MAP News Issue 425, Sept 16, 2017

The MAP News 425th Edition                                                     September 16, 2017
FEATURE STORY   Communities struggle to save Sabah’s shrinking mangroves MALAYSIA - The district of Pitas in the Malaysian state of Sabah is situated on the 40-kilometer Bengkoka peninsula on the island of Borneo, stretching east into the South China sea. This forested, hilly area slopes down to the coast along the Telaga River, through ancient mangrove forest. But since the 1980s, it has been increasingly opened up by government-sanctioned development projects; more recently, in 2013, mangrove clearance has resumed for the commercial farming of shrimp (also referred to as prawns). This resurgence has brought the company Sunlight Inno Seafood Company Sdn Bhd, which is supported by the government, into conflict with local communities that depend on the mangroves for their livelihoods. In response to mangrove clearance, six indigenous Orang Asli communities in the district have come together to form the “Group of Six” (G6) collective Pitas action committee. It aims to save around 1,000 acres of the remaining mangroves and get this area legally designated under their Native Customary Rights (NCR). Farmer and fisherman Mastupang Bin Somoi, 52, from Kampung Sungai Eloi, is founder and Chairman of the G6 collective. In his gardens he grows vegetables, rice and a few rubber and oil palm trees. He shows me a handful of large shellfish he has gathered from the muddy riverbed at the nearby boat landing. He says the villagers in the area depend on a mix of farming, fishing and collecting non-timber forest products from the mangrove forest for their livelihoods. READ MORE    AFRICA   Moz harbour scheme stuns scientists MOZAMBIQUE - The news that Mozambique plans to go ahead with a $520-million (about R5,2-billion) harbour and industrial free trade development zone on the pristine southern Maputaland coast has been greeted with outrage by environmentalists workig in the area. The planned harbour will scuttle ambitious plans to establish a transfrontier conservation area (TFCA) stretching from St Lucia in KwaZulu-Natal, through the Lubombo area of Swaziland and into the Maputo Elephant Reserve in Mozambique. Not only will an area of pristine coastal and sand forest, wetlands and grasslands be threatened, but one of Africa's most important reef systems, which is almost certainly home to the prehistoric coelacanth, is also under threat. The harbour will be between Ponta Dobela and Ponta Mamoli on the Maputo Elephant Reserve's southern border, about 100km south of the Mozambican capital, Maputo, and will involve breaching the offshore reef and coastal forest, and excavating an area of grassland. READ MORE    Let the Women Harvest the Mangrove. Carbon Policy, and Environmental Injustice SENEGAL - Carbon policy is a fascinating topic in geography and political ecology, because carbon is a new exchangeable good, which links the local to the international arenas through a complex set of instruments, norms, and institutions. In this paper, after explaining my theoretical and conceptual framework rooted in Africanist geography and currents of political ecology, I analyze the responses of local actors (knowledge, practices, logic, and strategies) to environmental policies and consider the effects of new mechanisms, upon local dynamics in Africa. I focus my attention on the impacts of mangrove reforestation policies on women, who harvest shellfish. My research, conducted over 35 years on coastal mangroves in Africa and Madagascar, provides me with examples. Through a long-term approach to the perception of mangroves and the changing modes of policies, I highlight the weight of imperialism and neo-liberalism and analyze types of environmental injustice against mangrove harvesters, particularly the women, who are the most directly concerned by the preservation of their heritage and are rarely recognized as stakeholders in environmental policies that are defined internationally and implemented at national and local levels. They are not informed (or are deliberately kept unware) of new devices such as REDD+. They have lost their rights of access to the reforested mangrove areas. Carbon policy requires comparative and empirical research, giving voice to local actors, especially women, about their perceptions of policies and actions. The approaches in terms of political ecology must be combined with analysis of the bio-ecological and socio-cultural dynamics of the mangrove. READ MORE    ASIA   State will provide villagers employment opportunities that will encourage conservation INDIA - Mumbai: In a bid to save mangroves spread over 30,000 hectares of government and private land, the State government has come up with a plan to create employment opportunities linked to mangroves for the people staying near them. The State Cabinet on Tuesday cleared the Mangrove Protection and Employment Generation Scheme for 2017-18 at a cost of ₹15 crore. The government has selected 50 villages in the coastal districts of Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg under the scheme. A Mangrove Co-Management Committee will run the project, under which businesses such as crab farming, bee-keeping, rice farming, fish farming and tourism will be set up. The businesses can be run through a committee or by an individual. “In case of businesses run by a committee, the government will invest 90% and beneficiaries will have to invest 10%. In the case of individual businesses, 75% will be invested by the government and 25% by the individual,” said an official. While 50 villages have been selected for 2017-18, the scheme will cover 75 villages in 2018-19 and 2019-20. “The idea is to make people’s livelihood dependent on and linked to the mangrove cover. It will mean people will voluntarily come forward to save the mangrove cover. The government believes that people’s participation is important in conservation of mangroves,” said the official. READ MORE    Maharashtra government to use helicopters to drop seed bombs for mangrove plantations INDIA - In a first for the country, helicopters will be used to drop mangrove seeds to restore wetlands and mudflats which are inaccessible by foot in and around Mumbai. Last week, the state mangrove cell submitted a proposal to the state government, seeking permission to carry out a pilot project using 20 tonnes of Avicennia marina (grey mangrove), the most common mangrove species in Mumbai, and Aveicennia officinalis (Indian mangrove) at various areas in the suburbs. While aerial broadcasting of seeds has been done in terrestrial areas, this is the first time it will be tested for restoration of mangrove areas. Mangroves grow quickly and can be a foot tall within a year. They are suited for salt marsh growth and are capable of releasing salt through their leaves if necessary. Mangrove cell officials said the method would be cost-effective, fast and can be repeated instead of entering mangrove patches with seeds only once a year. “We realised that aerial broadcasting for mangroves will be a good idea because the seeds will be spread across different areas instead of being concentrated in one. Since it is marshy land, it will not get washed away, leading to germination,” said N Vasudevan, additional principal chief conservator of forest, state mangrove cell. READ MORE    Kerala has no data on mangroves INDIA - The Forest Department is as vague about the protection of mangroves as it is about the extent of mangrove forests in the state. The Department is not just reluctant to take over private mangrove forests but has no geographical database either. Since 2007 there were plans to take over private mangrove forests but, till now, nothing has happened. Result: a highly fragile ecosystem is in danger of extinction. “Mangroves are salt tolerant plant community found in tropical and sub-tropical inter-tidal regions and are unique ecosystems which provide habitat for various migratory birds and breeding and feeding ground for many aquatic species,” a top Forest Department official said. “These forests have proved to be capable of acting as a protective belt against the tsunami waves and as such require effective conservation and scientific management intervention,” he added. Way back in 2006 there was a move to take over private mangroves under Section 4(1) of Ecologically Fragile Lands Act. The plan was to take over 50 acres each in Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kollam and Kannur districts. But in 2009, the plan was shelved on the grounds that reclaiming mangroves could prompt private owners to destroy mangroves. “Instead, they mooted an incentive for private owners who protected mangroves in lands in their possession. An action plan was also drawn up,” said environment activist and lawyer Harish Vasudevan. “Truth is, till now the scheme has not taken off.” READ MORE    AMERICAS   Why the Everglades Might Never Look the Same After Hurricane Irma USA - As Hurricane Irma rakes the west coast of Florida, all eyes are on the cities and human lives in the storm’s path. But Irma is also hammering the Florida Everglades, and the scientists familiar with this fragile ecosystem are concerned the storm could deliver a devastating blow. “They’re losing out,” said Hal Wanless, a geologist at the University of Miami, when asked what’s been happening to the Everglades’ coastal marshes and mangrove swamps in wake of recent, powerful hurricanes. According to Wanless, a trifecta of urban development, extreme weather, and climate change has eroded the Everglades’ resilience. The system, he said, “is getting set back, it’s having trouble keeping up.” A sixty-mile wide river of sawgrass and mangrove forests that used to stretch all the way from Orlando to the Florida Keys, the Everglades is an internationally-recognized ecological treasure, home to alligators, panthers, manatees, crocodiles, more than 300 species of birds, and hundreds of rare or endemic plants. Its very existence is both predicated on water and existentially threatened by it—but the threats have been dramatically amplified over the past century, by unnatural drainage and development, and by unnatural changes to Earth’s climate. READ MORE    Coming soon—Cape Coral’s third annual Mangrove Mania event USA - When Cape Coral was first developed, its shorelines were stripped of the mangroves that protected them from storm surges in our tempestuous tropical-storm season. Later, environmental protection legislation restored some of our mangroves, but two years ago, Cape Coral citizens took mangrove propagules into their own hands and waded in to help. This now annual mangrove restoration effort, called Mangrove Mania, takes place in September and is sponsored by Keep Lee County Beautiful, Inc. (KLCB), an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. The launching site for boaters, canoers, kayakers and SUP paddlers who register for the event is Tropicana Park in Cape Coral. In each of its first two years, Mangrove Mania has attracted some 200 volunteers, who hand plant 10,000 red mangrove propagules (“seeds”) in the Matlacha Pass Aquatic Preserve in north Cape Coral. Volunteers are led into knee-deep water by microbiologist Dave Scott, who hands each of them a plastic bag containing 150 propagules, explaining that the seeds propagate in the mangrove tree and fall into the water when mature. A propagule can float up to a year before it becomes water logged, turns vertically, and in a shallow spot, grabs hold by the roots. The propagule then sends the first shoot of a new tree out its top.The red mangroves, explains Dave Scott, form prop or buttress roots that shelter hundreds of species of fish in their juvenile stage and the oysters that attach themselves to the roots not only feed the fish, but also filter out impurities in the water. READ MORE    OCEANA   Nasinu Council Clears Rubbish Along Mangrove Swamps  FIJI - Why is there so much litter on the shore? Where does all this litter come from? When we DON’T throw litter into a proper bin, it falls to the ground, goes into the drain, and flushes into the canal, then into the sea. And most of the litter on our shores comes from land based activities. Litter that floats comes in with the tide and is deposited on the high water mark. The Fiji Sun anti-litter team took a visit around Suva and Nausori corridor on Wednesday and found huge piles of rubbish dumped along the mangrove swamps at Bailey bridge in Laucala Beach. Rubbish found includes Styrofoam cups and boxes, plastic oil drums, food wrappers, plastic bags and bottles, and other different kinds of rubbish. There is usually so much litter in the water, especially near shores frequented by people that every tide brings in a new load of trash. Heavier trash that does not float is probably dumped on the shore or nearby. Nasinu Town Council chief executive officer, Lute Berends, said the heavy rainfall in the past few days and high tides resulted in huge piles of rubbish along the mangrove swamp. READ MORE        LAST WORD   Dear colleagues, Please see the important message below from Bill Ripple at Oregon State University. Thanks much, Bill Twenty five years ago, in 1992, the Union of Concerned Scientists and more than 1500 scientists published the famous declaration entitled “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity”.  They called on humanity to curb environmental destruction, warning “all humanity that a great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided.”   Now, on the 25th anniversary of their famous call, we looked back at their warning and evaluated the human response over the last quarter century.  This 25-year update will soon be published by BioScience.  To see the in press article “World scientists’ warning to humanity: a second notice” and add your name as a co-signatory, click: http://scientistswarnin g.forestry.oregonstate.edu/ This short article is only 1,000 words long and can be read in 6 minutes.  If you are a scientist, we invite you to endorse this article by adding your name to the co-signatory list.  In doing so, when the article is published by BioScience, you will be included in the full list of co-signatories in the article’s online supplemental material.  We invite all types of scientists to sign (e.g. ecologists, economists, social scientists, medicine, etc.) including graduate students in the sciences. Please forward this email to any other scientists in your contact list that may also be interested in signing.  For example, you could simply forward this email to your working group.  If you use Twitter, consider inviting your colleagues to add their signatures by including #ScientistsWarningToHumanity in a tweet. With your help, by forwarding this email to your scientist contacts, we will have many more scientists as co-signatories to present to world leaders.  The deadline for signing is September 19, 2017.  Thanks for helping get this important message to world leaders and to humanity.  As of today, September 1, 2017, the article has been signed by nearly 7,000 scientists from 135 countries.   Thank you, Bill William J. Ripple Distinguished Professor of Ecology Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331, USA William F. Laurance, PhD, FAA, FAAAS, FRSQ Distinguished Research Professor Australian Laureate & Prince Bernhard Chair in International Nature Conservation (Emeritus) Director of the Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) Director of ALERT (ALERT-conservation.org)  Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) & College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Cairns, Queensland 4878, Australia Phones: +61-7-4038-1518 and +61-7-4232-1819 Email: bill.laurance@jcu.edu.au Lab website: http://laurancelab.org/ Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F_Laurance	ACTION ALERTS All Expenses Paid Workshop on Ocean Tipping Points A Workshop for Scientists and Natural Resource Managers - Apply Now! The Ocean Tipping Points Project​ is offering an all-expenses paid 3-day training in Santa Barbara, CA, November 1-3, 2017. DEADLINE IS FRIDAY SEPT 22 HOW TO APPLY The Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative (ELTI) at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies is pleased to announce our upcoming online training course that will take place from September 25 to November 5, 2017, entitled: Tropical Forest Restoration in Human-Dominated Landscapes VIEW MORE EPIC REPORT Download the paper ‘Mangrove Restoration: to plant or not to plant’, available in 7 languages. We invite all school children from tropical and sub-tropical nations, and those who love mangroves, to create art for the 2019 Children's Art Calendar CLICK HERE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY Become a volunteer at Gunjur Environmental Protection and Development Group (Gambia) GEPADG, see the photos below on some volunteer activities. http://gepadg.jilankanet.com/our-volunteers/4548872938 The Value of Mangrove Forests View Video Protecting the sea for people:  a new WFF video on the Philippines largest marine protect area View Video CBEMR Experience Exchange MAP 2017 English Subtitles VIEW THE VIDEO The world's largest mangrove forest is in danger from a massive coal plant. UNESCO can put pressure on India and Bangladesh to protect the forest, but they need to see that people around the world are speaking out. Click here to add your voice Mangroves: Guidebook to Malaysia – available for download here   Mangrove rehabilitation in Asia – Local Action and cross-border Transfer of Knowledge for the Conservation of Climate, Forests and Biodiversity VIEW VIDEOS HERE   STOP PLANTING MANGROVES ON SEAGRASS BEDS _ A CALL TO ACTION Want to learn more about mangroves? Our short presentation will give you a better understanding of the issues we are working to solve. WATCH PRESENTATION What is CBEMR? Easy to follow fact sheet – CLICK HERE SHARE MAP'S VISION  CLICK HERE to watch short introductory video. Together we can work "at the roots of the sea". Our short documentary, Reducing the Risk of Disaster through Nature-Based Solutions : Mangroves   Exclusive Interview with Alfredo Quarto, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Mangrove Action Project - See more   Question Your Shrimp- Don't Buy or Sell Imported Tropical Shrimp! Sign the Petition Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum MAP Education Director Martin Keeley’s most recent book is Marvellous Mangroves: Myths and Legends, a compilation of stories from “Mangrove Peoples”—those who live on shorelines where mangroves thrive—from around the world. READ MORE Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum in Bangladesh - WATCH VIDEO MARVELLOUS MANGROVES IN BRAZIL En Portuges Marvellous Mangroves – A Curriculum-Based Teachers Guide. FOR MORE ON MAPs AWARD WINNING CHINA MANGROVE CURRICULUM VISIT VIMEO SHOW VISIT OUR "MM" WEBPAGE Check out our presentation for more details on Marvellous Mangroves “Education In The Mangroves" can now be seen on the  PhotoPhilanthropy website here! Read this 10 page history of the development of MAP’s educational curriculum VIEW DOCUMENT   Article in Canada's Green Teacher Magazine - Read More FREE MAP Mangrove e-cards CLICK HERE MAP’s e-Cards offer you a unique way to spread the word about MAP’s good works, while sharing beautiful photographs of the mangroves   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    Volunteer Opportunities with Mangrove Action Project CLICK HERE MANGROVE ISSUES  View MAP’s uploaded Videos at MAPmangrover’sChannel Question Your Shrimp Consumer/Markets Campaign!  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   "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 Information sheds clear light on shrimp-mangrove connection SEE DETAILS MANGROVE/SHRIMP Join MAP on Facebook Sign the Consumer's Pledge to avoid imported shrimp Not yet a MAP News subscriber? Click here to subscribe. 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.
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MAP News Issue 424 - September 2, 2017

The MAP News 424th Edition                                                     September 2, 2017
FEATURE STORY   ASEAN tackles mangrove management PHILIPPINES - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will try to work out a collaborative sustainable mangrove management in the region amid climate change in a Mangrove Congress September 4-8 in Manila. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB) will hold the 2nd ASEAN Congress on Mangrove Research and Development with the theme “Sustainable Management of Mangroves in the course of Climate Change.” “Mangrove habitats represent both a vulnerable resource and a potential deterrent to the effects of climate change. Sea level rise poses a major threat to mangrove ecosystems as it induces erosion and weakening of root structures, increased salinity, and mangrove inundation,” the ERDB said. Mangroves have been recognized to play an important role as a barrier against storm surges as what has been observed during Super typhoon Yolanda in 2013. “Mangroves are also known to attenuate waves by as much as 75 percent through its vast underground root networks and high vegetation structural complexity,” according to Anna McIvor, team leader of the study titled “Storm Surge Reduction by Mangroves.” READ MORE    AFRICA   ‘Mangroves are environmental indicators, carbon-foot’ GAMBIA - The National Environment Agency (NEA) is implementing the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) Least Developed Countries Development Funds (LCDF) Project “Enhancing Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Areas and Communities to Climate Change in the Republic of The Gambia”. The objective of the project is to reduce Gambia’s vulnerability to sea-level rise and associated impacts of climate change by improving coastal defenses and enhancing adaptive capacities of coastal communities. The effect and impact of salt intrusion as a result of climate change seriously and continues to affect livelihood support systems of shoreline communities, making them vulnerable to poverty, hunger and food insecurity. In some of these communities, mangroves and other forest species are dying at an alarming rate making access to fuel wood and aquatic species such as fishes and crabs very difficult to get. The alternative livelihood component of this project is striving to ease Climate stress in affected local coastal communities whose farmlands and rice fields are affected by the phenomenon of Climate Change. It is from this back drop that the project embarked on a massive mangrove planting in the West Coast, Lower River and North bank Regions in an effort to regenerate the lost coastline mangrove and vegetation cover within these localities. READ MORE    ASIA   Satellite photos reveal how Mumbai killed its rivers and mangrove forests to risk epic floods INDIA - It’s almost a ritual: At least on one day every year, the heavens above Mumbai open up, and the metropolis of some 20 million below is inundated. The resultant outrage, inconvenience, and suffering are something of a tradition, with successive governments getting pilloried for their lack of preparedness despite the regularity with which the monsoon paralyses India’s financial capital. Some things never change. The latest act was on Aug. 29, when Mumbai ground to a near-complete halt once again after parts of the city received 298 mm of rain within a nine-hour period. Five people have died so far, and more rain is expected.The city’s inability to weather such downpours is a result of a combination of the failure to improve its drainage system and the unbridled development that has stymied the region’s natural capacity to absorb heavy rainfall. READ MORE    Big investors still destroying protected mangroves THAILAND - Almost 100 mangrove forests in Nuea Klong district were found to be encroached upon before the White Sharks of the Marine and Coastal Resources department (DMCR) raided and seized them. DMCR deputy chief Sophon Thongdee, said the land plots are part of forest reserves, including the pristine Klong Nuea Klong Reserve as well as the nationally declared mangrove forests protected under a Cabinet resolution. Designated mangroves cannot be encroached upon, nor land deeds issued. However, the department’s taskforce has people claiming to be owners have grown oil palms and rubber trees on the land. A natural waterway has also been drained, leaving an inland mangroves stand dead. Big investors are believed by the department to be behind this illegal action. The taskforce also went to inspect Lanta Noi Island in Koh Lan Ta district, where they found the landowners ignored court orders for them to leave.  More documents issued for land plots on the island are also under investigation, said Ratchai Pornpa, the taskforce’s chief. The latest effort is part of an attempt to take protected coastal areas including mangroves back from large investors. The department has managed to reclaim 36,000 rai of mangroves nationwide, of which 14,000 rai have been rehabilitated. READ MORE    Mangrove info centre now open  INDIA - To impart knowledge on the relevance of protecting mangroves in a world impacted by climate change, social forestry wing under the state forest department has established a Mangrove Information Centre at Malippuram. The centre, spread over 2km in a mangrove forest, is situated adjacent to the aqua tourism centre of Matsyafed. It provides information regarding 10 species of mangroves growing in the coastal areas of Ernakulam district. Ten mangrove saplings from each species has been protected with fencing. The seating facility, swing, walkway, bamboo hut and miniature statues of various birds living in the mangrove forest are the other features at the centre. "We established the centre with the aim of spreading awareness on the mangrove ecosystem among the public, especially students. This is the first time that a centre has been established in Kerala to provide information exclusively on mangroves. We won't allow visitors to carry plastic inside the forest. There would be an entry fee of Rs 10," said K J Martin Lowel, assistant conservator of forests, Ernakulam. READ MORE    Navy plants mangroves on Independence Day PAKISTAN - On the eve of Independence Day, Pakistan Navy launched a mangrove plantation campaign in the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah inaugurated the campaign, titled ‘Pakistan Navy – Mangroves Plantation Campaign 2017’, by planting mangrove saplings. The campaign is part of the plan to plant over one million mangroves in the coastal areas of Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion, the naval chief highlighted that deforestation of mangroves has not only affected biodiversity of the country’s coastal areas but also livelihoods of the communities living along the coast. Admiral Zakaullah elaborated that such campaigns will not only increase the mangrove forest cover but also play a key role in creating awareness among the public about the importance of these forests. The naval chief urged all the relevant federal and provincial institutions and the public to join hands for the cause. READ MORE    AMERICAS   The secret history of a hurricane hidden in Miami’s mangrove forest USA - For the last quarter century, Michael Ross, a landscape ecologist at Florida International University, has been visiting the same stand of mangroves on southern Biscayne Bay, year after year, taking students to record the recovery of a forest wiped out by Hurricane Andrew. Today, the destruction of a quarter century ago is invisible to passing boaters and nobody else in their right mind — aside from Ross and his students — would willingly endure the agony of hiking here on foot. It means muscling through the head-high thickets of mangroves, sinking into knee-deep muck and slapping at clouds of salt marsh mosquitoes. But what Ross has documented over the years has been dramatic — the little-known cycles of a vital South Florida ecosystem healing itself from what looked like a fatal wound. Everywhere, the coastal forest lay dying, trees amputated at their bases. There were years of rot, the slow sprout of seedlings, then the biggest growth spurt ever recorded in a mangrove forest, along with a see-saw shift in species, before everything balanced out again. But at a only one-third of the coastal forest’s orginal height. READ MORE    OCEANA   Kabi Kabi Traditional Owners help monitor mangrove health AUSTRALIA - Over the last 18 months the mangrove and saltmarsh communities along the Maroochy and Mooloolah estuaries have been under the spotlight. Members of Bunya Bunya Country Aboriginal Corporation have been working with Professor Norm Duke and Jock McKenzie of MangroveWatch. Substantial support from the Queensland Government has enabled these groups to record and monitor the condition and extent of mangroves and saltmarsh in these areas. Through the use of a boat and video imaging, the condition of these important wetland and tidal communities has been captured. These recordings are now being analysed and collated by MangroveWatch and a report will be available soon. Such information provides a baseline or historical scenario that can be visited again with future condition assessments of the Maroochy and Mooloolah estuaries to help track and manage any detrimental changes to our local rivers. Such projects support local Kabi Kabi Traditional Owners and historically connected Aboriginal People to work with MangroveWatch, Healthy Land & Water, together with the south east Queensland 'Saltmarsh for Life'. Activities also included recording of Aboriginal sites and the vulnerable Water mouse nests, weed control at Twin Waters West and dating of significant and old Grey mangroves. READ MORE        LAST WORD   Dear friends and fellow mangrove conservationists, Recently I learnt of a plan to destroy mangroves in New Zealand. A bill is before Government to authorize the legal destruction of NZ's mangrove resources. The plan is dressed up as "management".The theme of this is not management.It is eradication. The driving forces behind this plan seem to be marinas and boats. The eco-economics of mangrove resources such as their outstandingly important role in protecting valuable dairy farm land from inundation: in the Hauraki region of NZ,we have mangrove stands which protect the stop banks which,themselves, seek to protect low lying farmlands. In addition, these mangroves sustain coastal fisheries. I have been doing the science associated with the wisdom of our mangroves,unispecific ecosystems of Avicennia marina, since 1969 and are shocked at the whole idea.I have a paper on the economic importance of NZ mangroves ( 1976) published by the (then) National Environment Council in which the eco-engineering values of these Hauraki mangroves was strongly stated and respected by local environmental engineers. A move to remove mangrove vegetation along the lines advocated by this bill before Government would place New Zealand, a developed country, in start contrast to the so-called developing nations like Thailand who place a high value on these eco-economic multi-functional assets. I feel that it is my duty to share this unwanted News Flash with MAP ! Prof Gordon S.Maxwell, FRSB,FLS and Life member, ISME. Prof Gordon S. Maxwell FSB, FLS gmaxnz@ihug.co.nz	ACTION ALERTS All Expenses Paid Workshop on Ocean Tipping Points A Workshop for Scientists and Natural Resource Managers - Apply Now! The Ocean Tipping Points Project​ is offering an all-expenses paid 3-day training in Santa Barbara, CA, November 1-3, 2017. HOW TO APPLY The Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative (ELTI) at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies is pleased to announce our upcoming online training course that will take place from September 25 to November 5, 2017, entitled: Tropical Forest Restoration in Human-Dominated Landscapes VIEW MORE EPIC REPORT Download the paper ‘Mangrove Restoration: to plant or not to plant’, available in 7 languages. We invite all school children from tropical and sub-tropical nations, and those who love mangroves, to create art for the 2018 Children's Art Calendar CLICK HERE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY Become a volunteer at Gunjur Environmental Protection and Development Group (Gambia) GEPADG, see the photos below on some volunteer activities. http://gepadg.jilankanet.com/our-volunteers/4548872938 The Value of Mangrove Forests View Video Protecting the sea for people:  a new WFF video on the Philippines largest marine protect area View Video CBEMR Experience Exchange MAP 2017 English Subtitles VIEW THE VIDEO The world's largest mangrove forest is in danger from a massive coal plant. UNESCO can put pressure on India and Bangladesh to protect the forest, but they need to see that people around the world are speaking out. Click here to add your voice Mangroves: Guidebook to Malaysia – available for download here   Mangrove rehabilitation in Asia – Local Action and cross-border Transfer of Knowledge for the Conservation of Climate, Forests and Biodiversity VIEW VIDEOS HERE   STOP PLANTING MANGROVES ON SEAGRASS BEDS _ A CALL TO ACTION Want to learn more about mangroves? Our short presentation will give you a better understanding of the issues we are working to solve. WATCH PRESENTATION What is CBEMR? Easy to follow fact sheet – CLICK HERE SHARE MAP'S VISION  CLICK HERE to watch short introductory video. Together we can work "at the roots of the sea". Our short documentary, Reducing the Risk of Disaster through Nature-Based Solutions : Mangroves   Exclusive Interview with Alfredo Quarto, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Mangrove Action Project - See more   Question Your Shrimp- Don't Buy or Sell Imported Tropical Shrimp! Sign the Petition Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum MAP Education Director Martin Keeley’s most recent book is Marvellous Mangroves: Myths and Legends, a compilation of stories from “Mangrove Peoples”—those who live on shorelines where mangroves thrive—from around the world. READ MORE Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum in Bangladesh - WATCH VIDEO MARVELLOUS MANGROVES IN BRAZIL En Portuges Marvellous Mangroves – A Curriculum-Based Teachers Guide. FOR MORE ON MAPs AWARD WINNING CHINA MANGROVE CURRICULUM VISIT VIMEO SHOW VISIT OUR "MM" WEBPAGE Check out our presentation for more details on Marvellous Mangroves “Education In The Mangroves" can now be seen on the  PhotoPhilanthropy website here! Read this 10 page history of the development of MAP’s educational curriculum VIEW DOCUMENT   Article in Canada's Green Teacher Magazine - Read More FREE MAP Mangrove e-cards CLICK HERE MAP’s e-Cards offer you a unique way to spread the word about MAP’s good works, while sharing beautiful photographs of the mangroves   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    Volunteer Opportunities with Mangrove Action Project CLICK HERE MANGROVE ISSUES  View MAP’s uploaded Videos at MAPmangrover’sChannel Question Your Shrimp Consumer/Markets Campaign!  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   "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 Information sheds clear light on shrimp-mangrove connection SEE DETAILS MANGROVE/SHRIMP Join MAP on Facebook Sign the Consumer's Pledge to avoid imported shrimp Not yet a MAP News subscriber? Click here to subscribe. 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.
Mangrove Action Project Click here to view past newsletters

MAP News Issue 423, August 19, 2017

The MAP News 423rd Edition                                                     August 19, 2017
FEATURE STORY   MAP Joins Climate Action call for Climate Partnerships GLOBAL - A new effort to mobilize the world to stop mangrove deforestation and to undertake a massive restoration effort is underway. The goal of the Alliance is to expand overall extent of mangrove forests 20 percent by 2030. WWF, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Wetlands International (and now Mangrove Action Project) have joined together to take up this challenge. And that list is growing. The Global Mangrove Alliance was born of the belief that a renewed effort is needed across multiple sectors and geographies to give mangroves their due, and to massively scale and accelerate conservation and restoration of mangrove ecosystems. The know-how exists; it is the will and interest to act that needs bolstering. The Paris agreement and its focus on developing country-by-country plans to reduce carbon emissions is a new moment that will allow us to both accelerate existing work to protect and restore mangroves while generating and funneling significant new global investment. If we can generate enough momentum to accomplish these ambitious aims, we can improve the well-being of tens of millions of people and revitalize critical coastal ecosystems. READ MORE AFRICA Parks and Wildlife plants mangrove along Bintang Bolong GAMBIA - The Department of Parks and Wildlife, in collaboration with Sahel Wetland and communities of Kanlagi Jifarong, Bondali and Brikama Ndinding, recently conducted a two-day mangrove planting in various parts of Bintang Bolong estuary. The Department of Parks and Wildlife technical team supervised the planting. Speaking at the event, Kawsu Jammeh of Parks and Wildlife said while they are planting mangrove to restore biodiversity within it they must also recognised as conservations specialist to provide landing and feeding areas for wading water birds and habitat for mud crabs. According to Mr Jammeh, The Gambia has quiet and good representative birds, reptiles, butterflies, insects, fisheries and mammals that could be attractive to tourists. “There is no more stock you can find anywhere except in and around protected areas,” he said. “We do not have to wait until the forest disappears completely,” he said, adding that they must endeavour to restore the wetland because they need healthy environment to continue to support the necessary goods and produce for the wellbeing of the future generation. VIEW SOURCE Flooding is going to get a lot worse in Nigeria NIGERIA - Earlier this year heavy rains and thunderstorms caused havoc in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic nerve centre and one of Africa’s most populous cities. Residents woke up in many parts of the city to find their streets and homes flooded and their property, including cars and other valuables, submerged. Some of the worst flooding in recent memory happened five years ago in March 2012 when 32 of Nigeria’s 36 states were affected, 24 severely. More than 360 people were killed and almost two million people were displaced. The seriousness of the flooding was attributed to a combination of two events: very heavy local rainfall and the release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam in nearby Cameroon. What’s complicated the situation for Lagos is that many parts of the city were originally low-lying mangrove swamps and wetlands, which have been reclaimed and settled, mostly by poorer communities and more recently through concerted efforts by the government. READ MORE ASIA Community-based ecological mangrove restoration against coastal hazards THAILAND - Thailand has experienced a rapid loss of coastal mangroves due to a range of natural and anthropogenic factors. Shrimp aquaculture has been attributed as the largest single cause of mangrove loss in Thailand and South-east Asia. Clearance of mangroves has now left many coastal communities exposed to natural hazards like cyclones, storm surges, and tsunami. Increased salt intrusion is also affecting fresh water supplies. Currently abandoned ponds dominate large coastal areas and without the protective services of mangrove forests, the coastal communities are very vulnerable to natural hazards. EPIC is implementing Community-based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR) in two coastal sites in Thailand. CBEMR is a mangrove restoration technique that emerged in response to other type of restoration that have failed for example monoculture plantation of mangroves. It is also an innovative approach to natural resource management and combines scientific research, situational analyses and local knowledge for the integration of ecological restoration, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and livelihood diversification. READ MORE Tree-planting drones can sow 100,000 seeds a day MYANMAR - The much-hyped promise of a drone-driven future—where drones bring us food, take our selfies, and even serve as taxis—is not nearly as cool as this Myanmar community’s drone-driven present. A group of villagers along the country’s Irrawaddy River will soon use drones to plant a million new mangrove trees in an effort to restore the area’s natural ecosystem. After several years of planting the mangroves manually, the villagers and nonprofit Worldview International Foundation are teaming up with drones and pilots from BioCarbon Engineering to seed an additional 600 acres of land—freeing up their time to tend to saplings and more mature trees. The drones have two jobs in the planting. First, they fly over the land, mapping the terrain and collecting information about its topography and soil. This data is then processed by an algorithm to determine where to plant and what species of tree would thrive. Then, another set of drones is each given a batch of specially designed seed pods and sent out. Flying low over the ground, the planter drones follow instructions determined by the data on where to go and when to fire a seed pod into the ground. They’re accurate to within centimeters. READ MORE Mangroves: A Star Player In The Coastal Protection Game PHILIPPINES - Mangroves are being lost around the world—often converted to shrimp aquaculture that provides short-term gains for local economies. In just a few years, these ponds become diseased and are abandoned. And the lasting value of those mangroves—including protecting communities from flood—is lost forever. The Nature Conservancy recently partnered with World Bank, the Philippines Government and the University of Cantabria to determine the value of mangroves in the Philippines for risk reduction. With the Bank, we developed guidelines and applied tools developed by the engineering and insurance sectors to determine the value of benefits from mangroves and other critical coastal habitats, like reefs. We also applied state of the art hydrodynamic and economic models to show how critical these habitats are. The findings are significant. READ MORE AMERICAS Forest And Protected Areas Of Trinidad And Tobago With the boast of being home to the oldest Forest Reserve in the Western Hemisphere – the Main Ridge Forest Reserve in Tobago, which was declared in 1764 – Trinidad and Tobago has demonstrated a history of taking strategic steps to protecting its natural heritage. Up to 2015, some seventy-five (75) areas were provided legal protection under various Acts, and some 100 other sites inventoried for designation as heritage sites across both islands. From that year, steps were taken to review these designations and institute a new regulatory framework and management system for protected areas, by piloting an approach in six pilot protected areas. This website was developed during that process, and is the repository of all current information on designated Protected Areas outlined in the National Protected Areas Policy of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (2011). The site will be continually updated to serve as an important resource for dissemination of accurate and up-to-date information on these sites. We hope you enjoy your visit​. READ MORE OCEANA Mangroves and their value to Samoa SOMOA - Mangroves in Samoa have been threatened due to increasing coastal population, development and settlement. In the last five years, the Mangrove Ecosystems for Climate Change Adaptation and Livelihood Project in Samoa published some key findings in their work on one particular site, Le Asaga Bay in Samoa. According to the report Le Asaga Bay has the third biggest mangrove cover and the biggest mangrove estuary of all mangrove stands in Samoa. It also affords the most essential ecosystem goods and services which highly contribute to upholding the environment and sustaining people’s livelihoods. Such a significant area in a fairly healthy condition deserves effective management which includes sustainable utilization of resources. Even that need is urgent with the impacts of climate change that can be attributed to prolonged spring tides submerging and stressing the mangroves, eroding the coast and gradually reducing mangrove cover. According to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) Samoa hosts the largest intact mangrove forest forest in all of Polynesia. READ MORE GLOBAL Ecosystems Protecting Infrastructure and Communities GLOBAL - EPIC is a five year initiative that is promoting the implementation of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction through 5 Case studies in Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Nepal, Senegal and Thailand. The project is contributing to community resilience by: • Documenting scientific evidence • Building capacities to understand vulnerabilities and take action by using best practices • Promoting effective policies for integrated approaches to disasters, climate change and environment management. During the past few decades the number of disasters and their impacts on communities worldwide has increased steadily. With climate change, this trend is set to continue, with an expected increase in the number of extreme weather events. Healthy ecosystems can be important allies in reducing risk and increasing resilience for people and the environment. READ MORE Nominations sought for Wangari Maathai Forest Champion Award 2017 GLOBAL - The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) is awarding one extraordinary individual for improving our forests and the lives of people who depend on them! The CPF launched the first Wangari Maathai Award in 2012 to honour and commemorate the impact of this extraordinary woman who championed forest issues around the world. In 2017, the CPF will award another individual for her/his outstanding achievements for forests. Applicants should be nominated by a third party. Nominees may be persons, living or recently deceased, who have made exceptional contributions to forests. The awardee will receive a cash prize of USD20,000 along with international recognition of the outstanding contributions to preserve, restore and sustainably manage forests and to raise awareness of the key role forests play in supporting local communities, rural livelihoods, women and the environment. Professional and research contributions will only be considered if they are conducted outside of normal work-related responsibilities. Applications received from a nominee’s kin or business partner are not eligible for consideration. Applications related to grassroots initiatives are particularly encouraged. The closing date for receipt of nominations is 31 August 2017. READ MORE         LAST WORD   Dear friends and fellow mangrove conservationists, Recently I learnt of a plan to destroy mangroves in New Zealand. A bill is before Government to authorize the legal destruction of NZ's mangrove resources. The plan is dressed up as "management".The theme of this is not management.It is eradication. The driving forces behind this plan seem to be marinas and boats. The eco-economics of mangrove resources such as their outstandingly important role in protecting valuable dairy farm land from inundation: in the Hauraki region of NZ,we have mangrove stands which protect the stop banks which,themselves, seek to protect low lying farmlands. In addition, these mangroves sustain coastal fisheries. I have been doing the science associated with the wisdom of our mangroves,unispecific ecosystems of Avicennia marina, since 1969 and are shocked at the whole idea.I have a paper on the economic importance of NZ mangroves ( 1976) published by the (then) National Environment Council in which the eco-engineering values of these Hauraki mangroves was strongly stated and respected by local environmental engineers. A move to remove mangrove vegetation along the lines advocated by this bill before Government would place New Zealand, a developed country, in start contrast to the so-called developing nations like Thailand who place a high value on these eco-economic multi-functional assets. I feel that it is my duty to share this unwanted News Flash with MAP ! Prof Gordon S.Maxwell, FRSB,FLS and Life member, ISME. Prof Gordon S. Maxwell FSB, FLS gmaxnz@ihug.co.nz	ACTION ALERTS Wangari Maathai Forest Champion Award-The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) is awarding one extraordinary individual for improving our forests and the lives of people who depend on them! The closing date for receipt of nominations is 31 August 2017. READ MORE The Environmental Leadership and Training Initiative (ELTI) at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies is pleased to announce our upcoming online training course that will take place from September 25 to November 5, 2017, entitled: Tropical Forest Restoration in Human-Dominated Landscapes VIEW MORE Download the paper ‘Mangrove Restoration: to plant or not to plant’, available in 7 languages. MAP’s Children’s Calendar artwork deadline extended to Aug 31. We need your art. Shools invited to send late submissions Calling schools, teachers and students! DEADLINE EXTENDED TO AUG 31! We invite all school children from tropical and sub-tropical nations, and those who love mangroves, to create art for the 2018 Children's Art Calendar CLICK HERE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY Become a volunteer at Gunjur Environmental Protection and Development Group (Gambia) GEPADG, see the photos below on some volunteer activities. http://gepadg.jilankanet.com/our-volunteers/4548872938 The Value of Mangrove Forests View Video Protecting the sea for people:  a new WFF video on the Philippines largest marine protect area View Video CBEMR Experience Exchange MAP 2017 English Subtitles VIEW THE VIDEO The world's largest mangrove forest is in danger from a massive coal plant. UNESCO can put pressure on India and Bangladesh to protect the forest, but they need to see that people around the world are speaking out. Click here to add your voice Mangroves: Guidebook to Malaysia – available for download here   Mangrove rehabilitation in Asia – Local Action and cross-border Transfer of Knowledge for the Conservation of Climate, Forests and Biodiversity VIEW VIDEOS HERE   STOP PLANTING MANGROVES ON SEAGRASS BEDS _ A CALL TO ACTION Want to learn more about mangroves? Our short presentation will give you a better understanding of the issues we are working to solve. WATCH PRESENTATION What is CBEMR? Easy to follow fact sheet – CLICK HERE SHARE MAP'S VISION  CLICK HERE to watch short introductory video. Together we can work "at the roots of the sea". Our short documentary, Reducing the Risk of Disaster through Nature-Based Solutions : Mangroves   Exclusive Interview with Alfredo Quarto, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Mangrove Action Project - See more   Question Your Shrimp- Don't Buy or Sell Imported Tropical Shrimp! Sign the Petition Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum MAP Education Director Martin Keeley’s most recent book is Marvellous Mangroves: Myths and Legends, a compilation of stories from “Mangrove Peoples”—those who live on shorelines where mangroves thrive—from around the world. READ MORE Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum in Bangladesh - WATCH VIDEO MARVELLOUS MANGROVES IN BRAZIL En Portuges Marvellous Mangroves – A Curriculum-Based Teachers Guide. FOR MORE ON MAPs AWARD WINNING CHINA MANGROVE CURRICULUM VISIT VIMEO SHOW VISIT OUR "MM" WEBPAGE Check out our presentation for more details on Marvellous Mangroves “Education In The Mangroves" can now be seen on the  PhotoPhilanthropy website here! Read this 10 page history of the development of MAP’s educational curriculum VIEW DOCUMENT   Article in Canada's Green Teacher Magazine - Read More FREE MAP Mangrove e-cards CLICK HERE MAP’s e-Cards offer you a unique way to spread the word about MAP’s good works, while sharing beautiful photographs of the mangroves 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    Volunteer Opportunities with Mangrove Action Project CLICK HERE MANGROVE ISSUES  View MAP’s uploaded Videos at MAPmangrover’sChannel Question Your Shrimp Consumer/Markets Campaign!  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   "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 Information sheds clear light on shrimp-mangrove connection SEE DETAILS MANGROVE/SHRIMP 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.
Mangrove Action Project Click here to view past newsletters