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Thursday, August 20, 2015

MAP News Issue 371, August 22, 2015

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The MAP News
371st Edition                                Aug 22, 2015


FEATURE STORY

Costco sued over claims shrimp harvested with slave labour
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USA – Costco Wholesale Corp was sued for selling farmed shrimp from Thailand, where slave labour and human trafficking in the fishing industry are widespread, and allegedly misleading US consumers about it. A California woman, Monica Sud, filed what may be the first such lawsuit against the retailer over liability for the Thai fishing industry. She cited state laws that bar companies from making false claims about illegal conduct in their supply chain, including human rights violations. The lawsuit also names as a defendant the US distributor of the prawns, Columbia, Maryland-based CP Food Products Inc., and the company's Thailand-based parent company, Charoen Pokphand Foods Pcl, a "global conglomerate.'" Costco's purchases of Thailand's farmed prawns, which are fed a diet of cheap fish caught at sea with unpaid, forced labour, helps prop up an industry whose practices are ignored by local authorities, according to the complaint filed Wednesday in San Francisco federal court. READ MORE
 
AFRICA
 
Threats to Senegal's southern mangroves:
Senegal
SENEGAL - Two companies are eyeing an environmentally sensitive coastal area in southern Senegal, causing locals to fear the loss of this protected area. The  Australian and Chinese Astron Carnegie, one of the largest zircon buyers in the world, plan to extract zirconium mineral massively for worldwide consumption. The mineral is used by the nuclear industry and for paints and abrasive papers. An exploration permit has been issued by the Government of Senegal in 2004 setting in motion a classic theme "employment against environment". And since 2007, hundreds of small exploratory drilling took place in "Dune". On 1 August 2014, the State of Senegal issued a decree allowing Carnegie/Astron to move into the exploitation phase.  Locals in the area are concerned by this operation between Niafarang, Diouloulou, Kabadio and Abéné and oppose this devastating mining project against their precious ecosystem. READ MORE
 
ASIA
 
India group celebrates Mangrove Action Day 2015
OdissaGroup
INDIA - Over the years, APOWA (Action for Protection of Wild Animals) has been contributing innovative ideas into action for the restoration, conservation and sustainable management of the mangroves through involving community members in Odisha. With support from Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP), Odisha, Centre for Environment Education (CEE) SGP, Mangroves for the Future (MFF), Mangrove Forest Division (WL), Rajnagar, other stakeholders and APOWA has taken the initiative to restore mangroves in coastal Odisha. Since the coastal communities have been motivated and make aware the importance of mangroves, they have shown interest to participate in the restoration programme. At the village level, a community network has constituted such as 'Village Mangrove Councils (VMC)' which have taken the entire responsibility to restore mangroves around the village. Because of this, the households in the village are becoming a watch dog for the protection of the mangroves.  READ MORE
 
Sindhudurg’s mangrove cover increasing, study reveals
INDIA - Even as mangroves in Mumbai continue to be destroyed, a different story has panned out in Sindhudurg. A study by the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre (MRSAC) based on satellite images has revealed 3,300 hectares of mangrove in the coastal district as against 2,000 hectares recorded in 2005. More than 1,070 hectares have been notified as dense mangrove areas, while 349 hectares are sparse, said Dilip M Kolte, senior resources scientist, MRSAC. Around 20 mangrove species have been recorded and 19 species are being raised in nurseries. “The area in Sindhudurg is conducive for natural regeneration of plants, which could be a major factor determining the increase in mangrove cover,” said Arvind Untawale, retired marine biologist and executive secretary, Mangrove Society of India. “The marine biodiversity around Sindhudurg should be exposed to the public for education, recreation and most importantly, conservation,” said Untawale. READ MORE
 
Stop mangrove destruction in Indonesia to slow climate change
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INDONESIA – The loss of Indonesia's coastal mangrove forests for shrimp farming is a huge source of carbon emissions, writes Prodita Sabarini. But equally, a policy flip to preserve and recreate mangroves offers a major climate win. Preventing the loss of Indonesian mangroves would help in the global fight against climate change, new research shows. The study, published recently in Nature Climate Change, estimated that if Indonesia halts mangrove deforestation it could reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by between 10% to 31%. That would be globally significant, since Indonesia is among the world's highest contributors to global emissions - ranked 12th in the world in 2012, according to European Commission figures, behind others led by China, the US and the European Union, and just ahead of Australia. READ MORE
 
Divar’s mangroves face ‘Champion’ threat; villagers unite to fight yacht club
INDIA - Is this another Tiracol in the making? The pristine island of Divar is witnessing the beginning of a similar agitation against the reported threat to the ecology of the village because of the construction of a yacht club.
Destruction of mangroves and the disturbance of the peace on the island of Divar have got the islanders up in arms against a private company that is planning the yacht club project on the island. The story began on July 8, 2014, when Goltim-Navelim-Piedade Panchayat granted provisional NOC (No Objection Certificate) to Champions Yacht Club, which led to the destruction of mangroves on the island and disturbed the peace of the villagers. The destruction of mangroves and dredging of small tributaries, on which traditional fishermen banked upon, occurred to develop the private land that falls within Survey Number 118/1. The village gram sabha held on August 9 resolved that henceforth NOCs and permissions for such projects on the island would not be issued until placed before the villagers at a gram sabha.
“We had given provisional NOCs based on their request and now it has been revoked as Champions Yacht Club has failed to furnish permissions from other state government authorities as per conditions of the NOCs,” Sarpanch Prasad Harmalkar told Herald. READ MORE
 
Editorial: Make it mangroves
PHILIPPINES - Last July 31, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 halted a real estate developer whose project reportedly damaged 200 mangrove trees in Liloan. A cease-and-desist order was filed against the Psalm Property Venture and Development Corp. (PPVDC) for damaging mangroves in a timberland area in Sitio Tulay, Cotcot in its backfilling operations for the La Costa Ivyza Subdivision project. Last March, or four months earlier, the DENR 7 contracted 14 people’s organizations (POs) to restore approximately 180 hectares of mangroves and beach forest plantations in 11 northern towns in Cebu that bore the brunt of super typhoon Yolanda in November 2013. In March 2015, mangrove reforestation was prioritized by the DENR 7 to aid the recovery of families devastated by Yolanda’s battering of seaside communities in Bantayan Island, Camotes Island, Daanbantayan, Medellin, San Remigio, Bogo City, Tabogon, Borbon, Sogod, Catmon and Carmen. The work-for-food program had also a long-term objective: mitigate the effects of climate change in a sustainable manner. As essential as the protection of coastal communities from storm surges and flooding is the restoration of coastal resources through the protection, reforestation and management of mangrove plantations. READ MORE
 
Forest department gives green signal for mangrove parks
INDIA - Every conservationist dreams about a walk-through in the vast mangroves (wetland) in the city and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). This dream may soon become a reality, as the state forest department has agreed to go ahead with a proposal for mangrove parks, keeping in view the guidelines issued by the High Court. Giving this assurance in the state Assembly, Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said that the city’s mangrove cover had increased manifold in the past 15 years. The minister was responding to a calling attention notice from Shiv Sena’s Sada Sarvankar and others. The legislators claimed mangrove cover had reduced because of illegal felling and dumping of construction material. BJP’s Ashish Shelar asked the minister if his department would approve the mangrove parks proposed by Debi Goenka, head, Conservation Action Trust, a non-profit organisation. Mungantiwar said he was all for such parks and that he would go ahead with the proposal in tune with the directives of the High Court. READ MORE
 
AMERICAS
 
Grand Coral continues environmental damage despite lack of permit
grand-coral-filling-mangrove
MEXICO - The Grand Coral continues filling in a mangrove that, according to municipal officials, they do not have permission to do. Grand Coral workers began filling in the mangrove earlier this week when local authorizes were alerted by concerned citizens. Aké Liana Singing and Navarro Emilio Tamargo, Director of Environment and Urban Development Councilor, respectively, announced the municipality’s intervention to inspect the Grand Coral and its filling in of the mangrove. According to Ake Canto, representatives of Grand Coral have hidden behind a felling permit they received from the municipal administration when Alonso Durán served as director of Environmental Planning and Urban Management. During his time as director, the Grand Coral was also granted with two hectares of mangrove. READ MORE
 
OCEANA
 
Climate stance of Australian politicians 'disturbing' – US Geological Survey chief
2000.jpg?w=700&q=85&auto=format&sharp=10&s=b5747ced729326bdb106dce55c048315
AUSTRALIA - A senior US government official has decried a “disturbing” rejection of climate science by Australian politicians. Virginia Burkett, chief scientist for climate and land-use change at the US Geological Survey, said the denial of climate science by Australian decision-makers was a surprise to her. “I thought it was just a US problem but it’s not, apparently, it’s a global problem,” she said. Burkett said an Australian study on the response of government to coastal planning showed “most policymakers don’t trust the science, which is so disturbing to me”. “When we scientists talk, we are trained to qualify our statements with uncertainty and perhaps that throws policymakers a little bit,” she said. “If I picked one single sea level rise for the future, it would probably be the wrong one. We have to give you a range. READ MORE

New book contains an extensive review of the role of mangroves in estuarine ecosystems
AUSTRALIA-UK – A recently released book explains the workings of an estuary ecosystem, quantifies the human impact on those processes, and proposes ecohydrology solutions that will serve as a toolkit for designing a management plan for the ecologically sustainable development of estuaries. Estuarine Ecohydrology: An Introduction provides an ecohydrology viewpoint of an estuary as an ecosystem by focusing on its principal components, the river, the estuarine waters, the sediment, the nutrients, the wetlands (including the mangroves), the oceanic influence, and the aquatic food web, as well as models of the health of an estuary ecosystem. Estuaries, the intersection of freshwater and coastal ecosystems, exhibit complex physical and biological processes which must be understood in order to sustain and restore them when necessary. This book demonstrates how, based on an understanding of the processes controlling estuarine ecosystem health, one can quantify its ability to cope with human stresses. The theories, models, and real-world solutions presented serve as a toolkit for designing a management plan for the ecologically sustainable development of estuaries. READ MORE

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Threats to Senegal's southern mangroves:

Submitted by
Ibrahima Thiam

CONTEXT
Natural Casamance is a separate region of southern Senegal separated from the rest of the country by Gambia. It is a region barely left standing after years of violence around the separatist rebels of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC).

The region has the same name as its main river land that opens multiple characteristics: fertile soils, farming and fishing as well as tourism that develops around the coast. This coastline is in fact a huge delta. North of the delta, a wide dune strip protects the hinterland, villages, mangroves and rice fields. 


This is the dune belt that two companies covet ( the Australian and Chinese Astron Carnegie, one of the largest zircon buyers in the world) to extract zirconium mineral massively for worldwide consumption, the nuclear industry and paints and abrasive papers.

ISSUE
An exploration permit has been issued by the Government of Senegal in 2004 setting in motion a classic theme "employment against environment". And since 2007, hundreds of small exploratory drilling took place in "Dune". On 1 August 2014, the State of Senegal issued a decree allowing Carnegie/Astron to move into the exploitation phase. 

Locals in the area are concerned by this operation between Niafarang, Diouloulou, Kabadio and Abéné opposes this devastating mining project against their precious ecosystem. Here are their arguments 
  • The mining permit issued by the State of Senegal lies partly in a "marine protected area" decreed by the Senegalese government in 2004. There are number crocodiles, monitor lizards, monkeys and birds.
  • The zircon mining techniques are a real massacre of the dune; little will remain because the mineral is trapped in the sand.
  • The dredging method requires the installation of basins and works by suction and shoveling. We know what we must think of reclamation promises after five years of operation.
  • The dune is a natural protection for the back country that struggles against rising sea levels. The coastline recedes by serious pace for several years. The hinterland consists of saltwater mangroves, but also orchards and rice fields. So we can not imagine a weakening of this natural defense against the forces of the Atlantic Ocean.
  • The groundwater inland risks infiltration of salt water.
  • The population livelihoods currently include vegetable crops, fishing, oyster farming and tourism, and all these activities will be heavily impacted by the mining. 

SITUATION OF CONFRONTATION 
The "Environmental and Social Impact Study" published in 2010 minimizes the degree of opposition from the local population and concludes with a long list of "mitigation measures".  Even the decree of the State of August 1, 2014 on the farm speaks of "huge difficulties linked to low social acceptance of the project in the middle of implementation." 

Public meetings against the project, petitions for village chiefs, releases of refusal of MDFC, musicians concerts are just a few of many activities carried out against the project. In the region, the conflict between the two interests is severe enough that the army has begun to increase its patrols on site. Intimidation and corruption have also appeared in this issue  clashes between "pro - and anti - zircon" seem inevitable if Carnegie continues its exploitation of the Niafarang dunes.

Ibrahima Thiam
Regional Director
Wetlands International Africa
Rue 111 No 39 B Zone B
BP 25581 Dakar - Fann, SENEGAL
Tel: +221 33 869 1681
WWW.wetlands.org/africa

      

        
"We safeguard and restore wetlands for people and nature"

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Rubbish Awareness in the Mangroves

By John Gray (Yai Ling)



Before my rant, hat’s off to MAP staff Jim Enright, Thailand’s True Mangrove Hero.  Without Jim, Thailand’s mangroves would be disaster fulfilled.  Jim turns plastic junk into “Paradise Found”,  Khap Khun Mak Khrap, Sir Jim! 
# # # # #

George H. Balazs Ph.D. brought marine rubbish awareness to Hawai’i’ in the 1970’s. explaining that sea turtles mistake drifting plastic bags for jellyfish - their favorite prey.  Hawai’i is fairly clean, but does get hit with pelagic and tourist rubbish.  Balazs autopsied numerous green sea turtles, finding up to two dozen plastic bags clogging sea turtles’ digestive tracks, dooming his specimens to slow death. In ocean-conscious Hawai’i this raised a red flag for marine rubbish awareness.  I already accepted the Green Sea Turtle as my “Amakua” (family God), but Belazs amplified my passion for collecting marine rubbish.

Today Hawai’i’s sea turtles are so plentiful they are almost a pest, especially for surfers.  The North Shore’s Laniakea Beach turtle colony creates traffic jams, with docents guarding the turtles from human contact.  Such is the positive result of a clean marine environment.

Long before my Amakua came along, my Sierra Club family was onto the rubbish problem – in the 50’s we boated to Catalina for the week-end, picked up rubbish from shipping along the way,  At Catalina’s isthumus chances were we were the only boat in the Bay, 

Hawai’i is my “A’ina” (homeland) but Asia, not Hawai’i, is where we win or lose the Planet. 
I researched South-East Asia and decided Thailand was my most promising choice. I knew I was accepting an uphill battle, but I didn’t know I was climbing Mount Everest.  

I miss Hawai’i with every heartbeat, but we are laying the groundwork for an Eco-Asia –
and Asia is where we win or lose the Planet

Leaving Hawai’i was my life’s most difficult decision –I take it philosophically.  Hawai’i has little marine rubbish, and for 26 years I’ve contributed to protecting  the Andaman Sea’s spectacular treasures. 


I go on my trips 3-4 days a week. The staff are so professional I disappear to stalk rubbish in my favorite coves and crevasses.  Wearing dive booties and gloves, my paddle reaching into crevasses to encourage Styrofoam, plastic bottles, plastic bags, toys and used tampons into the kayak, I often pull three bags of rubbish from Phang Nga Bay in just one day. 

My fingers are arthritic after 26 years zig-zaging to collect rubbish.  Not so bad in a Sit-On-Top but a big strain in inflatables with two guests.  I did the inflatable edition for 20 years and give Big Thanks to SOTAR for the first 9,000 black bags.  With my arthritic thumbs, I now paddle a quick and maneuverable Ocean Kayaks Tetra Single with a back well that takes at least a half bag before returning to our mother ship.

Sometimes the job is so big teamwork prevails.  This recently came to the fore when I discovered a sunken tree that fell from a cliff around the point from the Park ranger station.  Covered with “ghost: fish nets propelled by the current, the tree was a natural death trap for any marine animal.  I selected  the lowest tides and took my “Dirty Work” team to literally break the Gorgonian knot. 
We started at high tide, cleaning 12 bags of rubbish from the jungle behind the beach.

As the tide dropped the barnacle carpeted tree became bare, and so were our hands – gloves or not.  Wind and current obviously brought trash to this point, so we left the tree to catch more rubbish, inviting clean-ups for years to come.  Perhaps one day the Park Rangers will join the fray – Dream on!

Thailand’s beaches are often backed by mangroves.  Removing the rubbish from roots and trunks is difficult.  I used to crawl on my hand and knees, but with a degenerated knee (companion to my degenerated mind) I find it much easier to just to crawl on my belly through the red ants, passing the plastic and Styrofoam to an assistant behind me.  The ants are a hassle but it’s an efficient slog through deep mangroves. 

I spray my entire body with insect repellant –– and still wear swimming trunks.   The bug juice doesn’t completely stop the ants.  When ants get into long pants it’s a bitch getting them out when knee-deep in mud and mangrove roots. 


To maximize your extraction effort, join with a school or service club – more hands to the rescue.  We’ve done great work with the International Business Association of Phuket – working with a village on remote Koh Yao Yai taking about 50 bags of rubbish off their rocky point in just one day – while teaching the children the evils of Marine Rubbish. 

Every year the British International School finances a clean-up with their high schoolers.  We survey in advance, looking for heavily polluted sand beaches backed by mangroves.  This year’s effort was adjacent to a huge Five Star resort.  The resort created the rubbish but ignored our offer of cooperation – although our clean-up was literally next to their beach.  It was strange crawling on my belly through mangrove roots carpeted with Styrofoam and red ant colonies - retrieving, water bottles, wine bottles and plastic utensils from the resort while a cautious hotel staff stood by making sure these crazy Farang didn’t sneak into the hotel.

In this scenario efficient teamwork wins. One rubbish zealot crawls on their stomach through the roots, tossing as much rubbish as possible back while the “sweeper” bags the rubbish. 

Step-By-Step, marine rubbish awareness gains momentum.  Still, only a small minority “get it”. Most are Westerners like Jim.  A pleasant surprise is Southern Thai Moken (indigenous seafarers) are extremely environmental – unfortunately their Burmese brethren dump rubbish anywhere

We employ 40 Thai guides.  Guest comments praise these guides for collecting rubbish – no easy task in a wide berth inflatable kayak with two “farang” (Western) adults slowing things down.


On the downside, few if any competitors collect marine rubbish – they just contribute to the problem. Some even label their plastic water bottles so we know who tossed what into the sea.

Thailand’s Marine National Parks Department does nothing – except collecting the B400 person entry fee (about $12/person).  Phang Nga’s Deputy
Director did show once – in his well-pressed Uniform - for a University clean-up to flirt with the students.

He picked up - - - nothing.

Phang Nga Bay is downwind and downstream from the famous James Bond Island tourist trap, where venders sell carved seashells while hosting horrified baby gibbons on their shoulders.  When the vendors make a sale, they often pull out extra plastic bags that swirl into the wind – eventually drifting down to the sea caves.

Village fishermen often take families in the longtails, throwing plastic and tampons overboard (retrieving used Tampons is great fun!):  National Parks does nothing to educate villagers of the evils of marine rubbish – which decorates the mangroves adjanent to the villages. 

We are successful with local private school clean-ups, particularly British International School-Phuket, whose commitment includes paying for their annual student clean-up.  I taught “Coastal Tourism Management” at Prince of Songkla University and we did many clean-ups, some with local TV coverage.  I took off a semester to make a documentary and the Professor who stole my class has never done one.

It’s a tough slog – one that will not end in our lifetime.  On every Hong by Starlight trip I know I can count on one full rubbish bag – Styrofoam, plastic parts, toys, hairbrushes – you name it.  If it floats, it ends up in my kayak.  As I write I’m looking at my latest souvenir – a black rubber bucket encrusted in barnacles and sea shells.
Obviously this commitment wreaks havoc to your golf game (I prefer kayaking) but the numbers speak for themselves - It takes a small Styrofoam cup about 50 years to decompose; 200 years for an aluminum can and 450 years for a plastic bottle. 
That’s a great legacy to leave  our offspring. 



######

Marine Debris Biodegradation Time Line
Item
Time to degrade
Paper towel
2-4 weeks
Newspaper
6 weeks
Cardboard box
2 months
Waxed milk carton
3 months
Apple core
2 months
Cotton gloves
1-5 months
Wool gloves
1 year
Plywood
1-3 years
Painted wooden sticks
13 years
Photo-degradable beverage holder
6 months
Plastic beverage holder
400 years
Plastic bags
10-20 years
Plastic bottle
100 years
Glass bottle and jars
undetermined
Disposable diapers
50-100 years
Tin can
50 years
Aluminum can
200 years
Monofilament fishing line
600 years
(Mote Marine Laboratory, 1993)


Item
Time to degrade
Paper towel
2-4 weeks
Newspaper
6 weeks
Cardboard box
2 months
Waxed milk carton
3 months
Apple core
2 months
Cotton gloves
1-5 months
Wool gloves
1 year
Plywood
1-3 years
Painted wooden sticks
13 years
Photo-degradable beverage holder
6 months
Plastic beverage holder
400 years
Plastic bags
10-20 years
Plastic bottle
100 years
Glass bottle and jars
undetermined
Disposable diapers
50-100 years
Tin can
50 years
Aluminum can
200 years
Monofilament fishing line
600 years
(Mote Marine Laboratory, 1993)

Item
Time to degrade
Paper towel
2-4 weeks
Newspaper
6 weeks
Cardboard box
2 months
Waxed milk carton
3 months
Apple core
2 months
Cotton gloves
1-5 months
Wool gloves
1 year
Plywood
1-3 years
Painted wooden sticks
13 years
Photo-degradable beverage holder
6 months
Plastic beverage holder
400 years
Plastic bags
10-20 years
Plastic bottle
100 years
Glass bottle and jars
undetermined
Disposable diapers
50-100 years
Tin can
50 years
Aluminum can
200 years
Monofilament fishing line
600 years
(Mote Marine Laboratory, 1993)


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