This appears to be a methodical, systematic conspiracy by the land grabbers to destroy the mangroves, dry up the area before the forest department steps in,” said B N Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation. READ MORE More mangroves planted at Iloilo River  PHILIPPINES - EMPLOYEES and agency personnel of SM City Iloilo planted the first batch of mangroves at riverbank near Esplanade 9 on January 13. Several batches of staff will be deployed on specific days to complete the target of 2,000 mangroves at the site. Mayor Jerry Treñas thanked partners for helping implement initiatives for environmental preservation. The activity was part of the massive mangrove planting activities of City Government, set to spruce up banks of Iloilo River particularly along new sections of Esplanades. The mall, headed by SM Regional Operations Manager for Visayas 3 Girlie Liboon, responded to the call of collective efforts in conserving the waterway at the heart of the city. READ MORE OCEANA Rising sea levels transform coastal region around Kakadu National Park  AUSTRALIA - Floodplains around Australia's largest national park are undergoing a visible transformation as rising sea levels push saltwater further from the coast into its freshwater river systems. Climate change is understood to be driving the phenomenon along the coastal region around Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, which will likely have dramatic consequences in the coming century. If emissions continue to rise, modelling by the CSIRO from 2017 shows almost half of Kakadu's freshwater wetlands could be inundated with saltwater within 50 years, spelling out drastic repercussions for biodiversity. Due to a process that began decades ago, evidence of saltwater inundation is plain to see in areas of the park and beyond, where mangroves — shrubs that thrives in brackish water — have taken over as far as the eye can see. READ MORE Call for urgent action to prevent further dieback of Adelaide's St Kilda mangroves  AUSTRALIA - About 10 hectares of mangrove forest adjacent to the St Kilda Mangrove Trail died within two months last year, along with 35 hectares of salt marsh, and the gardens of about half a dozen houses. Nearby brine ponds, mined for salt by company Buckland Dry Creek, are believed to be leaking hypersaline water into the mangrove ecosystem — threatening not only their existence, but that of several fish and migratory bird species. Environmental consultant Peri Coleman is calling for excess brine in the ponds to be pumped out immediately before it solidified and could not be moved. Ms Coleman said she believed the dieback was caused by the refilling of gypsum ponds with hypersaline brine at the nearby Dry Creek salt field, about 20 kilometres north of Adelaide's CBD. She said the ponds had been empty since 2014, causing their gypsum lining to dry out and crack. "Once the brine was filled back up into those ponds, it immediately started to seep out and took the acid and the hypersaline brine with it into the mangroves and salt marsh area," she said. READ MORE FEATURED SITE This decade, we can rewrite the future.  VIEW SITE Like this newsletter?
|
2021
|
|
Mangrove Action Project Click here to view past newsletters
|
|
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.
Saturday, January 16, 2021
MAP News Issue #512 - Jan 15, 2021
Saturday, January 2, 2021
MAP News Issue #511 - Jan 2, 2021
|
The MAP News
511th Edition Jan. 02, 2021 |
|
|
Rangers take on Community-based projects  CAYMAN ISLANDS - The Mangrove Rangers moved into full action this fall with a variety of programs this fall. In addition to a video series for teachers entitled ‘Creature Features’ focusing on the inhabitants and dependents of Grand Cayman’s threatened Central Mangrove ecosystem, the Rangers implemented several projects. Central to these was the problem of illegal cement dumping which has been a perennial problem in Grand Cayman. Caught in the act, National Concrete cleaned up the dump and is being prosecuted under the Litter Law. Following this violation, the Rangers have begun a survey of similar mangrove concrete dumps around the island and will post details of these online. In December Ranger Dinara took part in the first ever regional Ocean Heroes bootcamp, where she lead Ocean Heroes as a Squad Leader. She gave a presentation about the role of mangroves in the Coastal Lagoon Ecosystem and how you can help to protect mangroves from development through data and public awareness. READ MORE GLOBAL Working With Nature Is The Best Way To Tackle The Impacts Of Climate Change  GLOBAL - Nature-based solutions to tackling climate change will be a big talking point in 2021, as countries, companies and investors step up their efforts to cut carbon. But few people know what they are. Essentially, they are alternatives to traditional ‘gray’ infrastructure such as dams, seawalls and reservoirs that involve a lot of concrete and are often only temporary fixes for problems such as flooding, water scarcity and quality, or soil erosion. More formally, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says nature-based solutions are “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits”. Nature-based solutions include conserving coral reefs and restoring mangrove belts to help limit coastal flooding and sea level rise. They also provide breeding grounds for marine biodiversity and 80% of global fish populations depend on healthy mangrove ecosystems. But they are often under-appreciated, a new report explains. READ MORE AMERICAS ‘Protectors Of The Coast’: What Mangroves' Northward March Means For Northeast Florida  USA - Walking along a wooden path winding through Nease Beachfront Park in St. Augustine, Danny Lippi pointed to coastal trees sprouting from the shrubbery around him. The exotic species were brought here by warming temperatures — bringing business opportunities for the local arborist. “All of these are mangroves,” Lippi said, surrounded by the young perennial plants, blooming with hues of green and golden yellows. “You can actually see that line where the upland vegetation just stops.” Demand for Lippi’s mangrove trimming service has been growing as the trees have been accumulating northward, starting to block coastal views from Ormond Beach to Palm Coast. Their northernmost limit in the U.S. sits about 70 miles from St. Augustine on Amelia Island, and it continues to shift. Ranges of mangroves have naturally waxed and waned over the years, influenced by the weather, but with climate change has come a crucial reduction in crop- and tree-killing freeze events. The last freeze strong enough to wipe out mangroves took place in 1989. This decline in the number of frosts, coupled with intensifying storms spreading seed-like propagules, is causing the trees to push poleward. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center research shows mangrove coverage has doubled along Northeast Florida’s coast since 1984. READ MORE Oil Spills in Venezuela Offer Bleak Vision Of What Lies Ahead  VENEZUELA - Tropical rains have washed away most outward traces of the oil spill that ravaged Rio Seco this fall. But the fishing village in the shadow of Venezuela’s main refining hub bears the scars of deeper contamination. Boats with oil-stained hulls must now travel further out into the Caribbean to make a catch. Crude has soaked the roots of nearby mangroves, leaving shrimp grounds barren. Seeing no future, dozens of fishermen and their families have fled their homes; those who are left loiter in the village, waiting for Petroleos de Venezuela, the state oil company known as PDVSA, to compensate for lost boats, equipment and sales. Broke and subject to international sanctions, President Nicolas Maduro’s government is squeezing what it can from Venezuela’s collapsing oil industry, unleashing an environmental disaster in one of Earth’s most ecologically diverse nations. As the country’s vast resources become a toxic burden, Venezuela offers a bleak vision of the end of oil in a founding OPEC member. READ MORE ASIA New tree-spider crab species with purple patches described from Kerala’s mangroves  INDIA - In a serendipitous discovery, researchers have described a tiny, cryptic species of tree-spider crab found climbing the mangrove trees of Kasargod district in the southern state of Kerala. Covered in dark purple patches, the shell of the crab is smaller than an adult thumbnail. The crustacean features long walking legs, large eyes and a unique structure of its male genital appendages. Belonging to the newly-formed genus called Leptarma, the crab is named Leptarma biju after the head of the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries at the University of Kerala, A. Biju Kumar, who has carried out extensive work on aquatic organisms including crustaceans in Kerala over the past three decades. He has to his credit 34 new species, which include fishes, crabs and helminths (worms). The crab is the first species of this genus to be reported from India. READ MORE How Did Widespread Mangrove-Chopping Go Unseen?  INDIA - The Versova police have registered two FIRs against seven people allegedly involved in the chopping of mangroves and constructing around 130 huts and temples and dumping debris at Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Nagar at Four Bungalows, Andheri West. All of them are locals. An activist also informed the Forest Department about the mangrove-chopping and after an investigation, the tehsildar registered the case. Fighting to save mangroves is a staple and enervating task for green warriors who need to be in a state of constant, high alert when it comes to this activity. Their work, unfortunately, does not stop at that. Then, there is the entire onerous responsibility of seeing action taken, at times this too is a long and sapping endeavour after which, activists have to ensure that there is no further destruction. It was reassuring to see in this newspaper's report that the police said the accused are going to be arrested soon. READ MORE Editors note – although the shrimp industry showed declines, Americans increased their consumption by nearly 3.5 million baht as compared to 2019. Watch QUESTION YOUR SHRIMP Shrimp exports expected to decline 14%  THAILAND - Thai shrimp exports are expected to fall 14% this year to only 150,000 tonnes, with values down 21% to about 44 billion baht, attributed mostly to the pandemic and the strong baht. Somsak Paneetatyasai, president of the Thai Shrimp Association, said a second wave of outbreaks in many countries has weakened demand for shrimp during the Christmas and New Year period. The association forecast in December last year Thai shrimp exports would recover to a 20% increase this year, in line with increased production. According to Mr Somsak, Thailand expects lower production this year of only 270,000 tonnes, down 7% from 290,000 tonnes in 2019, attributed to shrimp diseases and weak demand during the pandemic. The world's overall shrimp production is also expected to drop by 3% to 3.32 million tonnes. READ MORE Illegal prawn farms face demolition in Kendrapara  INDIA - In a major drive against illegal aquaculture, prawn farms spread over a massive 130 acre of forest land in two seaside villages of Mahakalapada block have been demolished by Forest Department for violation of coastal regulation zone norms as well as court directives. The unlawful prawn farms were located in Badatubi and Sanatubi villages under Batighar gram panchayat where Forest sleuths carried out the operation over the last four days. “All the shrimp farms in the two villages were illegal as they violated Coastal Regulation Zone norms and rulings of the Supreme Court and Orissa High Court,” forest range officer of Mahakalapada, Sahaji Charana Biswal said. The demolition was carried out under police protection. The Forest department plans to go for plantation on the dismantled prawn farms to convert the area into a mangrove forest. Prawn farm owners release effluent from gherries into nearby rivers and ponds polluting surface as well as groundwater sources used by the villages. These farms also pose a direct threat to mangrove forests. READ MORE Dongzhaigang wetland ecological rehabilitation project accomplished  CHINA - A kingfisher perches on a mangrove tree at Sanjiang mangrove wetland park in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, on Dec. 23, 2020. The Dongzhaigang wetland ecological rehabilitation project was accomplished recently, according to the Dongzhaigang National Nature Reserve Authority in Haikou. Kicked off on March 18, 2019, the project aimed to effectively rehabilitate the ecological systems including mangrove forests along the seashore of Dongzhaigang so that migrant birds in the country may find better habitats in winter time. VIEW PHOTOS Indonesia creates expert wetlands team to revitalize development goal efforts  INDONESIA - A Strategic Coordination Team for Wetlands Management created by Indonesia’s Ministry of National Planning or National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) in October aims to streamline the country’s efforts to meet its international Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and prioritize low-carbon development. Among a broad range of duties, the team will be responsible for planning, synchronizing policies, data and information as well as the implementation of monitoring, evaluation and reporting, the government stated in a decree. Indonesia, the country with the third largest area of peatlands after Canada and Russia, is also home to the most tropical peatlands in the world, which store around 60 billion tons of carbon. In addition, the archipelago features a vast number of mangroves, which store more than 3 billion tons of carbon — the most found on any continent. READ MORE Couple highlight use of natural mangrove dye  MALAYSIA - A couple of graphic designers are using their handmade crafts, made with natural mangrove dye, to shed light on the beauty of the coastal trees. Jo Wong Seok Wei, 47, and her husband Lim Beng Chee, 53, started exploring the use of natural dye from mangrove barks about two years ago and have since produced their own line of natural fashion and lifestyle products. “As Malaysians, we have always wanted to incorporate something that is close to our home into our crafts. With Tanjung Piai and Pulau Kukup here getting recognised as Ramsar sites or Wetlands of International Importance, it was a natural choice for us to turn to mangrove trees as the source of our dye. While researching mangrove trees, we learnt that the trees, with their clustered roots, are natural barriers to break strong waves before they hit the shore. They are also shrinking due to the threats of development and the large amounts of plastics and rubbish getting trapped in their roots. So our aim is to highlight this problem and also provide an alternative product for people to use, rather than using single-use plastics and following fast fashion, which leads to wastage, ” said Beng Chee in an interview. READ MORE Fishpond inventory for mangroves needed  PHILIPPINES - Experts called on the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to conduct a full inventory of fishponds in Manila Bay that can be used for the reversion and rehabilitation of mangroves, whose number has been declining for decades. During the “Reverting Abandoned, Underdeveloped, Unutilized Fishponds into Mangroves” webinar, Wilfredo Yap, executive director of the Santeh Aquaculture Science and Technology Foundation, said “priority should be given to update mangrove and fishpond area statistics and harmonize terminologies,” as data currently used by the government was “not in harmony.” “[The] BFAR should make [a] full inventory of fishponds and determine how many have been titled and how many are patently illegal,” he added. According to Rene Rollon, director of University of the Philippines Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology, many mangroves around Manila Bay have been lost over the years. READ MORE EUROPE Mangroves in the battle against land degradation and water scarcity  E.U. - An EU-funded project team received a research grant from an international organisation to apply their bio-inspired desalination solution to farmland in Oman. Birds in flight, termite mounds and burrs – these are just some of the natural phenomena that scientists have looked to for technological inspiration. By imitating nature, they have been able to solve many challenges, providing society with practical applications ranging from aeroplanes and green buildings to Velcro. In a more recent example of biomimicry, researchers supported by the EU-funded HYDROUSA project have used mangroves as their source of inspiration to tackle the problem of land degradation and water scarcity in coastal areas in the Mediterranean. Called Mangrove Still, the mangrove-inspired technology platform was developed by HYDROUSA project partner Planet. According to environmental engineer and Planet co-founder Alessandro Bianciardi, mangrove trees grow in saline water and are the first to colonise an empty coast because they’re able to desalinate water. As they grow, the mangroves create conditions conducive for other species to thrive, and, together with these species, they gradually build an entire ecosystem where none had existed. READ MORE OCEANA Only known habitat of Broome mangrove snake approved for clearing  AUSTRALIA - The approval of the clearance of little more than a hectare of mangroves in Western Australia has put one of the country's rarest snakes at risk of losing its only known habitat. Critics say the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation's (DWER) decision has put the harmless Broome mangrove snake in danger. Little is known about the snake which looks almost identical to other species common in Australia's north. It reaches a maximum length of 40 centimetres and has only been seen by a handful of people. It has only ever been found in the area of mangroves around Broome's old pearling jetty, which is now part of the redevelopment of the town's CBD. READ MORE FEATURED AUDIO Conservation Heroes Welcome to Conservation Heroes, the heroes of this show are the dolphins, bats, otters, mangroves, newts and many others who are protecting our environment right now. This show will look at different laws, guidelines, or policies and will also offer you some top tips to help you protect our planet and even become a conservation hero yourself. Each episode will contain interviews from scientists, academics, lawyers, environmental activists and more. On todays’ show we have Alfredo Quarto, the founder of the Mangrove Action Project to talk to us about his work with wetlands, his love of wildlife and what we can do to support the climate and the environment. LISTEN TO PODCAST Like this newsletter?
|
2021
|
|
Mangrove Action Project Click here to view past newsletters
|
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)