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Friday, September 29, 2017

MAP News Issue 426, Sept 30, 2017

Mangrove Action Project

The MAP News
426th Edition                                                     September 30, 2017

FEATURE STORY
 
Communities struggle to save Sabah’s shrinking mangroves
Shrinking Mangroves
MALAYSIA - A development plan establishing shrimp farms and timber plantations begun purportedly to reduce poverty in northern Sabah, Malaysia, has attracted criticism from local communities and NGOs, which say the project is ignoring communities’ land rights. 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). READ MORE

Asia

The last place on Earth': how Sumatra's rainforest is being cleared for palm oil
Palm Oil Factory
INDONESIA - A palm oil company is continuing to clear forest in a fast-diminishing elephant habitat in Indonesia’s Leuser ecosystem despite being the subject of two reports into illegal deforestation, according to a prominent environmental organisation. The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) published a study in July accusing plantation owner PT Agra Bumi Niaga (ABN) of growing oil palms on illegally deforested land in the Leuser ecosystem, in Aceh province, northern Sumatra. This was the second time in six months that the company had been accused by RAN of clearing rainforests in one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. The NGO stepped up its focus on ABN’s nearly 2,000 hectare (4,942 acres) concession, which sits within the Leuser ecosystem, after the Aceh government banned forest clearance for palm oil plantations in the area in June 2016. Since the Guardian reported on the investigation, the remaining forest in ABN’s nearly 2,000 hectare concession has been reduced from 420 hectares to just 54 hectares. RAN says its latest evidence from satellite imagery and field reports shows ABN cleared 18 hectares of forest in June and razed another 12 hectares in July, seemingly ignoring concerns from campaigners, government and businesses further down the supply chain. READ MORE

Mumbai techie clears 15 tonnes trash from mangroves in 90 days, shovels sense into civic body
Mumbia Techie clears 15 tons
INDIA - For the past three months, citizens walking or jogging along Bandra’s Carter Road promenade have been seeing a man with a shovel in his hand, digging and clearing mangroves of debris and garbage. He was always seen working alone. Toiling as a one-man army against garbage that is choking Mumbai’s mangrove forests, 51-year-old Rehan Merchant, a Bandra resident, has cleared more than 15 tonnes of litter in 90 days. He cleared a 100-foot-wide pool of sewage by creating a channel that allowed the high tide water to wash away muck. He unclogged a decade-old sewage pipe so that plastic would not get stuck to mangrove branches. Inspired by Merchant’s efforts, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) sent 10 clean-up marshals to assist him. In two weeks, the BMC workers have helped him remove more than five tonnes of trash. The heavy downpour on Saturday morning did not interrupt the latest cleaning session. After spending 12 years working in the Middle East, Merchant, a website designer, returned to Mumbai in 2009 and found that the area, where he grew up, was strewn with garbage, mostly plastic. “READ MORE

UN picks La Union boy as Young Earth Ambassador
Rey
PHILIPPINES - A 12-year-old boy from a far-flung barangay here has been chosen by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) as its ambassador in telling the whole world the most pressing message at this time: preserve the forest and save Mother Earth. A son of a slash-and-burn upland farmer called in the vernacular as “kainginero,” James Daryll Rey, grade six pupil of Nagyubuyuban Elementary School, now carries the title of “Young Earth Ambassador” conferred by the UNFAO through the Yakap Kalikasan, a UNFAO-sponsored non-government organization, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 1. As UNFAO ambassador, Rey will be sent to address multi-sectoral groups within the country and abroad to narrate how he successfully led the community, even at his young age, to take action for the preservation of forests. READ MORE


EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a follow up to a story from 2016 discussing the loss of mangroves and fisheries due to dredging in Cambodia. Although the dredging was reportedly banned in July of 2017, it's a little unclear if it has completely stopped and much damage has already been done
Sand numbers between Taiwan and the government appear to be off by more than 1.5M tonnes
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CAMBODIA - More than $30 million in Cambodian sand exports registered by Taiwan appear to be missing from Cambodia’s customs records, according to data from both governments, marking yet another large-scale discrepancy in the Kingdom’s figures on the trade. The huge inconsistency – Cambodian customs data show only 28,900 tonnes of sand sent to Taiwan between 2010 and 2016, while Taiwan registered 1.7 million tonnes in the same period – was highlighted by NGO Mother Nature in a video released on Monday evening. Following the release, two activists for the organisation were yesterday arrested while taking photos of two suspected sand-bearing vessels anchored near Prek Khsach commune in Koh Kong province’s Kiri Sakor district. Mother Nature founder Alex Gonzalez-Davidson said Dem Kundy and Hun Vanak were seized aboard their small boat in open waters near a special economic zone owned by powerful ruling party Senator Ly Yong Phat. READ MORE

Satellite images show Navy station reclaimed 60% mangroves in Mumbai
Satellite Image
INDIA - A city-based non-government organisation (NGO) has alleged that illegal reclamation by the Indian Navy Station (INS) Hamla led to a 60% drop in mangrove cover at an area owned by the latter near Nau Sena Bagh, Marwe, Malad (West). The state mangrove cell confirmed there was a violation at the site. NGO Watchdog Foundation filed complaints with the state mangrove cell and the Mumbai suburban collector on Tuesday. The NGO attached satellite images from 2013 and 2017 that show a significant drop in green cover at the patch. “Debris dumping over four years by the Navy has destroyed over one-and-a-half hectare mangrove patch at Marwe. This is against Bombay high court (HC) orders and the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 1991, which provides for the protection of mangroves irrespective of their density,” said Godfrey Pimenta, trustee, Watchdog Foundation. “We demand an enquiry into the matter and the booking of officials responsible for this.” The destruction of mangrove forests across the state and construction within 50m of mangrove areas was banned by the Bombay high court in 2005, after a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by the NGO Bombay Environment Action Group. READ MORE

Mangrove messiah gets a school, posthumously
Mangrove Messiah School
INDIA - Mangrove protector and ecologist Kallen Pokkudan in his life time could not realise his dream of setting up a mangrove school for the young generation to know and study mangroves, ecology and sustainable life. Now, after two years of his demise, his sons, relatives and green activists have successfully developed a school at Muttukandy near Payangady in Kannur on the banks of Payangadi river. The students have started visiting the place from across northern Kerala to know the life of Pokkudan and the green lessons he imparted. Yet there are miles to go before a full-fledged school campus as envisaged by Pokkudan can be established. "The mangrove school doesn't mean a building alone. It comprises mangrove, river, the flora and fauna and the life sustenance of all the living beings," says Sreejith Paithalen, son of Kallen Pokkudan, who spearheads the Mangrove Tree Trust which is behind the school.READ MORE

Americas

Protection to Mangrove Areas Must Increase
manglares-panama
PANAMA - Only 40 percent of the 1,744 square kilometers of mangrove in Panama are included in the national system of protected areas, said the report issued by International Conservation Panama. According to this non-governmental organization, the rest of the areas, if described as special management zones, are still vulnerable to agricultural changes, coastal pollution, shrimp farming and housing, or they are highly damaged by the exploitation of mangrove. Thus, the protection to the mangrove areas is relatively weak and does not envisage the proper way to protect the carbon reserve for a long-term period, said Julio Rodriguez, manager of International Conservation Panama. Nevertheless, the researches highlight the role of mangrove ecosystems in reducing the climate change from the adaptation and mitigation viewpoint, as well as reducing risks and keeping or increasing the carbon reserve. Finally, International Conservation Panama said that the location of future mangrove habitats and its inclusion in the adaptation process will be a key issue to plan the sustainability of human settlements for a long-term period. VIEW SOURCE

The Everglades have always been hit by hurricanes. Irma could be a different matter.
Hurricane Irma
USA As residents of the Southeast are returning home and assessing the damage left by Hurricane Irma, Florida scientists are anxiously waiting to evaluate the storm’s impact on one of the state’s most valuable — and vulnerable — ecosystems: the Everglades. Already threatened by the continuous progression of sea-level rise — which pumps damaging salt water into the habitat, jeopardizing groundwater resources, contributing to erosion and threatening wildlife and vegetation — some scientists worry that the weakened Everglades are becoming less resilient to disruptive events like hurricanes. The issue is a prime example of the way climate change can render ecosystems more vulnerable to even natural disturbances. Indeed, it’s an issue that President Barack Obama chose to highlight two years ago during his last term. On a visit to Everglades National Park in April 2015, timed to coincide with Earth Day, Obama emphasized the growing threat of climate change and pointed to the impact of the rising seas in Florida as an example. READ MORE

Oceana

Civil Servants Plant Mangroves Along Foreshore In Labasa
CIVIL-SERVANTS-IN-THE-NORTHERN-DIVISION-AT-VUO-VILLAGE-PLANTING-OF-MANGROVES-680x365
FIJI - To make climate change awareness effective, more than 100 civil servants planted 300 mangroves at Vuo Village outside Labasa Town recenty. Northern Division Secretary based at Commissioner Northern’s office Soko Tuima said they chose to plant mangroves in this village as it was directly exposed to the sea. “There was an empty muddy space facing the sea and located in front of the village posing a threat to the villagers,” Mr Tuima said. “During the high tide especially when the sea is rough, the water flows into the nearby houses as this is a low lying area. “The advantage of planting mangroves will greatly help in the long run as it will hold water from pushing its way into the houses. “The civil servants were happy taking their time out for this programme as it acted as a mitigator for climate change effects,” he said. “Moreover, we have carried out more programmes in line with climate change awareness week such as the planting of 70 native trees at the Labasa botanical garden and conducted a clean-up campaign at the back street of Labasa town. READ MORE

Dead mangroves shut down carbon cycle
170927-Magrove-Full.jpg?ixlib=rails-2.1.4&auto=format&ch=Width%2CDPR&fit=max&w=1440
AUSTRALIA - Mangroves help fight climate change but they’re at serious risk from its effects. That’s one of the findings from a study of a massive mangrove dieback that occurred in late 2015. Local fishermen reported mangroves were dying along hundreds of kilometres along the Gulf of Carpentaria coastline, in northern Australia, an area known for its barramundi fishing and high-value commercial fisheries. This caught the attention of Damien Maher of Southern Cross University in Melbourne, who is interested in the chemistry of mangroves – how they store carbon in their soils, remove planet-warming nitrous oxides from the atmosphere, and neutralise ocean acidification by releasing alkaline chemicals into nearby waters. Maher and his colleagues studied the dead zones, as well as adjacent areas that survived. “The dead areas were emitting carbon dioxide to the atmosphere straight from the soils,” he says. “The carbon cycle had shut down because the trees weren’t locking up carbon anymore.” READ MORE
 
 
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LAST WORD
 
A note on
It is discouraging to hear that the problems (of post-tsunami replanting mangroves) are even worse than ever.  The same issues are occurring in coastal wetland restoration efforts in the US, which I know you are familiar with also.  It appears that we are investing in coastal restoration ex post - at great cost and waste - as a pancea for not investing in adequate protection or conservation of natural systems that are rapidly disappearing from development.  Restoration has become a license for development, and not a remedy for it as intended. 

I agree that you and I don't have the power or influence to stop it.  But we do have a voice, and we need to keep using it in the hope that someone will listen.  As Martin Luther King said, "We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope."

Keep up the good fight. Or, as David Pearce used to tell me, "Keep on laughing and smiling"....
 
Best wishes,
Edward B Barbier
Professor of Economics
Senior Scholar, School of Global Environmental Sustainability
Colorado State University





 

ACTION ALERTS

EPIC REPORT Download the paper ‘Mangrove Restoration: to plant or not to plant’, available in 7 languages.


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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?mangrove-action-project-presentation-1-1024.jpg?cb=1424228039
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
EPIC-Film 2
 
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

Marvellous-Mangroves-Myths-and-Legends-Promo
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


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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
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
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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

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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. —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

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
LISTEN TO INTERVIEW

Information sheds clear light on shrimp-mangrove connection

Question Your Shrimp
SEE DETAILS MANGROVE/SHRIMP

Join MAP on Facebook
Sign the Consumer's Pledge to avoid imported shrimp
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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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Mangrove Action Project
Click here to view past newsletters
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Thursday, September 14, 2017

MAP News Issue 425, Sept 16, 2017

Mangrove Action Project

The MAP News
425th Edition                                                     September 16, 2017

FEATURE STORY
 
Communities struggle to save Sabah’s shrinking mangroves
Malaysia
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 Coral Reef
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
sustainability-09-01485-g001-550
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
Mangrove Scheme
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
Helicopter planting
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
 Kerala 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
Irma Destruction
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
Mangrove-Mania-044
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 
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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 
 
 
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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.


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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?mangrove-action-project-presentation-1-1024.jpg?cb=1424228039
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
EPIC-Film 2
 
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

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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


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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
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
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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

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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. —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

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
LISTEN TO INTERVIEW

Information sheds clear light on shrimp-mangrove connection

Question Your Shrimp
SEE DETAILS MANGROVE/SHRIMP

Join MAP on Facebook
Sign the Consumer's Pledge to avoid imported shrimp
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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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