MAP News Issue #583 - Oct 21, 2023 |
Tropical Forests May Be Getting Too Hot for Photosynthesis |
GLOBAL - Climate change is already making a small proportion of tropical tree leaves so hot that their photosynthetic machinery bakes and breaks, according to new research. The study, published in Nature, finds that even when the surrounding air is significantly cooler than the leaves themselves, some 0.01 percent of individual leaves can reach a critical temperature at which the enzymes required for photosynthesis go through a process called denaturation—the same type of irreversible change that egg proteins in cake batter undergo in the oven. “It’s put some really hard numbers to what we already know intuitively: that it is getting too hot for trees and for tropical forests,” says Stephanie Pau, a global change ecologist at Florida State University, who was not involved in the new research. Although only a small proportion of leaves are currently reaching this feverlike state, study co-author Christopher Doughty, an earth systems scientist at Northern Arizona University, says the findings are still starker than he’d expected.
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Empowering Madagascar’s Mangroves for Sustainable Development |
MADAGASCAR - In light of the recently held United Nations SDG Summit 2023 and UN SDG Action Campaign, Feed the Minds’ Programme Support Officer Jaz Counsell shares how one of Feed the Minds’ projects directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In partnership with Tanjona Association, Feed the Minds’ project on improving biodiversity and livelihoods for women in Mandrosoa village in Madagascar started in February 2023. 90% of the community relies on the mangrove ecosystem for their livelihoods.
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Quantifying the contribution of mangroves to local fish consumption in Indonesia |
INDONESIA - Indonesia has lost more mangroves than any other country. The importance of mangroves for carbon storage and biodiversity is well recognised, but much less is known about what they contribute to the communities living near them who are called on to protect them. Malnutrition in Indonesia is high, with more than a third of children stunted, partly due to poor diets. Fish are nutrient-rich and are the most widely consumed animal source food in Indonesia, making the relationship between mangroves and fish consumption of great importance.
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Working on making mangroves as pillar of blue economy's resilience |
INDONESIA - Leaders in the Southeast Asian region agreed to adopt the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework at the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta in September 2023.
For Indonesia, as the ASEAN chair this year, development of the blue economy deserves to receive attention, as oceans constitute three-quarters of its territory. The Ministry of National Development Planning is targeting the blue economy sector to contribute up to 15 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2045 or to increase by around three folds the current figure of 5.3 percent. To this end, the government is currently striving to develop seven aspects of the blue economy.
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Illegal fishing major maritime threat in Gulf of Guinea, costing West Africa $26bn |
GHANA - The West African sub-region annually loses $26 billion to illegal fishing and illicit trade in marine resources, a senior Ghanian official has warned, echoing a recent report by an independent intergovernmental body that globally, nature is declining at rates unprecedented in human history, and species’ extinction is accelerating at an alarming rate. In an address to selected media personnel at a workshop held in Accra that focused on the nature crimes in Ghana, the West African country’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, said that “on the economic front, Interpol estimates that 38% of global criminal proceeds are derived from nature crimes.”
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FAO, partners sensitise rural Gambia on mangrove revival |
GAMBIA - Food and Agricultural Organization in partnership with GCF-funded Climate Resilient Fishery Initiative for Livelihood Improvement in The Gambia (PROREFISH Gambia) recently sensitised communities in rural Gambia on the importance of protecting mangrove ecosystems. The rural outreach, which targets a total of 180 participants from nine rural communities, seeks to secure livelihoods and fortify the environment, giving hope to communities that are fast losing a substantial portion of mangroves in their brackish waters. Aruna Jobe, Natural Resources Specialist, Food and Agriculture Oganisation, said mangrove restoration is not just about planting trees; but rather it's about empowering communities to be the guardians of their future.
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| Restoring damaged mangroves to protect our shoreline |
USA - The mangroves kept Ian from doing more damage to Southwest Florida. That’s part of what makes them a critical part of our ecosystem. They also create a habitat for our fish and wildlife. But Ian left the mangroves in bad shape, making it hard for them to grow again. They were left gray and weak by the storm. Now two groups are working together to restore them. “They play a huge role in protecting our shorelines from storm surge and from storms,” said Captain Chris Wittman, Co-Founder of Captains for Clean Water. “We saw that with hurricanes in the past, including hurricane Ian, and the areas where there was good, connected mangrove habitat, mitigated a lot of the surge and a lot of the wave action.” But after protecting our coastline, we now know, it was more than just the leaves that were stripped. It was the seeds as well.
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MAP News Issue #582 - Oct 7, 2023 |
Mangrove Ranger Crowned Miss Cayman Islands Universe 2023 |
CAYMAN ISLANDS - The Mangrove Rangers offer their congratulations to fellow Ranger Ileann Powery on winning the Miss Universe Cayman Islands, pageant. Ileann has been an integral part of the Mangrove Rangers for the past two years. Using her talents as a videographer and reporter, she has followed the trail of the Rangers as they apply their education programs to Cayman's cmmunities and their schools. As the rangers' founder and executive director of its parent organization the Mangrove Education Project (MEP), Martin Keeley says “I cannot emphasize enough how much Ileann has been a key part of showing Cayman exactly what the rangers do and the vital importance to Cayman of our coastal ecosystem with its mangroves, seagrass and reefs. She is an extremely talented videographer and it shows in her productions." Ileann has also helped the rangers produce a series of "how to" videos which show teachers just how to carry out hands-on activities with their students.
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Scientists investigate potential of sustainable protection of rapidly subsiding coastlines with mangroves |
INDONESIA - Along the Asian coastlines there are many areas where rural communities experience alarming rates of sea level rises due to land subsidence up to 10 cm per year. This causes tremendous challenges on how to live there and protect these coasts. A Dutch-Indonesian team of scientists jointly investigated the potential and limitation of mangrove restoration as a cost-effective and sustainable solution for coastal protection in rapidly subsiding areas. They have published their findings in Nature Sustainability.
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Lawmakers sign off on landmark bill to give citizens 40% of profits from clean air projects: ‘An untapped opportunity’ |
KENYA - Under new landmark legislation passed by Kenyan lawmakers, profits from clean air projects will be granted to citizens most affected by the effects of Earth’s rising temperatures.Communities will receive 40% of the profits generated by land-based air pollution reduction initiatives in their local area, and 25% of the money raised by water-based investments, such as the planting of mangrove forests, will also be diverted. This move sees Kenya doubling down on its commitment to carbon tax credits.
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Our efforts in restoring mangrove ecosystem crucial, but are we doing it right? |
KENYA - According to Julie Mulonga, the Director of Eastern Africa at Wetlands International, Kenya has witnessed the loss of 1,000 hectares of mangrove forest over the past two decades. Hence, various stakeholders have made concerted efforts to plant mangroves, with the aim of bolstering the forest cover and fostering biodiversity in the region. However, scientists have expressed growing concerns about the manner in which mangrove conservation is being conducted. Dr Dominic Wodehouse, the Executive Director of the Mangrove Action Project (MAP), emphasises that mangrove ecosystems differ significantly from terrestrial forests.
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Mangrove restoration helps local communities – and the planet |
MYANMAR - With about 500,000 hectares of mangroves along its coastline at the edge of the Bay of Bengal, Myanmar has the eighth largest area of mangroves in the world. They not only nurture highly productive and biologically rich ecosystems for many species, but also absorb huge amounts of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and provide protection from erosion by the sea. But Myanmar’s mangroves used to be even bigger, as vast areas of these valuable coastal forests have been swallowed up for agriculture, urban expansion and economic development since the mid-1990s. According to the United Nations Development Programme, mangroves disappeared from Myanmar at an average of 3.6 to 3.9 percent per year between 1996 and 2016.
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Warning after Aussie wetlands mysteriously turns pink |
AUSTRALIA - People are being warned to stay away from a popular and vast mangrove area after one stretch of water experienced a radical change in colour. In a bizarre photo shared to Reddit on Monday, the water near a walkway appeared bright pink. A Brisbane City Council spokesperson said on Tuesday council officers would visit the site to assess the health of the waterway but stressed pink water can occur naturally as a result of environmental factors. "Warmer weather and low rain fall can lead to less water flow and higher salt levels, causing the algae and bacteria in the water to turn pink," the spokesperson said.
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Improved mangrove conservation could yield cash, carbon, coastal benefits |
AUSTRALIA - A shift in the way we think about the benefits mangroves provide to coastal regions could yield significant economic and biodiversity gains and protect millions from flooding, research has revealed. The University of Queensland-led study shows current conservation efforts typically target biodiversity protection while minimizing conflict with economic interests, failing to consider the huge benefits provided by ecosystems. The research is published in Nature Communications. "As it stands, current conservation efforts just aren't doing enough to take advantage of these services."
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The community of adults and youth in Cayman Islands has come together recently to release a series of educational videos. Each is geared to...
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By Alfredo Quarto, Program & Policy Director Co-founder, MAP There is a rather urgent situation concerning the bio-invasion of the Son...
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By: Isabel Robinson, MAP Volunteer Intern Some months ago I decided to come to Thailand and do an internship in mangrove conservation, ...
ENTRIES NOW OPEN! Mangrove Photography Awards 2024 10 Years Celebrating Mangroves GLOBAL - MAP has launched our 10th Mangrove Photograp...
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