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Thursday, April 28, 2016

MAP Asia ventures into developing mangrove nature trails

By Manon Whittaker, MAP Asia Intern


MAP Asia has been developing Mangrove Interpretation Nature Trails in partnership with two communities involved in mangrove restoration.

Klong Lu Mangrove Interpretive Nature Trail, Krabi


The first project is located at the Klong Lu Homestay, on Koh Klang Island, Krabi Province, Southern Thailand with the combined trail and mangrove restoration project completed in December 2015, with the support from the Global Nature Fund (GNF). The mangrove restoration site, which was an abandoned shrimp pond, is situated next to the Klong Lu Homestay and appears to be a great opportunity for the community to develop a nature trail as part of their eco-tourism activities. 

With the help from MAP and volunteers from Projects Abroad the construction of the trail advanced rapidly and is already in use. The Mangrove Nature Trail consists of a short loop pathway around the Community Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration site with three interpretation signs on mangrove ecology along the trail. There are also mangrove species identification signs which describe the various species found on site. This is a great opportunity to promote mangrove ecosystems and educate visitors who include daily tourists, individuals and groups staying at Klong Lu Homestay, local school kids and other students. This year, already 2000 people have utilized this nature trail.

Project Abroad team helping the owner of the Klong Lu Homestay to build the nature trail


The second mangrove nature trail project is located at Ta Sanook Village, in Phang Nga Province. It is being funded by DAIMLER AG as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project which is managed by GNF. The short nature trail will go through a very biodiverse mangrove stand passing over a tidal stream which provides an opportunity to see a variety of species close-up.  Careful route planning not a single mangrove tree had to be cut down for construction.   The community plans to repair a shelter over-top a pond at the end of the walkway which will be used for group discussions.  The construction of the 70 meter-path started in early March 2016 and aims to be completed by May 2016. This Mangrove Nature Trail will mainly serve to support mangrove environmental education of local schools.

Construction of the nature trail in Ta-Sanook is advancing quickly.


MAP is excited to be involved in these environmental education projects as it is the first time for the organization to be involved in developing mangrove interpretation nature trails. We hope they will be a fantastic tool for education of local communities, students as well as visitors and tourists. 

MAP News Issue 389, April 20, 2016

MAP News Issue 389

The MAP News
389th Edition                               April 20, 2016


FEATURE STORY

Mangroves: The roots of the sea
By MAP’s Executive Director Alfredo Quarto
 
AlfredoReplant
I first stumbled upon mangrove forests and the shrimp aquaculture industry that threatened them back in March 1992. Traveling in southern Thailand I visited several fishing communities located along the Andaman Sea for an article I was writing. I noticed a com- mon thread of problems faced by the fisherfolk I interviewed – outside investors were ruining their lands and livelihoods by cutting man- groves to make way for shrimp farms, devastating their local fishery and agriculture. One village headman spoke about the shrimp farms that threatened Andaman fishing communities. His father had been murdered by the shrimp mafia for opposing their cutting mangroves. Speaking with deep emotion, he noted: “If there are no mangrove forests, then the sea will have no meaning. It is like having a tree with no roots, for the mangroves are the roots of the sea.” READ MORE

ASIA

MAP Asia ventures into developing mangrove nature trails
Project%2Babroad%2B-%2Bnature%2Btrail%2Bcrop
THAILAND - MAP Asia has been developing Mangrove Interpretation Nature Trails in partnership with two communities involved in mangrove restoration. The first project is located at the Klong Lu Homestay, on Koh Klang Island, Krabi Province, Southern Thailand with the combined trail and mangrove restoration project completed in December 2015, with the support from the Global Nature Fund (GNF). The mangrove restoration site, which was an abandoned shrimp pond, is situated next to the Klong Lu Homestay and appears to be a great opportunity for the community to develop a nature trail as part of their eco-tourism activities. With the help from MAP and volunteers from Projects Abroad the construction of the trail advanced rapidly and is already in use. The Mangrove Nature Trail consists of a short loop pathway around the Community Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration site with three interpretation signs on mangrove ecology along the trail. There are also mangrove species identification signs which describe the various species found on site. This is a great opportunity to promote mangrove ecosystems and educate visitors who include daily tourists, individuals and groups staying at Klong Lu Homestay, local school kids and other students. This year, already 2000 people have utilized this nature trail. READ MORE

Scientists warn about shrimp farms' effects on environment
VIET NAM - The big profits that farmers can expect explains why shrimp farming has been developing so rapidly in recent yearrs. According to Vo Hong Ngoan, who is known as the “Shrimp King’ of the Mekong River Delta, shrimp farming can bring very high profit: one dong can bring 2-2.5 dong. In Bac Lieu province, for example, farmers can get VND300-400 million worth of profit for every hectare of water surface used for industrial shrimp farming, which is dozens of times higher than rice tilling. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam had 500,000 hectares of brackish shrimp areas in 2005, while the figure increased to 600,000 hectares. This means that 10,000 hectares of new shrimp ponds appear every year. In order to expand the cultivation areas, farmers have shifted from extensive farming into industrial farming which allows them to get a higher yield on the same cultivation area and seek higher profit. As a result, the environment has been harmed seriously. According to Truong Quoc Phu from Can Tho University, with the industrial farming model, shrimp is bred in high density and fed a great deal. This has created more waste, thus leading to pollution and an epidemic outbreak. “Farmers discharge water from their shrimp ponds to the environment without any treatment. As a shrimp hatchery develops uncontrolled the waste water from these shrimp ponds is pumped into other ponds. As a result, the water gets polluted,” Phu said. READ MORE

India to help Cambodia tigers in restoring fauna to their forests
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INDIA - The third Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation concluded on Thursday with the 13 Tiger Range Countries adopting a resolution reasserting their commitment to the Global Tiger Recovery Programme (GTRP). Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said the 'New Delhi Resolution on Tiger Conservation' will help strengthen the commitment of the member countries toward the "Global Tiger Summit" resolution adopted in 2010 at St. Petersburg, Russia — which was to double the tiger population by 2022. "Restoration, Reintroduction and Rehabilitation is needed to increase tiger population in low density areas," Javadekar said. According to a report in The Hindu, Sokhun TY, Secretary of State, Ministry of Agricultue, Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia said that talks are in place about taking six female tigers and two males from India in order to replenish the Cambodian forests Artem Sidorov, head of the Federal Supervisory Natural Resources Management Service, Russia said, "We understand that our common goals and compliance still exists. This resolution must not be limited to the respective ministries of environment or forest only. It's ambit must be broadened and other departments must be included," said Chencho Norbu, director general of Department of Forest and Park Services, Bhutan. READ MORE

Those living near mangrove areas before 2005 will not be evicted
INDIA - Social activist Medha Patkar said that forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has assured her that the slum dwellers living near the mangrove areas since before 2005 will not be evicted. Patkar, along with a delegation of representatives of Ghar Bachao, Ghar Banao Andolan (GBGBA), had called on Mungantiwar to hand over a memorandum, demanding protection for the residents of Bheemchaya locality. She said the minister agreed that since the Bombay High Court judgment in this regard came on October 6, 2005, it would be inhuman to evict the residents who have been living in the area before 2005. She added the minister welcomed the idea of joint forest management by formulating joint committees of residents and forest officials. The Mangrove Cell has demolished around 3,000 hutments from the mangrove areas across the city in the last one year, based on satellite maps that show these as encroachments. READ MORE

Incidental impacts from major road construction on one of Asia’s most important wetlands
THAILAND - Large-scale infrastructure development projects can have devastating impacts upon biodiversity. We investigated the impacts of roads on land-use change in a coastal area of South-east Asia, an area of high biodiversity subject to intense human pressure. The objectives of this study were (1) to examine impacts of major roads on rates of land-use change and habitat conversion in and around the Inner Gulf of Thailand, a large wetland of international importance; and (2) to evaluate the conversion rate of salt-pans (a critical habitat for several species of threatened shorebirds) between 1990 and 2011. Nine land-use types were categorised into two groups: seminatural and human-dominated. Proportions of each land-use type at different distances from major roads were determined using GIS data. More than 40% of the area was used for aquaculture during the entire study period. The amount of seminatural habitats was positively correlated with distance from major roads. READ MORE

AFRICA

Waste creating jobs for creative heads in Cameroon
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CAMEROON - They are four young students of the University of Douala. Once a week, they visit markets and the streets of Douala to pick up garbage. They created in 2014, a small business called Kemit Ecology, with one goal, to fight against deforestation and environmental pollution. “The idea of clean coal came to us because we realized that people in the mangroves where we settled and cut mangrove wood for smoking fish and the other to cut into coal. And we said, but if they can also turn into coal from garbage, why not give them this coal which is 100% more environmental because it does not pollute. So we get to solve the mangrove degradation problem,” Muller Tenkeu Rhea, Kemit Ecology (white knit) Project Sponsor said. Here in the Douala central market, traders have abandoned leaves and vegetable waste. But it remains a gold mine for those young people who go into a new energy source. “All these are biodegradable organic wastes. Inside we have plantain skins, banana skins, it has leaves, but the scrap of sugar cane, oil palm waste, rattan and agricultural scrap howsoever provided that they are biodegradable and organic,” Muller Tenkeu Rhea added. READ MORE

AMERICAS

Puerto Rico Turtle Defender Wins Goldman Prize
Luis%20Jorge%20Rivera%20Herrera%20%28resized%20for%20Planet%20post%29
PUERTO RICO - Longtime Puerto Rico Sierra Club partner Luis Jorge Rivera Herrera has won the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize for helping lead a successful campaign to establish a nature reserve in Puerto Rico's Northeast Ecological Corridor -- an important nesting ground for the endangered leatherback sea turtle -- and to protect the island's natural heritage from harmful development. Honorees come from all the inhabited continents of the world, plus Islands and Island Nations, the category for which Rivera Herrera was awarded the prize. READ MORE

Synthetic shrimp redefining seafood sustainability
USA - Back in 2013, scientist Mark Post made headlines with perhaps the most expensive hamburger ever created. The burger’s price tag, however – according to Post, the patty cost USD 325,000 (EUR 250,000) to make – was only part of what made it so newsworthy. The most interesting part of the story was that Post’s beef didn’t come from a cow in a pasture, it came from a test tube. Fast forward to present day, where California-based startup company New Wave Foods is taking the same lab-cultured approach as Post did, but with shrimp. If all goes according to plan, in about eight months consumers could find themselves purchasing the company’s take on “popcorn” shrimp, which is made out of plants and algae in a lab, and engineered to feel, look and taste like the real deal – a large selling point for the consumers of today and tomorrow, said Florian Radke, a marketing specialist with the technology-driven food producer. “I truly believe that the future consumer will not care if the product came from an animal or not as long as it tastes in a way that they want it to taste and it’s sourced in a responsible way that’s appealing. As long as the texture, the flavor, etc. is the same, we believe that the consumer will see [New Wave shrimp] as seafood,” Radke told SeafoodSource. READ MORE

Mangrove Loss From Climate Change Poses Threat to Lives and GDP
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MEXICO - Mangroves substantially reduce the vulnerability of coasts from inundation and erosion. However, climate change poses a large threat to mangroves, according to recent findings from a World Bank Group working paper.Mangroves as Protection from Storm Surges in a Changing Climate quantifies the coastal protection provided by mangroves for 42 developing countries in the current climate, and under a future climate change scenario with a one-meter sea level rise and a 10 percent intensification of storms. The findings show that although sea level rise and increased storm intensity would increase storm surge areas putting built infrastructure at risk, the greatest impact is the expected loss of mangroves. In the countries with the highest vulnerability to tropical cyclones and the largest area of mangroves, the estimates show that sea level rise due to climate change “is likely to destroy 100 percent of coastal mangroves” in Mexico, 85 percent in the Philippines, 59 percent in Venezuela, 31 percent in Papua New Guinea and 27 percent in Myanmar. READ MORE

Students Reviving Mangrove Wetlands
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BAHAMAS - FORTY-five students planted 135 baby mangrove trees in Camp Abaco last week after growing them in their classrooms throughout this school year. The students, from Abaco Central High School and Forest Heights Academy, and their teachers, participated in a pilot programme called the Bahamas Awareness of Mangroves (BAM), a project about mangrove education and restoration. The BAM programme was created by Amy Heemsoth, of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, in partnership with Friends of the Environment. Their main goal is “to deliver a message about conservation, and to help continue education about mangrove ecosystems here with Bahamian high school students,” said Ms Heemsoth, the Director of Education at the Foundation. “A lot of times when you’re trying to promote conservation, it has to start with the youth,” she said. “They’re our future generation that’s going to protect our resources, and help conserve them for the best.” In the first phase of the project, at the beginning of the school year, the tenth-grade students visited the restoration site at Camp Abaco, where they collected propagules, or mangrove seedlings, to grow and study throughout the year. READ MORE

Study reveals hidden value of Baja California mangroves in climate change fight
MEXICO - As climate change has heightened concerns about the global decline of mangroves, a study released this week found that such ecosystems along the desert coast of Baja California may be more important than previously thought for keeping heat-trapping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Researchers at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography discovered that despite their short and stunted appearance, mangroves in these desert locations had surprisingly high rates of sequestering carbon underground. In some cases, the ability was several times greater than that of lush mangroves in tropical locations. "Desert mangroves specifically in Mexico, which are much smaller and cover a very small total land area, sequester comparable amounts of carbon to tropical mangroves in tropical rainforests," said Paula Ezcurra, lead author of the report. "Their value in mitigating climate change was sorely underestimated," she said. READ MORE

Community Fights to Protect Cherished Mangrove in Cancun
MEXICO - Across the bay from the glittery hotel district, Cancun residents often enjoy some cool respite on the city's breezy malecón, Latin America's name for a seafront promenade. On a typical evening, people can be found jogging, playing, dog walking, or just taking in the fresh Caribbean trade winds. Until January 16, a dense mangrove forest led up to Cancun's malecón, separating the peaceful walkway from the bustling city. But at 2 a.m. on that Sunday, bulldozers moved in and tore the mangrove trees away, destroying a much-needed green space for residents and demolishing the habitat of thousands of creatures. The residents of Cancun reacted, and moved to protect and restore what was left of the mangrove forest. Leveraging social media, notably Facebook pages Salvemos Manglar Tajamar (Let's Save Tajamar Mangrove) and Guardianes del Manglar Cancún (Mangrove Guardians of Cancun), as well as Twitter, calls to action have been rapidly answered by the community, leading to connections with Greenpeace and the international network to save mangrove forests worldwide. READ MORE

EUROPE

Global fisheries are collapsing — What happens when there are no fish left?
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UNITED KINGDOM - "Commercial overexploitation of the world's fish stocks is severe," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said back in 2012. "Many species have been hunted to fractions of their original populations. More than half of global fisheries are exhausted, and a further third are depleted." According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 85 percent of global fish stocks are "overexploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion." Yet despite these alarms having been sounded loud and clear, life in the oceans is continuing to deteriorate at an ominously rapid pace. Fisheries for the most sought-after species of fish have already collapsed. The populations of all large predator fish in the oceans have declined by 90 percent in the 50 years since modern industrial fishing became widespread around the world, according to a shocking paper by scientists with Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, published in Nature in 2003. READ MORE


LAST WORD(S)
Dear Colleagues,

Thank you very much for your help and assistance on this paper [Incidental impacts from major road construction on one of Asia’s most important wetlands], which is now appeared in print in Pacific Conservation Biology. (I may have previously already sent you an Online Early version with no page numbers).

It is imperative to do something to stop the spread of highways in the coastal zone of (especially) the Inner Gulf.

Regards,

Phil
--
Assoc. Prof. Philip D. Round
Regional Representative, The Wetland Trust,
Department of Biology,
Faculty of Science,
Mahidol University, Rama 6 Road,
Bangkok 10400.
 

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The Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve’s Bioluminescent Bay is under NEW attack by our local National Park Service. WE NEED TO PROTECT THE PARK FROM THOSE WHO PRETEND TO PROTECT IT.

CALL FOR CHILDRENS ART: We invite all primary school children from tropical and sub-tropical nations, and whose schools are located near mangroves, to create art telling us "why mangroves are important to my community and me?” Selected winners will be published in the 2017 calendar to be distributed internationally READ MORE

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The benefit for those who harvest wild shrimp in the state of Louisiana and possible health issues involved with consuming possibly diseased imports outweigh the savings to the consumer. Please sign this petition to insure imported shrimp stay off market and help insure the future of Louisiana's fishing families

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Tell Dam Builders to Pull Out of Agua Zarca Dam! For years, critics of the Agua Zarca dam project in Honduras have been targeted by a campaign of violence, intimidation and outright murder. Then, on March 2, Berta Cáceres – vocal critic of the Agua Zarca Dam, Goldman Prize winner and mother of four – was brutally murdered in her home. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH Sign out Petition

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Join us in saving our beautiful country!
We hope you have been following the ongoing battle in Bimini, Bahamas.
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Save the Sundarbans from Rampal power plant – View Sample Letter to Minister
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Friday, April 15, 2016

MAP News Issue 388, April 16, 2016

VerticalResponse

The MAP News
388th Edition                               April 16, 2016


FEATURE STORY

MAP releases 2015 Year End Report
2015-Annual-Report
2015 was another significant year for both MAP and the mangroves. MAP’s workload greatly expanded and some added new staff helped ease the otherwise unwieldy burden of work overload. Mangroves are no longer so remote and maligned in misconceptions as “muddy, mosquito-infested wastelands!” There is a genuine awakening of both scientific and general public sentiment concerning mangroves today, and this gives rise to hope that after 24 years of dedicated work, we are witness to a remarkable change which could well lead to a reversal of that still dangerous 1% And towards that end, MAP has developed effective tools to further the goals of mangrove conservation and restoration via our proven track record with CBEMR and the Marvelous Mangrove (MM) Curriculum. More people living in the mangrove areas are learning important lessons that improve the overall approach to mangrove conservation and management. READ MORE
 
ASIA
 
Trouble Brewing in Paradise Over Fate Of Bali’s Benoa Bay
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INDONESIA - “Build Bali, subsidize the farmers. We all eat rice, don’t need reclamation.” If Bali needed a protest song, then the lyrics above from the song “Bali Tolak Reklamasi” (“Bali Refuses Reclamation”) summarize quite succinctly one of the most contentious issues bubbling beneath the veneer of the idyllic island paradise projected by tour operators. The song was written by a band called Nosstress and sung by dozens of Balinese artists, including renowned bands such as Superman Is Dead, The Bullhead, Nymphea and Gold Voice. It’s a rallying cry against the reclamation of land in Benoa Bay, in southern Bali, by the developer Tirta Wahana Bali Internasional — a massive project that critics contend will devastate the mangrove ecosystem and put the local fishing community out of work. A decree permitting the project was first issued without any fanfare on Dec. 26, 2012, but later revoked by Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika. However, the governor later issued a new reclamation decree granting TWBI permission to conduct a feasibility study on the plan to use, develop and manage the Benoa Bay area. READ MORE
 
From the Executive Director - Please see the linked article below about the Thai Union endorsing spending millions on a "shrimp center" to boost security in their failing industry. It is so naive for the TU to think by setting up such a "shrimp center" they will magically discover ways to solve the disease issues that stem from inherent fatal weaknesses in their mode of operation in the first place. I have stressed for two decades now the need to covert their unsustainable, open, throughput systems of aquaculture to closed recirculating systems built inland, away from the inter-tidal zones and not on otherwise productive, fertile lands or forests. There are plenty of already ruined lands and arid, barren areas to set up "shrimp shop!"
TU to set up B500m shrimp research hub
THAILAND - SET-listed Thai Union Group Plc (TU), the world's biggest exporter of canned tuna, plans to set up the country's first shrimp research and development (R&D) centre in a bid to make Thailand the world's number one in the business, says a senior executive. Rittirong Boonmechote, TU president for shrimp business, said the R&D centre would need an investment budget of 500 million baht, which is expected to come from seafood-exporting companies, the government and TU itself. The centre is expected to be fully constructed and start operation by 2017, he said. "We [the private sector and the government] are in talks concerning the centre and will sign a memorandum of understanding after Songkran," he said. However, they have not yet named the centre officially, Mr Rittirong said. The shrimp centre is one of the Pracha Rat (People's State) projects, which means the people, the government and businesses must work together to pursue sustainable development and help farmers, workers and communities secure their livelihoods. READ MORE
 
Group works to preserve coastal resources of Bangladesh
BANGLADESH - Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS) is a non-profit, non-political organization committed to the sustainable socio-economic development, conservation of natural resources, use of clean energy and protection of environment through research and implementation of activities. A group of enlightened environmentalists, development workers and nature lovers came together with the idea of advocating for the ever degrading coastal ecosystem of Bangladesh. As a result BEDS was formed on July 26, 2010 to work with the grass root level community. The organisation strives for the long-term co-existence of people and natural ecosystems on our planet creating harmony among the living beings. READ MORE
 
Bangladesh coal plant protests continue after demonstrators killed
BANGLADESH - Bangladeshi villagers staged further protests after police opened fire and killed at least four people demonstrating against the planned construction of two large Chinese-financed coal-fired power stations. According to police and eyewitness reports, several thousand villagers gathered in the coastal town of Gandamara near Chittagong to protest against the two power plants. These are expected to force the eviction of several thousand people in a fertile coastal farming areas and the demolition of temples and schools. The police admitted killing four people after the villagers’ demonstration was banned but the protesters claimed that at least five people had died and four others were missing. Around 100 people, including 11 police, are believed to have been injured in violent clashes. “We’ve filed cases against around 3,200 people for the violence. We’ve identified 57 of them but the rest are unnamed,” police chief Swapan Kumar told the AFP news agency. Eyewitness Abu Ahmed, who was was shot in the leg, told coal protest group Phulbari solidarity group that the villagers had been holding peaceful protests for several days after S. Alam, the Bangladeshi developer, started buying up land. READ MORE
 
CLEAN (Coastal Livelihoods and Environmental Action Network)
BANGLADESH - CLEAN is a zonal organization working in the Southwest Coastal Region of Bangladesh on agriculture, mangrove forest and forest peoples, climate crisis and water resource management. CLEAN has been working as the secretariat of Sundarbans Watch Group, a civil society platform on the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest. It is operating Mangrove Club, a forum of school students who are practicing Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum in their schools and communities. CLEAN has also established a Mangrove Resource Centre (MRC) for the students and researchers to get information and reference on Mangroves easily. The organization has initiated Mangropedia, a free and open-sourced online encyclopedia on Mangroves. Contact: Hasan Mehedi, Chief Executive, CLEAN (clean.khulna@gmail.com) READ MORE
 
AMERICAS
 
Music from the Nueva Canción Tradition of Latin America benefits MAP
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USA - Northwest Heritage Resources is pleased to present a concert performance in partnership with the Mangrove Action Project, by the very talented traditional musical group, Sin Fronteras. The concert is scheduled for 7:00pm on Saturday, May 14, 2016 at the Naval Elks Lodge – 3rd Floor Ballroom, 131 E. First St., Port Angeles, WA. At a time in the Pacific Northwest when there is growing involvement in arts and social justice, there has been renewed interest in the nueva canción (“new song”) movement from Latin America. Seattle area trio Sin Fronteras (“without borders“), are highly skilled performers of this tradition and emigrated to the U.S. from Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. Suggested donation for the concert is $10 – 15 collected at the door. No advance ticket sales. Part of admission donations will go to support the work of the Mangrove Action Project, to help restore the rapidly disappearing mangroves of Central America. READ MORE
 
Mangroves as Fish Habitat
USA - With the continuing destruction of mangrove forests world-wide, their importance to fish populations by providing habitat connectivity, nursery grounds and trophic function is a rapidly expanding research area, and one that is increasingly at the focus of many coastal conservation issues. Based on papers and extended abstracts presented at the 2nd International Symposium on Mangroves as Fish Habitat in 2014, this timely book provides an updated look at mangrove fishery linkages, community ecology and connectivity, ecological services of mangroves, potential impacts from climate change, as well as mangrove restoration success stories. This volume will provide scientists, policy-makers, educators, and students with a current, concise volume on this topic, providing much needed direction for future efforts. READ MORE
 
OCEANA
 
Rare Mangrove Species discovered in Australia
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AUSTRALIA  - A local citizen scientist has made an amazing discovery in a busy Cairns’ suburb – finding a mangrove species that’s never been seen before in Australia. Local explorer, Hidetoshi Kudo made the remarkable discovery of Haines Orange Mangrove (Bruguiera hainesii). The species is largely unknown in the southern hemisphere, and has never been recorded in Australia. It is listed as rare and endangered on the IUCN Red List, and according to the records, less than 200 of the plants had previously been found on the planet. Dr Norm Duke, an international mangrove scientist with TropWATER at James Cook University, said Mr Kudo found another 25 of the rare mangroves in Cairns. “This is perhaps one of the most exciting recent day botanical discoveries for this country.” “It also highlights our sad lack of basic knowledge about even something as obvious as such sizable tree species. There clearly remain unknown species out there – as this instance clearly demonstrates - right under our very noses,” Dr Duke said. READ MORE
 
Climate-Related Death of Coral Around World Alarms Scientists
AUSTRALIA – Kim Cobb, a marine scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, expected the coral to be damaged when she plunged into the deep blue waters off Kiritimati Island, a remote atoll near the center of the Pacific Ocean. Still, she was stunned by what she saw as she descended some 30 feet to the rim of a coral outcropping. “The entire reef is covered with a red-brown fuzz,” Dr. Cobb said when she returned to the surface after her recent dive. “It is otherworldly. It is algae that has grown over dead coral. It was devastating.” The damage off Kiritimati is part of a mass bleaching of coral reefs around the world, only the third on record and possibly the worst ever. Scientists believe that heat stress from multiple weather events including the latest, severe El Niño, compounded by climate change, has threatened more than a third of Earth’s coral reefs. Many may not recover. READ MORE

LAST WORD(S)

Hello everyone!
 
My time as a volunteer intern at the MAP Asia office in Thailand has come to an end :-(  It has been an incredible experience and have learnt so much about mangrove restoration and mangrove ecosystems as a whole!  It has been a pleasure working and exchanging information with all of you. Thank you!
 
I wish you all the best for the future.
Happy Thai Buddhist  New Year!
 
Regards.
Manon Whittaker

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ACTION ALERTS WANTED: MAP News is looking for links to calls to actions/petitions and letter writing campaigns on mangrove issues, tropical coastal communities and other related topics. Not all submissions can be selected, but we look forward to hearing about your work and want to let our readers' voice be heard!
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Action Alerts:


CALL FOR CHILDRENS ART: We invite all primary school children from tropical and sub-tropical nations, and whose schools are located near mangroves, to create art telling us "why mangroves are important to my community and me?” Selected winners will be published in the 2017 calendar to be distributed internationally READ MORE

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MAPs 2016 Childrens Calendar now available ORDER TODAY


The AMSN 2016 Conference Muddy Mangrove Movie-fest wants your mangrove and saltmarsh short films! CLICK HERE

Petition for Shrimper's Rights
The benefit for those who harvest wild shrimp in the state of Louisiana and possible health issues involved with consuming possibly diseased imports outweigh the savings to the consumer. Please sign this petition to insure imported shrimp stay off market and help insure the future of Louisiana's fishing families

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Tell Dam Builders to Pull Out of Agua Zarca Dam! For years, critics of the Agua Zarca dam project in Honduras have been targeted by a campaign of violence, intimidation and outright murder. Then, on March 2, Berta Cáceres – vocal critic of the Agua Zarca Dam, Goldman Prize winner and mother of four – was brutally murdered in her home. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH Sign out Petition

Tell Red Lobster its "Endless shrimp" deal is damaging and unfair to the workers SIGN THE PETITION
 
Training Opportunity
Course on mangrove ecosystems in the Western Indian Ocean region
 
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

 

Volunteer Opportunities with Mangrove Action Project CLICK HERE
 
STOP PLANTING MANGROVES ON SEAGRASS BEDS _ A CALL TO ACTION

Want to learn more about mangroves?

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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".

Join us in saving our beautiful country!
We hope you have been following the ongoing battle in Bimini, Bahamas.
We are in need of your help more than ever Click here
 
Exclusive Interview with Alfredo Quarto, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Mangrove Action Project - See more
Save the Sundarbans from Rampal power plant – View Sample Letter to Minister
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Question Your Shrimp- Don't Buy or Sell Imported Tropical Shrimp! Sign the Petition
 

Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum


Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum in Bangladesh - WATCH VIDEO

MARVELLOUS MANGROVES IN BRAZIL
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Marvellous Mangroves – A Curriculum-Based Teachers Guide.


FOR MORE ON MAPs AWARD WINNING CHINA MANGROVE CURRICULUM VISIT
Education in the Mangroves - China
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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

 

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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.
 
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View MAP’s uploaded Videos at MAPmangrover’sChannel

The importance of restoring mangroves in an effective, long-term manner. Mangrove CBEMR video - VIEW

Question Your Shrimp Consumer/Markets Campaign!  WATCH VIDEO

Mangrove Restoration in Asia – Watch Short Video

Mosaic of Life 
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

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Information sheds clear light on shrimp-mangrove connection

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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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16th International Children Contest Announcement for teachers and schools


A fun and exciting Art Contest for children 6 to 16 years old


We invite all primary school children from tropical and sub-tropical nations, and whose schools are located near mangroves, to create art telling us "why mangroves are important to my community and me?”

Selected winners will be published in the 2017 calendar to be distributed internationally to raise awareness of mangrove forest ecology. This creative contest aims to promote appreciation and awareness of mangrove forests, and to encourage and listen to creative voices of children living in mangrove areas.

Help us launch this program in your school by contacting science and art teachers in your area and encourage them to work together on this fun and innovative project.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What kind of art can be submitted? Any technique

Technique: Paint, color pencil, ink, collage, pastel, crayons, etc

Dimensions: Canvas, or paper, 45 cms x 30 cms. (18 in. x 12 in)
The Art Work should be in a format horizontal (long length across, the shorter length vertical), in order to fit on the calendar page. (We had received wonderful art work in a vertical format, but sadly were unable to use it. )

Artist Identification: On the back of each art work please write in English: the full name and age of the artist, the school name, address, city or town, country, and title of art work.

Age Limit: from 6-16 years old

Mailing instructions: The artwork has to be mailed in a small tube, such as the ones for mailing posters. Make sure the art is sent in certified or registered mail to MAP, PO Box 1854, Port Angeles, WA 98362-0279, USA.

How will entries be judged? 
Each school will hold its own exhibition and select 3 or more winners in art. Winning entries will be collected in each country by a participating NGO and then mailed to MAP's office to be judged by a team of artists.

What are the prizes
?
-1st Place will receive a certificate + 2 calendar and the recognition of being published in an International calendar with global distribution.
 -2 nd Place                                          1 calendar
 -3 rd Place                                         1 calendar
 Participating Winning School will receive 2 Calendars
 Participating NGOs will receive 4 Calendars.

When is the deadline?
Please, we must receive the artwork in MAP's office by August 1 2016.

Mailed to: MAP, PO Box 1854, Port Angeles, WA  98362-0279, USA
Please mail in a tube or flat in a box, but not folded!
Who do I contact?
Please let us know if your school and/or NGO plans to participate by contacting:
Monica Gutierrez-Quarto,
Calendar Project Coordinator
c/o Mangrove Action Project
PO Box 1854
Port Angeles, WA 98362-0279, USA
tel.  (360) 452-5866
e-mail: monicagquarto@olympus.net  and
: mangroveap@olympus.net

All entries selected at the national level should be submitted to the same address.

Your local NGO contact is: (Please fill this in.)


 ======================

Some suggested Field Trip and Classroom Lessons

It is suggested that this contest could coincide with an Associated Mangrove Ecology Educational Project with the children. This lesson will highlight the importance of mangrove forests for the environment, for their community, for fishermen and/or for the associated mangrove forest fauna. The intent of this educational project is to help the participating children better comprehend the important role mangroves play in their lives and for their communities.

 1- Information and guidance in the classroom, aided by text books, mangrove curriculum, slides and videos.

 2.- Eco-Study Field trips for firsthand observation with  the teacher and/ or a local resource person, where they can observe the myriad forms of life that inhabit the mangroves, such as the many colored  birds, fish, crabs, mollusks, reptiles, mammals, and insects, while also learning about the unique characteristics of the associated mangrove plants and trees.

 3.- During, or after, the field trips, the children can  hold interviews with their parents or local fishermen about the mangroves in their region, learning more about the history of the area's mangrove forest, as well as why they are important and what the problems are when the mangroves are lost.

 4 - As a result of this research, the children may wish to create artwork for the 2015 calendar art competition.


Yours sincerely,

Monica Alicia Paz Gutierrez-Quarto,
Calendar Project Coordinator
Mangrove Action Project

--
Alfredo Quarto, Executive Director
Mangrove Action Project
PO Box 1854
Port Angeles, WA 98362-0279
USA
phone/ fax  (360) 452-5866
<mangroveap@olympus.net>
mailto:mangroveap@olympus.net
web site: http://www.mangroveactionproject.org

MAP News Issue 593, March 9, 2024

MAP News Issue #593 - March 9, 2024 Nigeria has Commenced Large-Scale Mangrove Restoraion in Ogoniland Eastern Niger Delta NIGERIA - The...