Mangrove Action Project-Working at the Roots of the Sea

September2011- Savannah Ocean ExchangeShaping The Future Of Our Coasts

Benefits of MangrovesGoods:• Seafood (fish, crabs,

shellfish, shrimp etc.)• Building materials for

houses boats, and fishing traps

• Firewood & Charcoal for cooking

• Tannin for fishing nets / dye for cloths

• Medicinal plants• Raw material for

handicrafts• Feed for livestock• Income from Eco-

tourism – sea kayaking, bird watching, boardwalks Recreation- sight seeing, fishing etc....

Services:• Fisheries nursery habitat and

feeding grounds• Storm protection • Erosion control > seagrass >

coral- reef protection• Absorption of nutrient from

landward side • Buffer protection for

agriculture land• Protection of ground water

from salinisation• Detritus provide nutrients for

marine animals• Carbon Sequestion

Old mangrove stands threatened in Burma by Expanding Agriculture and Aquaculture

In Guatemala mangroves are fast disappearing as development pressures open up the coast.

Ecuador has lost over half its mangroves, mainly to shrimp aquaculture. In Esmeraldas Province the

tallest mangroves in the world are now in peril.

The mangroves are the roots of the sea- holding down the soils… a buttress against the

mounting storms.

70-80% of all commercial fish in the tropics depend on mangroves

Larger mangrove area =Larger fisheries production

Shellfish Gathering in the Mangroves- ThailandGathering shellfish off the mangrove coast of Thailand-

“Mangroves sustain the people who sustain the mangroves…”

Abundance at a seafood Market in Trang, Thailand- “Mangroves are like the supermarkets for the coastal poor “-

Pisit Charnsnoh winner of the Goldman Prize in 2001

Elkhorn coral in the Bahamas. Mangroves are part of the coral reef ecosystem (photo by Craig Quirolo)

Mangroves protect sea grass beds and coral reefa- Manatee feeding off Florida coast

Millions of migratory water birds utilize the mangroves for feeding and resting areas during their long

migrations

Mangroves reduce wind & wave energy

Phang Nga, THAILAND –after 2004 Asia Tsunami

Tsunami Mangrove Destruction

Panama Lagoon, Ampara District, SRI LANKA

Mangroves & Climate Change

•Mangroves are carbon sinks, burying massive amounts of carbon in their peat soils

• Mangroves sequester 15 times more carbon at a rate up to 50 times that of inland forests

•Mangroves prevent erosion & play an essential role in stabilizing coastal shorelines against rising sea levels

•Mangroves are ultimate natural buffers against increasing frequency and intensity of storms, hurricanes & destructive wave action.

Area of Mangroves Worldwide

CURRENT RATE OF LOSS = 150,000 HA/YR

Mangrove Loss > 1% /year (FAO)

Mangrove stumps inside illegally constructed shrimp pond- southern Thailand

Half these ponds shown in this photo are abandoned

Coastal erosion in Bangkalis, Indonesia due to clear cutting for charcoal industry

Hemingways famous Bimini Island losing mangroves to tourism– now an “island in the extreme!”

Turnimg Sinks Into Carbon Sources

Each hectare of mangrove sediment might contain nearly 700 metric tons of carbon

per meter depth. In building large numbers of shrimp farms, each ranging in area from half a hectare to several hectares in size, approximately two meters of sediment are

dug out. This clearing of mangroves & subsequent excavation of the mangrove

substrate could result in the potential oxidation of 1,400 tons of C per ha.

Mangrove Planting on Mudflats, IndonesiaMassive failures in attempted mangrove restoration result

in great losses in funds and man hours- Indonesiae

Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, Thailand

Mangrove Planting Failures

70-80% Mangrove FailurePost Tsunami Sri Lanka > WHY?

• Inadequate site assessment & ignorance of hydrology• Lack of knowledge of mangrove ecology (i.e. Relief Organizations & Development NGOs) • Lack of follow-up and seedling protection• Inadequate project period driven by funding agencies• Lack of interest on sustainability > community & local

stakeholders not involved in planning• Wrong species, planted in the wrong location at the

wrong time Source: Jayatissa, 2010

WHAT IS ECOLOGICAL MANGROVE RESTORATION (EMR) ?

AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO SUCCESFUL MANGROVE

RESTORATION METHOD

Work together with communities, organizations and local government to:

Understand the normal hydrology >tides >fresh water input

Ecological Mangrove Restoration

Robin Lewis demonstrated the EMR approach in the Ft. Lauderdale area of Florida in the late

1980se

Reconnecting Tidal Exchange

400,000 ha of abandoned shrimp ponds in former mangrove areas in

AsiaRobin Lewis, MAP’s Mangrove Technical Advisor

Successful Restoration of an abandoned shrimp pond using EMR technique in Indonesia

e

Advantages of Hydrological Restoration• Higher success rate

• Higher bio-diversity

• Rebilitated area is closer to previous natural forest species composition

• Restoration costs can be much lower, especially for large areas

• Costly seed nurseries are usually not required

• Based on science

• Small scale planting can still be utilized to promote stewardship / ownership

Education

AdvocacyCollaboration NetworkingConservation & Restoration

Sustainable Community-

Based Development

MAP is implementing a pro-active five-pronged approach to long-term

conservation

Technical Training Workshops in EMR

EMR Demonstration

Project in Thailand

Tale Nok Village, Ranong, Thailand