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FEATURE STORY
Report Launch | Forest politics in Indonesia: Drivers of deforestation and dispossession AFRICA
FAO to support mangrove ecosystem management in nine citiesBENIN - In Benin, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently signed a contract with the Beninese Ministry of Living Environment and Sustainable Development for the sustainable management of mangrove ecosystems by 2028 in the cities of Grand-Popo, Comè, Ouidah, Bopa, Kpomassé, Abomey-Calavi, Sô-Ava, Aguégués and Sèmè-Kpodji. These councils, all located in the southern part of Benin, have in common the risk of flooding, which affects the farms of 300,000 people and endangers the potential of fauna and flora. Among the natural sites most exposed to climatic shocks is Lake Ahémé, whose mangrove covers an area of 126 km2 with around 70 species of fish and birds. This is why the UN agency based in Rome, Italy, is implementing the project “Strengthening the resilience of human and natural systems to climate change through the conservation and sustainable use of mangrove ecosystems in southern Benin. At a total cost of $70 million (42.6 billion CFA francs), the initiative will be co-financed with $62.8 million (38.2 billion CFA francs) from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF). AMERICANicaraguan women dig for cockles and save mangrove forestsNICARAGUA - From a young age, Elena Martinez and other female residents of Aserradores, a small fishing community in eastern Nicaragua, learn to navigate the dense mangrove forest to extract a black mollusc from deep under the mud.Every few days, they leave home at dawn to row about two kilometres (1.2 miles) in a fishing boat to the mangroves, where they crawl through gnarly branches knee-deep in mud, digging for the delicacy by hand. While keeping food on the table, the women also help conserve the mangrove forest -- a natural barrier that harbours countless animal species and protects coastal settlements from floods, tidal waves and hurricane winds. In several hours they each gather a small pile of the mollusc known to science as Anadara tuberculosa -- some for home consumption, but most to sell in town. The cockle is a popular menu item in Nicaragua and famed for purported aphrodisiac qualities. Mangroves for Community and Climate: Adapting in Harmony with Nature USA - In episode 179 of America Adapts, I’ve partnered with World Wildlife Fund to learn the critical role mangrove forests play in coastal adaptation and the work WWF is doing with their Mangroves for Community and Climate project. You’ll hear how WWF is applying its three core adaptation strategies: ecosystem-based adaptation, nature-friendly adaptation, and climate-smart conservation. We journeyed to the Yucatán in Mexico to speak with mangrove experts from around the world - Mexico, Madagascar, Colombia, Fiji, Australia and the US – all coming together to share their expertise and knowledge to help mangroves persist in a changing climate. WWF is working to conserve mangroves around the world through various initiatives, including the development of a climate-smart mangrove restoration decision support tool. Finally, we’ll hear how WWF’s Environment and Disaster Management and Climate Crowd programs are helping communities adapt to climate change while valuing and reducing pressure on the critical ecosystem services that mangroves provide. It’s an epic size episode focusing on a critical species for adaptation! Florida Senate Bill Seeks to Revitalize Mangrove Forests in Biscayne Bay and Beyond
USA - Florida's mangroves play a key role in the health of the state’s coastal ecosystems, serving as nurseries for marine animals and providing a first line of defense against coastal erosion and storm surge. Around Biscayne Bay, the aquatic plant has been losing ground over the years as a result of urban expansion. Mangrove forests were viewed as a nuisance and targeted for mass elimination during development booms of decades past, leaving a small fraction of the habitats that once lined Miami's waterways. Though mangrove loss has since slowed, Hurricane Irma and other powerful storms have dealt a blow to regrowth of the forests. For the second year in a row, State Senator Ileana Garcia is seeking to buff up Florida’s mangrove law in an effort to revitalize the plant's presence statewide. She recently introduced SB 100, a bill that would bolster mangrove conservation through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The current version of the statute regulates trimming, removal, and alteration of mangroves in Florida.
. ASIA Mangrove restoration gives hope to Indonesia's sinking shores INDONESIA - On World Wetlands Day, we look at how communities in Indonesia are turning to mangroves to buffer themselves against rising seas and more intense storms. In a village on the Indonesian island of Java, eight men are wielding saws and machetes with practiced precision, preparing long bamboo poles that they will use to defend their embattled community. The men are fighting back against the erosion and rising sea levels that have swallowed up vast areas of land along Java’s north coast, including in their home district of Demak. Key to their strategy is restoring a protective belt of mangroves. “To do this, we create traps for sediment from local bamboo and nets,” explained Ahmad Busro, a community leader, as the poles piled up behind him. “The hope is that when enough sediment accumulates, seeds that naturally drop off the mangrove can settle and grow.” This innovative approach to mangrove restoration is part of a multipronged effort pioneered by Wetlands International to harness the power of nature to benefit both people and nature.
Mangrove restoration should include social aspects, involve community — study
PHILIPPINES - Studies on mangrove restoration need to be more inclusive and also include the social attributes of this important ecosystem to improve how conservation is done across Southeast Asia, scientists from the University of the Philippines said. A study published by by UP Diliman Institute of Biology Associate Professor Dr. Severino Salmo III and biology graduate student Maria Elisa Gerona-Daga and published in Frontiers and Marine Science found that most publications on mangrove restoration assessed ecological attributes, around three times more than those that linked restoration to social aspects. Most of the studies that assessed social attributes were focused on the economic value of mangrove ecosystems and their services (24%), on the role of different sectors in mangrove restoration and management (23%), and on policies and governance (20%). Community-based restoration (15%), eco-cultural practices (14%), and environmental education (5%) were relatively less studied. Island biogeography graduate student Mark Angelo Bucay said the paper's findings show the lack of focus on integrative, multidisciplinary studies.
175,000 kg waste collected from mangrove forest in Mumbai
INDIA - In a mega drive, a whopping 175,000 kgs waste material was collected in a year-long mangrove and beach clean up operation in the financial capital of Mumbai and the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The drive was launched by the Mangrove Foundation of Maharashtra on February 2, 2022 coinciding with the World Wetland Day. The drive was carried out in twin districts of Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban and large parts of neighbouring districts of Palghar, Thane and Raigad. The clean-up drives were a collaborative effort, with the support of NGOs, Volunteers, local communities, and the Mangrove Cell of Maharashtra. The hard work and dedication of all partners made the drive a success, with a significant amount of 175,000 kg waste collected from the mangrove forest with the involvement of 10,078 volunteers.“The success of the drive depends on the active participation of everyone, and the Mangrove Cell is confident that together, we can make a positive impact on the mangrove ecosystems in Maharashtra. The successful completion of the mangrove clean-up drives is just the beginning, and the state is committed to working towards a brighter future for its mangrove ecosystems,” said Adarsh Reddy, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Mangrove Foundation.
Failed mangrove tourism project in Sumatra highlights need for community collaboration
INDONESIA - In October 2019, the Sicanang Mangrove Forest ecotourism project launched as a mangrove tourism destination. At its launch, the project, in Sicanang village on the outskirts of the city of Medan in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, was hailed as an initiative that would both ensure the natural benefits of mangroves as flood-control barriers and act as a sustainable source of livelihood through ecotourism and other income-generating activities like using mangrove plants to create food products and dyes for batik cloth. The project didn’t last. When Mongabay attempted to visit the Sicanang tourist attraction in September 2022, the gate was padlocked. According to local residents, the tourist attraction has been officially closed since November 2021. The closure came in the wake of local land conflicts. According to Meilinda, the Sicanang community association approved of the project, including setting aside 178 hectares of the village for a mangrove protection area. The plan was also approved by the village head and known to the subdistrict head, she says. But this was not enough to prevent claims from both individuals and companies that the land had been wrongfully appropriated. “Suddenly, there were many people who claimed land. I was accused of seizing the land,” says Meilinda, when contacted by telephone.
Like this newsletter? Pease consider donating to MAP to keep it going. Giving could never be easier *Articles in this newsletter may mention practices being used and/or show exagerated results being claimed without proof. Stories are presented here in effort to show mangrove related activity around the world and do not necessarily reflect Mangrove Action Project's views or mangrove restoration best-practices. NOTICEChildrens Art Calendars 2023
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Saturday, February 25, 2023
MAP News Issue #566 - Feb 25, 2023
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MAP News Issue #565 - Feb 11, 2023
The MAP News
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FEATURE STORY
El Salvador - a blueprint for mangrove conservation efforts worldwide? EL SALVADOR - Near the border with Guatemala, a two-hour drive from San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, lies a tropical coast lined with mangrove forests where crocodiles, corals and fisheries thrive. The Barra de Santiago is a habitat for numerous threatened and endangered species, including four species of sea turtle: the hawksbill sea turtle, Olive Ridley Turtle, leatherback sea turtle and green sea turtle, and the yellow-naped parrot, which is severely threatened because of its commercial value in the pet trade. For the past 30 years, unrestricted urbanisation, cattle grazing, the sugarcane industry’s expansion and the increasing demand for wood have caused deforestation, alterations in the hydrology of the area and pollution. This mangrove forest, although designated as a Ramsar site, a wetland whose conservation and sustainable use are governed by an international treaty, has shrunk by 50% according to 2018 estimates. Since 2012, several local women’s and fishermen’s organisations – some with international support – have started to restore the mangrove ecosystem, creating new livelihoods for residents, such as crab farming, while protecting the area’s biodiversity. Results have been limited so far, but the success of local organisations provides a model for how this type of ecosystem can be restored globally.
GLOBAL
Drive to protect world’s wetlands gains momentumGLOBAL - Vegetated wetlands, such as swamps and marshes, are some of the most wildlife-rich ecosystems on the planet, their shallow waters and abundant plant life supporting everything from insects to ducks to moose. But these wetlands, as well as lakes, rivers and other watery environments around the world, are in peril, with many polluted or degraded as a result of climate change and human development. In recent months, though, governments have stepped up their efforts to protect and restore these natural spaces, a drive experts say is not only crucial for protecting biodiversity, but also countering the climate crisis. Countries around the world are now beginning to restore their wetlands. Examples of wetland conservation initiatives include the development of emerging sponge cities in China, and the government-backed restoration of the United Kingdom’s Great North Bog, a significant area for both carbon and water storage. Research shows that accelerated efforts to conserve and restore wetlands are crucial as the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution and waste is amplifying the effects of wetland degradation. But adequate finance and political will are key. According to UNEP’s 2022 State of Finance for Nature report, climate, biodiversity and land degradation goals will be out of reach unless investments in nature-based solutions quickly ramp up to US$384 billion per year by 2025. That would be more than double the current total of US$154 billion a year. AFRICAGambia greenlights ten-year plan for its mangrove oyster sectorGAMBIA - FISH4ACP has signed an agreement with Gambia that will see its mangrove oyster sector adopt a sustainable growth plan over ten years and bring more women into the industry. Better oyster production and responsible resource management are vital for sustainable growth of The Gambia’s mangrove oyster sector, according to an upgrading strategy endorsed by key stakeholders on 2 February. The agreement marks the start of FISH4ACP’s activities in support of female oyster producers, while aiming to turn the tide on declining oyster stocks. “This agreement bolsters our support to Gambia’s oyster sector,” said Fanta Bojang Samateh, deputy permanent secretary of the ministry of fisheries, water resources and national assembly matters, opening a meeting where a 10-year strategy to upgrade the oyster value chain of the West-African nation was endorsed. He added: “It is of great importance for the women who dominate this sector, allowing them to feed their families and improve their livelihoods.” AMERICAMangrove Action Project meet with FIAES in El SalvadorEL SALVADOR - The Mangrove Action Project team are currently in El Salvador to follow-up on restoration activities since their mangrove restoration training workshop in 2011. Whilst there, the team met with FIAES Executive Director, Ing. Jorge Oviedo, along with members of their technical team, to learn the advances and positive impacts of the implementation of the Ecological Mangrove Restoration (REM) method. Since 2011 there have been important transformations for nature and local communities in the Ramsar Bahía de Jiquilisco site. The Ministerio de Medio Ambiente and FIAES are the leading promoters of the innovative and effective REM method for the conservation of this vital ecosystem within El Salvador. FIAES said "We are grateful for the cordial visit of the Mangrove Action Project (MAP) team, because through these meetings the exchange of knowledge is promoted, strengthening the actions of restoration and conservation of ecosystems at a local and regional level" France commits 3-million euros to restoring mangroves in the Carribean SAINT LUCIA - The United Nations has designated February 2 as World Wetlands Day to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands and the need to preserve them, especially in light of their rapid degradation in the last few decades. “Nearly 90% of the world’s wetlands have been degraded since the 1700s, and we are losing wetlands three times faster than forests. Yet, wetlands are critically important ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability, world economies and more” – worldwetlandsday.org – Furthermore, in the last 50 years, approximately 35% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared being graded with bulldozers for construction projects, or filled in for various reasons. This year, World Wetlands Day is being observed under the theme, “It’s Time for Wetlands Restoration.” On World Wetlands Day, Mrs. Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, French Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, paid a visit to one of Saint Lucia’s prime wetlands, the mangrove area in Marigot Bay, Saint Lucia. There, she announced that “through the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), France is going to finance an Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Mangrove Restoration program for up to €3 million euros in 2023.” National Parks Authority pledges vigilant coastal protection on World Wetlands Day
ANTIQUA & BARBUDA - Mangroves, lagoons, ponds and swamps came under the spotlight recently on World Wetlands Day. The National Parks Authority joined the global community in observing the occasion, this time held under the theme ‘it’s time for wetland restoration’. “The National Park recognises that wetlands are of considerable value to our overall ecosystem and the lives and livelihoods of our people,” a release said. “In Antigua they are easily identifiable by virtue of the fact they are usually saturated, covered by water or dominated by mangrove vegetation.” Mangrove wetland ecosystems are regarded as extremely important for coastal resilience and the support of livelihoods. Within the Nelson’s Dockyard National Park, this is especially true because of the multiple coastal communities that are heavily reliant on the marine ecosystems, including wetlands. “Under the regulations, the park maintains its vigilance against all man-made threats against our wetlands. For instance, in 2021 it discovered an illegal backfilled site and as a result went about restoring the area to its previous state. “The backfill was removed and the red mangrove seedlings that were planted continue to mature today.
. Getting to the Root of Blue Carbon Storage in Belize’s Mangroves
BELIZE - Researchers from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) recently published a study in the journal Science of the Total Environment introducing the first national estimate of mangrove carbon stocks in Belize. These findings are the first data released from the Belize Blue Carbon project, an international effort to develop nationwide mangrove datasets to understand implications for climate change mitigation and adaptation. While mangroves have long been recognized as important nature-based solutions for long-term carbon storage, many countries still lack local data on carbon stocks and instead rely on global or regional averages, which can significantly over- or underestimate their stock evaluations. This is of special concern because under the Paris Agreement, signatory countries are responsible for producing plans, termed nationally determined contributions (NDCs), on how they will reduce their carbon emissions. Larger scale averages might not represent the actual amount of carbon stored within the mangrove ecosystems of that country. “The results from this assessment show how different mangrove ecosystems can be from one another in a relatively small area and highlights their importance to national climate change mitigation goals,” said SERC scientist Hannah Morrissette.
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ASIA On Sumatra coast, mangrove clearing sparks scrutiny of loophole INDONESIA — Ambo Angke trudged through the cemetery knowing he had been right to worry. A high tide surge had inundated the resting place here on the eastern coast of Sumatra after developers ripped out the trees protecting the shoreline. “The mangroves were completely cleared,” Ambo, 48, told Mongabay Indonesia in November as we walked under light rain through the village of Sungai Sayang. Excavators had noisily leveled 100 hectares (250 acres) of mangrove trees here in Sadu subdistrict, on the coast of Jambi province. The clearing prepared the ground for a new oil palm plantation. But in doing so, it removed the natural shield between village and sea, leaving behind a plain of mud and deadwood. Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic country, and accounts for the world’s largest estate of mangrove forests. However, research shows almost half of Indonesia’s mangroves have been damaged or destroyed, often for charcoal production or to make way for aquaculture and oil palms, which provide livelihoods for millions but apply pressure on landscapes. In recognition of these shifts, President Joko Widodo set ambitious targets to replenish Indonesia’s ailing mangroves.
OCEANA
Call to ‘protect mangroves with our lives
FIJI - The mangroves which could be affected by the proposed $600 million Tian Lun integrated hotel-tourism project must be protected at all costs. This is the view of Dr Apisalome Movono, senior lecturer in Development Studies at Massey University, New Zealand. “They take decades to develop yet take minor disturbances to be destroyed,” he said. Dr Movono said for Suva and its harbour, the importance of the mangroves was of critical importance that there was a “need to protect what we still have with our lives”. “I feel this way not only having a background in marine affairs and tourism but also because I earned my diving credentials in the Suva fish patch, have been an avid fisher in the Suva area for over 20 years and have witnessed first-hand the immense decline in the quality and volume of marine life in the Suva harbour over the past 16 years. “This, I believe, is due mainly to the mass-scale degradation of mangrove that has been allowed – from Lami to Nadawa, including the huge forest in between Raiwai and Vatuwaqa.
*Articles in this newsletter may mention practices being used and/or show exagerated results being claimed without proof. Stories are presented here in effort to show mangrove related activity around the world and do not necessarily reflect Mangrove Action Project's views or mangrove restoration best-practices. NOTICEChildrens Art Calendars 2023
ORDER YOURS HERE
ACTION ALERTS
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Mangrove Action Project Click here to view past newsletters
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MAP News Issue #594 - March 23, 2024
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