Dear Friends,

This is the 183rd Edition of the Mangrove Action Project News. We wish to note that MAP is celebrating our 15th year of existence, having formed in March, 1992! Please raise a glass of clean, mangrove-filtered water to your dry, parched lips, and take a “bottoms-up” approach with MAP!! And, to all of our long-time supporters and associates, thanks for the memories!

Here’s a rather sobering statistic:
On a global scale, the nutrient deficit in marine ecosystems caused by the degradation of mangroves results in annual losses of approximately 4.7 million tons of fish and 1.5 million tons of shrimp for the fishing industry. (United Nations Development Programme Global Environment Facility Ministry of the Environment (MMA) of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Effective Conservation and Sustainable Use of Mangrove Ecosystems in Brazil (PIMS 3280) Atlas Project No.00055992, p. 1, 2007)

For the Mangroves,

Alfredo Quarto,
Mangrove Action Project

MAP's Mission: Partnering with mangrove forest communities, grassroots NGOs, researchers and local governments to conserve and restore mangrove forests and related coastal ecosystems, while promoting community-based, sustainable management of coastal resources.

Contents for MAP NEWS, 183nd Edition

FEATURE STORY
ROME DECLARATION ON SHRIMP FARMING

MAP WORKS
MAP- EE work on Koh Pra Thong (Golden Buddha Island), Thailand.
Mangrove Curriculum Gets A Boost In Cayman Islands and Guatemala
Sea World/ Busch Gardens Grant Support For MAP’s Mangrove Curriculum
MAP 2008 Children’s Art Calendar Contest-Entry Deadline Extended till July 31, 2007

AFRICA
Cameroon
Calendar Contest Sparks Children’s Sense For The Mangroves

Madagascar
With sixth cyclone on way, UN readies aid for hundreds of thousands in Madagascar

Kenya
Coast Silvofisheries Forum-born!

S.E. ASIA

Thailand
Development or Disaster? Thailand Fisherman Swim Against The Tide of Disaster Capitalism
Rare dolphin could vanish from Songkhla
Thai shrimp farmers call for boycott

Malaysia
Malaysia to invest $458 mn in aquaculture industrial zones by June
Malaysian fishermen expend noble effort to preserve mangrove ecosystem
Tsunami warning systems in SE Asian region not enough to save lives, says expert

Vietnam
Prohibited substance found in shrimp exports to Japan again

S. ASIA

India
Prawn farmers don’t want introduction of exotic varieties
India wins shrimp anti-dumping battle against US court ruling
A mangrove plant flowers under garden conditions

Bangladesh
Tiny island with a global warning
Fire again in Sundarbans

Sri Lanka
Essential mangrove forest threatened by cryptic ecological degradation

OCEANIA

Australia
Australia proves a prawn in Thai side

LATIN AMERICA

Brazil
Worker is assassinated by shrimp farm security guards in Paraipaba, Ceara (Brazil)

Colombia
Guardians of the Mangroves

THE CARIBBEAN
Caribbean region's forest cover continues to decline

The Bahamas
San Salvador Residents Want National Park

US Virgin Islands
Green Building For A Sustainable Future

NORTH AMERICA

USA
State closer to finingU illegal cutter of mangroves

STORIES/ISSUES
Healthy coastal wetlands would adapt to rising oceans
Forest Loss/ Greenhouse Gain
Rising sea levels threaten Asia coastline, says new study
Sustainable development is dead! Long live sustainable development!

CONFERENCES/ WORKSHOPS & PUBLICATIONS
New book on fishers' knowledge in fisheries science and management published
2007 China Forum on Non-Governmental Wetland Conservation
RECOFTC Sponsors World Focus on Poverty and Forests
Conference on Freshwater Swamp Issues Connected to Mangroves
New Book Launched by ICSF

ANNOUNCEMENTS
GLOBAL RESTORATION NETWORK LAUNCHES TODAY
Marine Ecosystem-based Management Funding Opportunity Duke University

AQUACULTURE CORNER
PROPOSED FISH FARMING BILL COULD HURT OCEANS, FISHING COMMUNITIES, AND CONSUMERS
Nature on the hook: Find the fish in their element
Offshore fish farms raise growing list of concerns
Soy meal picks up aquaculture market

FEATURE STORY

ROME DECLARATION ON SHRIMP FARMING

Mangrove Network International (REDMANGLAR INTERNACIONAL), World Forum of Fisheries Peoples (WFFP), the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) and GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL, attending the 27th Session of the Committee on Fisheries of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisations, meeting in Rome from the 5th to the 9th of March 2007, declare:

1. that despite increasing discussions about the social and environmental impacts of shrimp farming, the destruction of coastal ecosystems by this activity continues to take place at an alarming rate, causing privatisation of water and indigenous lands, expulsion of local populations, pollution, salinization of fresh water, and decrease of the access of local populations to their traditional fish resources;

2. that despite the history of human rights violations, social dislocation and environmental destruction, shrimp farming continues to expand;

3. that our national laws are being revised in order to reduce protection of critical coastal ecosystems and allow for further expansion of shrimp farming and the appropriation of these ecosystems by the shrimp farming industry;

4. that the introduction of this export-oriented industry is not helping to meet the food needs of our coastal populations, but rather the contrary, continues to undermine our food security and food sovereignty;

5. that the FAO, whether alone, whether through consortiums with financial institutions, or intergovernamental institutions and NGOs, is actively promoting the expansion of this activity and the development of so-called “principles on responsible shrimp farming” and Certification schemes for shrimp farming. These have not resulted in a decrease of the global impact of this industry;

6. that in the processes established to elaborate such principles, local populations, indigenous people and other stakeholders in the countries affected by shrimp farming continue to be marginalised;

We, therefore, demand the Committee on Fisheries of the FAO, at this 27th Session,

?†††††††† Recommends that its member countries apply a moratorium on the expansion of shrimp farming as approved by the 7th Conference of the Parties of the Ramsar Convention in San Jose, Costa Rica, which called on governments to apply a moratorium until studies have been carried out on the carrying capacity of coastal ecosystems;

?†††††††† Recommends its member countries to stop subsidising shrimp farming activities and establish policies to use public funds for the recovery of degraded coastal ecosystems; 1

?†††††††† Opens an effective consultation process with concerned peoples, community group, organisations, networks, etc, in Latin America, Africa and Asia, to discuss, suggest and produce recommendations for the participative co-management and restoration of coastal ecosystems destroyed by shrimp farming all around the world;

Finally,

?†††††††† We state that current shrimp farming certification schemes do not guarantee, in our view, an ecologically and socially responsible activity, and that there has been a lack of consultation with affected peoples and community in developing such schemes. We therefore demand a moratorium on the certification of this activity, and we call for the establishment of a consultative process, with the full and effective participation of indigenous, local communities, and international networks working on mangrove ecosystem conservation, and concerned over the continued expansion of shrimp farming. Such a consultative process will allow us to properly evaluate the different certification schemes and to propose a way forward that meets the needs of coastal communities and the environment.†

Our networks of organizations in Latin America, Asia and Africa are now engaged in an international discussion with partner organizations in Europe and North America working in the key markets countries for shrimp aquaculture products. We believe that truly sustainable aquaculture is in the interest of all governments and peoples. †

NAME----ORGANIZATION

LÌder Gongora Farias----REDMANGLAR Internacional Jorge Varela M·rquez ----REDMANGLAR Internacional Herman Kumara ---- World Forum of Fisher Peoples’ Sebastian Lozada ----Greenpeace Internacional Chndrica Sharman---- Collective in Support of Fisherworkers

Ftom ComitÈ para la Defensa y Desarrollo de la Flora y Fauna del Golfo de Fonseca
(CODDEFFAGOLF)
cgolf@coddeffagolf.net

MAP WORKS

MAP Thailand Establishes Partnership With Italian NGO in Thailand
MAP- EE work on Koh Pra Thong (Golden Buddha Island), Thailand.
By Jaruwan Kaewmahanin (Ning) and Sharna Richings

MAP-Asia has started its first Environmental Educational (EE) field-based work in Thailand on Koh of Phra Thong in Phang Nga Province on the Andaman Coast. The island contains a variety of habitats including mangrove, savanna and swamp forests and has a diverse community including Moken (sea gypsies), Thai, Chinese and Burmese who are mainly employed in squid catching. The island consists of three main villages, which are Tha Pae Yoi, Thung Dap and Pak Chok. Thung Dap suffered major destruction from the 2004 tsunami and Pak Chok was completely destroyed but has since been rebuilt. The tsunami relief effort bought much short-term aid to the people but few long-term projects have been established.

Work with the sea turtle conservation project:
Early this year MAP-Asia was asked to assist Naucrates, an Italian conservation NGO, to carry out a survey amongst the island communities on local fishing practices, local views on turtle conservation and knowledge of the illegal turtle egg and meat trade. In February Ning from the MAP Asia office and Sharna a MAP volunteer spent two weeks on the island helping Pipap from Naucrates. The visit was also used to become familiar with the villagers. The potential for future projects was evaluated and it was decided that an environmental education programme would be a good starting point to work on the island. The concept was discussed with the headmaster and teachers of Kiet Pra Cha School in Tha Pae Yoi, the largest village on the island, and they supported the idea.

Work on Environmental Education Activities:
It was decided that a trial mangrove education day be carried out in order to assess the student’s response and current level of understanding. Therefore, on 7 March the MAP team returned to Tha Pae Yoi to conduct mangrove educational activities with the local school children. MAP was helped by Mr. Prawit Moonchoey from the Thai Research Fund, Seagrass project and Pipap from Naucrates. Both had previously conducted education activities at the school and so the children were familiar with them. This proved to be very beneficial to the success of the day.

The children were split into 2 groups (Group 1 aged 7-9, Group 2 aged 12) and 3 hours was spent with each. Group 1 was met with in the morning and the activities started with a brief description of the mangrove system and using posters, it was shown how everything in a mangrove food chain is dependent on everything else. The kids were then assigned to work with a buddy and each pair were given the name of a component of the mangrove system such as the sun, tree, soil, water, crab, shell, snake, bird, mud skipper etc. They were taken to explore the nearby mangrove area and were asked to see how their own item related to other parts of the system.

The same activities were conducted with group 2 in the afternoon after school time, but with more complex questions to find out in the forest. The children were asked to make drawings of the mangrove to be entered into the MAP Children’s Art Contest for the 2008 calendar and many colourful pieces of artwork were produced.

Future Plans
MAP-Asia is now looking to secure funding to carry out a long-term environmental education programme consisting of a series of activity days outside of school time. It is hoped that some EE activities from the MAP Marvellous Mangroves’ Curriculum that has been produced for use in the Cayman Islands can be adapted for use in Thailand. Naucrates have agreed to work alongside MAP in conducting future educational work on Koh Phra Thong.

From: "MAP-Asia (Ning)"
map.seasia@gmail.com

===========

Mangrove Curriculum Gets A Boost In Cayman Islands and Guatemala

Through the National Trust in Cayman I have been able to have another 500 copies of the mangrove curriculum published...and we are about to distribute a copy to every teacher in the Caymans. Most original copies were wiped out in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan. The re-publication was made possible by a donation of US$6,000 to cover the printing costs from the major electrical utility in Grand Cayman, Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC).

Also, Amigos del Bosque has been able to get 280 copies of the curriculum donated by INAB (the Ministry of Forests) in Guatemala.

From: Martin Keeley
mangrove@candw.ky

===========

Sea World/ Busch Gardens Grant Support For MAP’s Mangrove Curriculum

MAP is pleased to announce that Sea World/ Busch Gardens have granted MAP $10,000 to be used to support further work in establishing the Mangrove Curriculum in Latin America. This fund is both timely and vital to continue what MAP has initiated. Martin Keeley, MAP;s Education Director will coordinate program development in the region.

"Martin Keeley"
mangrove@candw.ky

===========

Entries Called For Next MAP 2008 Children’s Art Calendar Contest-Entry Deadline Extended till July 31, 2007

January 2007
Dear Friends of the Mangroves,

We are sponsoring our seventh international children's art competition and would like to invite children in your country to enter this contest and learn more about the important roles that mangrove forests play.

Specifically we would like you to contact schools and teachers in your area and provide them with information regarding this contest, and also to act as a liaison between MAP and the local schools as a resource person regarding mangrove and ecological information. In addition, we would ask you to collect the winners from each school participating within your country, and send the three best entries on to MAP at the above address for the final judging, and possible inclusion in the calendar. We must receive the artwork by July 31st, 2007

This provides an opportunity for participating NGOs to build relationships with teachers and to provide school children with environmental information. Educating children in the importance of mangrove and coastal ecosystems is critical to effecting long-term change. Without current information, current generations will grow up placing little value on the environment (as modeled by their parents) unless they are given new eyes with which to see coastal ecosystems and mangrove forests.

We have attached information that is ready to have your name added as the local contact representative and duplicated for distribution to teachers in your country. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance in helping you implement this exciting educational project in your country. We will send all student winners, participating NGOs and schools copies of our calendar as well.

Yours sincerely,

Monica Gutierrez-Quarto, , Calendar Project Coordinator

Please contact Monica Gutierrez-Quarto for more information at monicagquarto@olympus.net

AFRICA

ASIA

S.E. ASIA

Thailand
Development or Disaster? Thailand Fisherman Swim Against The Tide of Disaster Capitalism

By Virginia Leavell
From the February 1, 2007 issue
Posted in International

Nai Lai, THAILAND-Halima Singkala, 49, and her neighbors were repairing fishing nets when thirty soldiers marched into their village on a bright March morning nearly two years ago. Residents were still recovering from the massive tsunami that had struck just three months prior, but these officials brought guns, not relief, to this southern Thai fishing village. Singkala and her neighbors were ordered to vacate the property immediately: according to the soldiers, their newly constructed homes were built on land they no longer owned.

"We screamed. We yelled get out!‚ Where else could we go?" Singkala recalls, describing how she helped defend the homes with her orphaned grandson on her hip. The women were unarmed, their husbands still out on their morning catch, but their aggressive resistance to the soldiers‚ orders to leave saved their homes that day.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS?

The tsunami hit on Dec. 26, 2004 after a seafloor earthquake of 9.3 magnitude forced billions of tons of seawater up from its epicenter and sent sets of mammoth waves onto the shores of South and Southeast Asia and Africa, claiming more than 200,000 lives.

Villagers in Nai Lai saw the wave coming. They gathered their children and ran, and, although their homes and mosques were destroyed, only one villager died. Many attribute the relatively slow onslaught of the wave to a buffer of mangrove trees and coastline forests.

In the aftermath of the disaster, government soldiers weren‚t the only new visitors in this sleepy Muslim community. Today, the village is littered with traces of international aid organizations. NGOs have blazed crosses and logos on roadside trash cans, and villagers sport faded tsunami volunteer T-shirts.

Some of the aid efforts have been successful: new houses were built and some families now grow hydroponic vegetables in the many plastic stations donated by a Greek NGO. But along with the blessing of aid has come a new threat which could change life along the Andaman Coast even more dramatically than the tsunami: Disaster Capitalism.

After Hurricane Mitch in Central America, Katrina on the American Gulf Coast and the tsunami here on the Andaman Coast, this opportunistic development model has been spreading.

As Phuket real estate agent Krista Hunter illustrated in an interview with London‚s Observer: "[The tsunami] has helped put Phuket and south Thailand on the map. Most of the beaches became more desirable when the old buildings and homes were swept away and replaced with new ones."

Panon Butakeaw, a legal worker with the Andaman Community Rights and Legal Aid Center, says Thailand‚s post-tsunami land issues aren‚t unique. "Developers have taken villagers‚ land in many coastal communities hit by the tsunami, and other communities are resisting just the same."

Just months after the tsunami hit, with most recovery efforts still in their early stages, the Tourism Authority of Thailand cheerfully reported that the country was "open for business." But the government‚s promotion of tourism development has no pretense of livelihood preservation. The disaster instead opened up many new avenues for corporate investment in the south. Many fishing communities like Nai Lai have lost ancestral homes to eviction and government land sales to developers since the disaster.

"NONE AS FREE AS THIS"

Singkala‚s neighbor, Naisuthin Leebumroong, is a fisherman and part-time community organizer. He leaves home in his boat at 5 o‚clock most mornings, guns through the hanging mangrove forests, and rides out to sea. He catches crab, fish, squid, rays, and sometimes sharks. He doesn‚t bring in as much as before the tsunami, but he can earn enough to help support his family.

Besides, other work just isn‚t as appealing. "I've had a lot of jobs", he says, "but none as free as this."

Like most fishermen, Leebumroong marks his sea nets with buoys. Unlike most he ties them with yellow flags that say "Thaks in, get out!"

The recently ousted Prime Minister won few hearts with his disaster response. The official government response in the area sometimes prohibited residents from rebuilding on their original land. While developers were quick to arrive on the scene following the tsunami, government aid was often slow to arrive, if it came at all; this lack of assistance may have motivated the desperate decision some villagers made to sell off their ancestral lands.

In Nai Lai, much of the aid money from international organizations ˆ funneled through local government ˆ has yet to reach survivors. Families that were promised 30,000 baht ($800 US) each plus 15,000 baht ($400) per school-aged child have seen little sign of it. One grandmother, visited by an aid worker, was offered a single 100-baht bill ($2.70). She declined.

The Thai government has liquidated public land holdings in tsunami-affected areas. In Nai Lai, the local government has sold 240 acres of public land to developers, and 1800 acres has been bought from villagers. Many report being tricked into handing over their property to visitors claiming to hold their land titles or represent the government. Singkala and her neighbors are still unsure of how their land was sold out from under them.

In response to questionable land transfers, villagers like Leebumroong have been trained by the Andaman Community Rights and Legal Aid Center to do basic legal education in their villages.

„It‚s better if they can teach themselves,‰ says Panom Butakeaw, who visits villages and organizes regional weekend trainings for community members. The Center‚s work, he explains, helps villagers understand their rights and the law so they can organize themselves and determine their own future.

"When villagers see their common problem and begin to struggle together," says Butakeaw, "they are stronger."

FIGHTING TOGETHER

Since surviving the tsunami, villagers have struggled to preserve the lives they knew before. In the face of abandonment from their government, many communities have joined the Assembly of the Poor, the network behind Thailand‚s people‚s movement. Nai Lai regularly sends villagers twelve hours north to Bangkok for meetings and protests.

From Bangkok, a solid alliance has sprung up between southern survivors and Thailand‚s national slum network which represents other portions of the population who feel they must champion for themselves. Representatives from the network trucked down after the tsunami to help rebuild, and have since joined forces in protesting for land rights. One Bangkok organizer moved down to Nai Lai for the year after the tsunami to help the community rebuild and move forward.

"We have the same goals,‰ Kovit Boonjear, a slum community organizer in northeastern Thailand, says of the alliance. „It makes sense that we fight together."

If they don‚t, Nai Lai might start looking a lot like Phuket. Sixty kilometers away the city of Phuket is brimming with luxury hotels. The whole area is a busy construction site for expensive homes and resorts, where many villagers now work as builders and landscapers. The industry welcomes the labor of villagers who have lost access to the sea or have been otherwise pushed out by tourism. Most have no idea what companies are behind the construction, as usually only local middlemen are on the ground. Amari, a five star resort and spa chain in Thailand, is one company organizers have reason to think is looking to build in the area.

"Thais build the resorts, but only foreigners live in them," says Leebumroong, who has had odd jobs doing landscaping for the new subdivisions. He worries about the often-overlooked impact of newcomers on the local environment and fisheries. "Our two worlds can‚t coexist," he says. "One destroys the other."

"WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE"

Newly politicized, many villagers find themselves fishing a little less and meeting a little more. Though the military has returned three times in the past year, the Nai Lai villagers have made sure not to be caught off guard again, and they‚ve succeeded in staving off the soldiers each time. Many residents are optimistic that last September‚s coup against Thaksin Shinawatra‚s government will mean that the soldiers won‚t return, or if they do, they won‚t be prepared to use force to evict villagers.

There are even rumors of the government being of some help, but villagers are skeptical. They know what they‚re up against, because they know how high in demand gorgeous corners of the world like theirs are. Nai Lai‚s postcard beach, with its white sands, shady mangroves and glittering turquoise sea, is not one easily overlooked by the Thai government‚s development schemes and business relationships.

To outsiders, it might seem that the tsunami waves would have washed away these coastal communities. But on the ground, a movement of fisherfolk and their allies grows stronger and unites around clear demands. In nearby Nam Khem, fifty residents are currently fighting in court for the right to return to their land. The Nai Lai villagers promise that developers can expect to meet a well-organized resistance to any village-removal schemes. Naisuthin laughs at the prospect: "We're not going anywhere."

For more see: www.commonlanguageproject.net

==========

Bangkok Post March 24, 2007
Rare dolphin could vanish from Songkhla

APINYA WIPATAYOTIN

There has been a dramatic decline in the Irrawaddy dolphin population in Songkhla Lake, and the rare creatures could soon disappear from the area completely unless conservation measures are stepped up, according to the Marine and Coastal Resources Department. Seven Irrawaddy dolphins _ three females, two males, and two calves _ have been found dead in Songkhla Lake since October last year.

They were all trapped in huge fishing nets, each about 2km long, used widely by local people to catch giant catfish, according to the department.

The department's latest survey found that only 30 Irrawaddy dolphins (Ocaella brivirostris) still remain in Songkhla Lake, where an average of five dolphins die each year.

A local marine official said the number of rare dolphins trapped and killed by fishing nets has sharply increased after the Fisheries Department released giant catfish stock into the lake to help boost local fishermen's income.

There are currently around 200-300 of the dolphins living in Thai waters, including Songkhla Lake, Bang Pakong estuary, and along the inner Gulf of Thailand.

But Songkhla Lake's dolphins are facing the most severe threat, prompting the department to search for better measures to protect the creatures.

The department has set up a special task force to patrol the lake, and also asked locals not to lay fishing nets in areas frequented by the dolphins.

However, few fishermen heed the pleas, as both the dolphins and giant catfish live in the same deep-water areas, said Santi Ninwat, who heads the department's research project on the Irrawaddy dolphins of Songkhla Lake.

Declaring the lake an ''Irrawaddy dolphin conservation zone'' would help strengthen conservation efforts, he said.

Mr Santi said the dolphins in Songkhla Lake are also under the threat of bad effects from inbreeding.

From: mapasia@loxinfo.co.th

==========

The NATION
Thai shrimp farmers call for boycott
Published on Mar 23, 2007

Thai shrimp farmers plan to boycott Australian goods soon if the country fails to cancel its Import Risk Analysis against shrimp imported from Thailand.

"We'll give them 30 days before launching a boycott campaign against products from Australia," said Thai Marine Shrimp Farmers' Association president Surapol Pratuangtum.

Leaders of shrimp clubs and associations nationwide yesterday went to the Agriculture Ministry to meet with Minister Thira Sutabutra. Led by Suraphol, the shrimp farmers wanted to know about progress in Thai trade retaliation against what he called unfair trade practices by Australia that will be implemented in the near future. "The measure will directly damage small farmers and force them to close operations. Other shrimp-importing countries will follow Australia and launch the same standard," he said, adding that the Agriculture and Commerce ministries should both hold talks with the Australian government about solving the problem. - The Nation

From mapasia@loxinfo.co.th

==========

Malaysia
Malaysia to invest $458 mn in aquaculture industrial zones by June

The Malaysian government will implement by June 39 aquaculture industrial zone projects covering 25,000 ha nationwide and involving a total investment of RM1.6 billion (US$457.6 mn), Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin said today.

He said the high-impact projects were aimed at increasing the production of marine products from 300,000 tonnes annually now to 660,000 tonnes in 2010.

Muhyiddin said the projects, which had the strong backing of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, were also aimed at providing employment opportunities and establishing a downstream industry in the sector.

"For that purpose, we have appointed a consultant company to prepare a prospectus in two weeks to, among other things, emphasize the potential and viability of the projects," he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Pagoh Parliamentary Constituency Agriculture Development Committee in Pagoh here.

Muhyiddin said the projects would include the breeding of prawns, fish, and molluscs.

Source: Bernama

From: icsf@icsf.net

==========

Editor’s Note: Back in 1997, I had the privilege of meeting with two of PIFWA’s members in the house of Rousli Ibrahim in Penang, Malaysia. We were strategizing on how best to confront the expanding shrimp farm that was encroaching illegally into the remaining mangrove forest area on the island of Penang. We came up with the idea to have PIFWA organize the local fishermen to plant mangrove propagules in order to physically demonstrate that the fishermen themselves were taking responsibility to manage and restore the mangrove wetland area. Also, the action was meant to prove to all, including the ambitious shrimp farmer, that the mangroves were important to the nearby fishing community. Our plan was to invite the media and government officials to the restoration event in hopes that public awareness would be raised via media coverage of the event. Also, public viewing of the fishermen’s lone efforts would better assure them protection against the expected wrath of the influential shrimp farm owner, who had plans to expand his shrimp farm by clearing more mangroves in the same area being planted.

Little did the three of us strategists know at that time, over 10 years ago, that this plan would have such positive repercussions in the years ahead, especially in light of the buffering effect these planted mangroves had against the force of the tsunami. This news story below gives me more hope and optimism in realizing such little steps can lead to such big results! (The mentioned American students who participated in the restoration work in 2000 were part of a MAP/PIFWA organized work-study eco-tour.)

Congratulations to PIFWA for receiving this important and well- deserved recognition for their great work in conserving and restoring their mangroves, and in successfully halting that shrimp farmer in his destructive tracks back in 1997!

Malaysian fishermen expend noble effort to preserve mangrove ecosystem
By Rosliwaty Ramly

In the late 1990s, the Penang Coastal Fishermen's Welfare Association (PIFWA) in Penang, Malaysia, took efforts to replant mangrove trees in Kuala Sg.Pinang, Nibong Tebal, but was shrugged off by many thinking it served no purpose.

However, the fishermen continued planting the mangrove seedlings knowing well its significance. "Our only intention is to revive the mangrove ecosystem as it is the area where fishes breed, apart from many other benefits that it provides, like protecting the coastline and river estuary," said PIFWA's Honorary Secretary, Rousli Ibrahim. The mangrove forest could prevent erosion caused by the tides and wind, and reclaim land, he said.

Finally their efforts received recognition, in the wake of the 26 Dec 2004 tsunami. Now it is clear that the mangrove forest can protect the shore from giant waves as well. The association's effort drew praise and PIFWA was hailed for its hindsight.

The association also wants to share the significance of mangrove ecosystem with society. "We also want to create awareness in the society on why mangrove forest is important and make people appreciate the well-being of one of God's creation," he said when presenting a working paper entitled "PIFWA's Experience and Participation in Replanting Mangrove Seedlings" at a workshop held here recently.

The one-day workshop entitled "Waterfront Protection and Reinstatement of Mangrove Forests" was organized by Perwira Bintang Holdings Sdn Bhd, a company that actively promotes coastal protection methods.

Rousli said PIFWA started replanting mangrove in Kuala Sg Pinang in 1997 when development destroyed much of the mangrove forest in the area. Rousli recalled that during the replanting effort, the local fishing community was very helpful much to the delight of PIFWA.

PIFWA, a registered organization, was established in 1994 to voice out the coastal fishermen's concern over the consequences from pollution, encroachment and the destruction of mangrove forest. Now it's clear that PIFWA's effort is seeing results. Following the tsunami, many government departments, the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provided support for PIFWA to continue with its effort.

"PIFWA planted mangrove even before tsunami," emphasized Rousli. He said in 1997, about 2,000 mangrove seedlings were planted in Kuala Sg.Pinang. Other than Kuala Sg Pinang, about 5,500 seedlings were planted in Sungai Chenaam in Kuala Sg.Bakau, Nibong Tebal in year 2000.

The local fishing community joined in and several students from the United States also came down to learn the techniques of planting the mangrove seedlings. Six years have passed since, the mangrove trees have grown and some are even bearing fruit, he said.

Rousli explained that to ensure the mangrove areas are preserved for posterity, PIFWA also organized awareness campaign for students and held dialogues with the parties concerned with mangrove.

Source: Bernama

From: icsf@icsf.net

==========

Tsunami warning systems in SE Asian region not enough to save lives, says expert

The tsunami warning systems in this region presently may not be able to save lives, International Tsunami Information System Director Dr Laura Kong says.

She said the systems installed here were not enough and far behind those in Japan, and could only issue warnings in five critical minutes.

Japan, a country prone to earthquakes and tsunamis, installed many warning systems near the source of earthquakes and could issue warnings under a minute, she told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on Tsunami Warning Operations under the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System here today.

The two-day seminar that began today, is organised by UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographics Commission (IOC) and hosted by the Malaysian Meteorological Department.

Dr Kong said more warning stations must to be put in place quickly to analyze data on earthquakes and sea level. "If we have more, we can reduce the time to give warning," she said.

She said there was no reason for her to say that she was satisfied with the development of tsunami warning systems in both Malaysia and Indonesia installed after the 2004 tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of lives.

Meanwhile, Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre Director Dr Charles McCreery told Bernama that the centre was unable to relay information to countries hit by the 2004 tsunami before it struck. The centre was based in Hawaii and at the time, there was no tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean, he said.

Source: Bernama

From: icsf@icsf.net

==========

Vietnam
Prohibited substance found in shrimp exports to Japan again
March 07, 2007
The Fish Site

VIET NAM - Earlier this week, two consignments of common tiger prawns exported to Japan have been found as containing the prohibited substance, AOZ - a derivative of Nitrofuran.

The discovery of AOZ in the shrimp exports has raised the concern that Vietnamese seafood exporters may lose the big and very important market. It has prompted the Japanese authorities to reinforce the examination over the shrimp products sourced from Vietnam and Indonesia.

The Shrimp Sub-committee under the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has given warning about the new risks from the Japanese market. Tran Thien Hai, Chairman of the sub-committee informed that Japan has begun inspecting the AOZ content left in shrimp products, describing the situation as ‘very serious’.

At the end of the last year, after discovering the anti-biotic residues in Vietnam-sourced shrimp products at the high levels, Japan promptly decided to examine 100% of the import consignments. Japanese authorities have also threatened to stop importing shrimp from Vietnam if they can find out anti-biotic residues in the next import consignments. The situation has been improved in the last time, before Japan discovered AOZ.

Mr. Hai has warned that if Japan discovers AOZ or Chloramphenicol in other batches of shrimp, the door to the Japanese market will be closed and Vietnam will surely lose the market.

The Shrimp Sub-committee said that the food and medicine for shrimp may be the sources of prohibited substances. Besides, the sub-committee thinks that it is also because of the use of Nitrofuran in shrimp preservation as the alternative for Chloramphenicol at the preliminary treatment establishments.

From: enewsletters@seaweb.org

S. ASIA

India
Prawn farmers don’t want introduction of exotic varieties

The Financial Express

Chennai, March 4 - Over 1 lakh small prawn farmers in the country are up in arms against the introduction of exotic varieties of prawns, especially the Pacific-based P Vannamei. Farmers fear foreign prawns will destroy native tiger prawns, which constitute 92% of the country's cultured prawns and 94% of export earnings.

Prawn farmers rallying together under the banner of the Prawn Farmers Federation of India (PFFI) will soon seek the intervention of the agriculture ministry to stop any proposal for the introduction of exotic prawns. The existing bio-security protocol is not adequate to control and monitor such imports, farmers feel. “In such a situation, repeated introduction of exotic species, especially P Vannamei, will be detrimental to existing black tiger prawn farmers in the country,” S Santhanakrishnan, interim co-ordinator of PFFI, said.

According to Bala SV, interim secretary of the federation, countries that introduced specific pathogen free P Vannamei prawns, are facing problems of new diseases since many non- specific pathogen free P Vannamei have also entered under the pretext of exotic introduction. P. Vannamei is host to various known and unknown viruses that have a high propensity to mutate. The effects of most of such viruses have not yet been fully understood," Bala said.

According to IPR Mohan Raju, interim president of PFFI, “P Vannamei, grown in high density culture systems, is not suitable for the small farmers, who constitute 92% of the prawn farming community.” The Coastal Aquaculture Authority of India did not permit high stocking density culture as it was against sustainable aquaculture practices, Raju added.

See the original article here.

From: enewsletters@seaweb.org

==========

India wins shrimp anti-dumping battle against US court ruling
By Ajayan

India has won a significant battle in its fight against the anti-dumping duty on shrimp with the United States Court of International Trade (CIT). The win allows India's petition against customs bonds, which it had challenged at the WTO level. India is expecting a decision of the organization's panel in the matter soon.

AJ Tharakan, national president of the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) which had filed the case against the bonds before the CIT along with Gourmet Fusion Foods Inc and International Creative Foods Inc, said that the decision of the court to hear SEAI's case was a major victory for India which had been arguing that the bonds were against international trade practices.

The US Bureau of Customs Border Protection (CBP) had issued directives for collection of bonds matching the duty as security.

India argued that the CBP lacked statutory authority to require bonds as security for payment of anti-dumping duty was already secured by cash deposits. Hence, the promulgation of the bond directive was violation of the Act, arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and also not in accordance with the law.

CBP argued that the plaintiffs had lacked standing because they had failed to demonstrate that they were adversely affected by an agency action.

Equally, their interests were with the zone of interest protection by the statutes under which they brought their claim. However, the court ruled that the plaintiffs' claims were ripe for review and they had standing to bring the action for scrutiny. Also, the SEAI had met the associational requirements to fight for the exporters.

It felt that, there was no ground to dismiss the complaint of the plaintiffs and seek grant of relief. The defendants had offered no supportive argument to their case. It was in this backdrop that it felt, the matter was to be subjected to judicial review.

Refusing to grant a stay in the matter, the court ruled that the CBP would get 30 days to file public administrative record which will include all public documents so that the matter could be heard.

Source: Financial Express

From: icsf@icsf.net

==========

A mangrove plant flowers under garden conditions

Mangroves represent coastal ecosystems in tropics and subtropics. The plants are adapted to brackish /estuarine water and are known to survive along the coastline only, that is also within the reach of brackish water. It means that they do not grow at higher altitudes, not even 100 m or so. ††††††††††

Nevertheless, efforts in Shivaji University, Kolhapur, (India) since 1970, especially Prof. L. J. Bhosale, have made them to flower at a height of 660m and climate different than the coast. The coast is sepatated by mountain range, Sahyadri, from Kolhapur. Different mangroves species have been grown under garden conditions by Dr. Bhosale in Department of Botany, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, (India). Some of the species flowered under the conditions once, twice or even more times (Bruguiera cylindrica).

A wonderful observation was made in 2006 with Aegiceras corniculatum (L.) Blanco. It survived only in the year 2004 onwards and flowered in 2006. not only this, it could bear fruits some of which gave rise to new plants. No other mangrove species produced fruits under the same conditions. The same plant again has flowered in 2007. The beauty of the plant was it gave rise to new seedlings in year 2006, the flowering-fruiting season.

From: smita uday
xylocarpus_rise@yahoo.com

==========

Bangladesh
Tiny island with a global warning

In the first of a series of reports, BBC World Affairs Correspondent Mark Doyle analyses the state of food production and consumption across the globe.

The tiny Indian island of Ghoramara, in the delta where the River Ganges meets the Bay of Bengal, is a symbol of the crisis the world is facing as it struggles to feed a growing population.

It is a tiny place - just a few kilometres across - and it is getting tinier.

The island, part of a chain called the Sundarbans, was first settled by farmers in colonial times when the authorities decided to expand rice production to feed the multitudes in the city of Calcutta.

But when I visited Ghoramara there was powerful evidence that soil erosion caused in part by farming and the rising surrounding sea level caused by global warming were gradually making the island disappear.

Ajoy Kumar Patra, the headman on the island, stood on the shore looking across the broad choppy waters.

In the far distance a couple of kilometres away I could just make out another low-lying spit of land:

"This island and that piece of land over there used to be separated by just a narrow channel of water", says Mr Patra. "All the land which is now underwater used to be rice paddies".

Man-made problems

Dr Sugarto Hazra, an oceanographer at the University of Calcutta says there is more than one cause of the problem.

"Cutting down the mangrove that used to cover the island, to make way for farming, destroyed the ecology," he says. The mangrove used to bind the topsoil in position. Now it is being washed away.

The farmers also used to dig wells to get fresh water for irrigating their paddies. But in time, Dr Hazra says, underground reservoirs emptied and then collapsed.

Added to all that, "The sea level is rising around here, as it is everywhere in response to global warming", the oceanographer said. "So the land is subsiding and at the same time the sea is advancing."

The farmers of Ghoramara have tried to save their island by building dykes around the edges.

But Dr Hazra says this is just a short term solution that may make the situation worse.

"The problem with the dykes is that they stop the sediment the river would normally deposit here from nourishing the island's soil.

"The sediment is being washed out to sea rather than compensating for the rising water level."

So the agriculture designed to feed the community on the island is in fact contributing to its death.

'Tip-toeing into crisis'

Experts in food production say Ghoramara is a symbol of the dramatic combination of factors which mean the world is heading for extreme food shortages in the coming decades.

Similar phenomena are taking place on other islands and in low-lying coastal plains around the world.

The factors which are impacting on food production include soil erosion caused by intensive farming, and global warming which could reduce the yield of staple grains or make weather patterns less predictable for farmers.

The relatively new phenomenon of bio-fuels - for example, the production of ethanol from corn which can be used to supplement petrol - may take a huge proportion of the output of the big grain farms in the American Midwest.

"The global figures already show a drop in food stocks. We have got less buffer stocks than we have had for many, many decades," said Dr Tim Lang, a food and nutrition expert at The City University in London.

"We are tip-toeing into the most enormous crisis."

The over-consumption of food in many parts of the world is another issue. There are now more overweight people than chronically hungry, and the number of people with "diseases of the rich" like diabetes is increasing, including in developing countries.

Limits to growth?

On current United Nations projections, world population is set to increase from 6.6bn today to over 9bn by 2050.

"In terms of the basic cereals like rice, wheat and maize, we probably need 50-60%t more production by, say, 2030", warns Mark Rosegrant of the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington.

"And on meat production - pork, poetry and beef particularly - you really need a doubling."

From: MAP / ASIA
mapasia@loxinfo.co.th

==========

Fire again in Sundarbans
Staff Correspondent, Khulna

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/03/30/d70330012013.htm

A devastating forest fire, second one only ten days apart, broke out Tuesday night in the Sundsarbans.

Trees in a vast area -- around one square kilometre at Napitkhali under Chandpai range -- of the world's largest mangrove forest are burning rapidly, posing a threat to natural habitat for many rare species including the famous Royal Bengal Tiger.

Ill-equipped Chandpai range forest guards along with locals have been struggling to douse the fire with water fetched from nearby canals.

Sheikh Mizanur Rahman, conservator of forests, said all 15 wells dug in the area for supply of water during emergency situation were of no use as those were found dry.

Cigarette or oil lamp might have been the source of the fire, said Dhanshagor Station Officer M Golam Mostafa.

Mohammad Mohidullah, divisional forest officer of Sundarban Forest Division (SFD) east wing, said, a number of tube wells are being installed in different parts of the forest to better handle situations like this.

According to eyewitnesses and SFD sources, Tuesday night's fire went out of control as no water was available in the vicinity upto two kilometres.

On March 19, trees and animal habitats of around 250 acres of the forestland were destroyed by another fire.

From: BanglaPraxis
E-mail: banglapraxis@gmail.com

==========

Sri Lanka
Essential mangrove forest threatened by cryptic ecological degradation

Contact: Heidi Hardman
hhardman@cell.com

The recent killer tsunami has highlighted once more the importance of coastline protection. In natural conditions, this function is taken up by mangroves, forests thriving at the edge of land and sea that are ecologically and socio-economically important for local people in tropical countries on all continents. Using biology, geography, hydrology, socio-economic interviews, and 18th-century history, an international team led by Dr. Farid Dahdouh-Guebas has demonstrated that in the recent past an increase in human-environment interactions that affect the hydrology of rivers has turned coastal mangrove lagoons into freshwater bodies.

Such elucidation of past ecosystem processes and human-environment interactions is an essential part of the Past Global Changes (PAGES) project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), funded by the U.S. and Swiss National Science Foundations as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Drawing on diverse data sources, including assessment of contemporary mangrove assemblages in southern Sri Lanka, changing water runoff patterns, and archival material from the Dutch East-India company, the researchers show that over the past few decades contemporary irrigation projects have abused the long-standing Sri Lankan tradition of freshwater management that once sustained robust irrigation-based civilizations. The researchers show that, increasingly, the magnitude of these modern irrigation projects has been such that entire river basins have been diverted to those of other rivers. Whereas these projects certainly develop the ability to grow crops inland, at the same time such practices drastically affect the coastal zone by introducing an excess of fresh water. The consequences range from adverse shifts in the composition of mangrove tree species to disrupted ethnobiological relationships, lagoon fisheries, and many additional functions provided by mangroves.

The authors believe that the worrying aspect of the research is that a degradation of the most vulnerable, most socio-economically important and most aesthetic species is masked by the expansion of less important species. The authors emphasize that such cryptic ecological degradation must be acknowledged by policy and decision makers if mangrove protection is an aim. The research team argues that early detection of such changes should be adopted and is essential for the prevention of further mangrove degradation.

F. Dahdouh-Guebas, S. Hettiarachchi, D. Lo Seen, O. Batelaan, S. Sooriyarachchi, L.P. Jayatissa, and N. Koedam: "Transitions in Ancient Inland Freshwater Resource Management in Sri Lanka Affect Biota and Human Populations in and around Coastal Lagoons"

### The members of the research team include F. Dahdouh-Guebas, N. Koedam, and O. Batelaan of Vrije Universiteit Brussels; S. Hettiarachchi, S. Sooriyarachchi, L.P. Jayatissa of University of Ruhuna; and D. Lo Seen of French Institute of Pondicherry. The first author is a Postdoctoral Researcher of the Fund for Scientific Research (FWO-Vlaanderen). This research was financed by a project from the European Commission, the VUB Research Council (Onderzoeksraad) and by FWO-Vlaanderen.

Publishing in Current Biology, Volume 15, Number 6, March 29, 2005, pages 579?586.
http://www.current-biology.com/

From Jim Enright
mapasia@loxinfo.co.th

OCEANIA

Australia
Australia proves a prawn in Thai side

Published on Feb 22, 2007
The Australian government has come under pressure from a local shrimpers' association to immediately ban imported raw prawns, including those from Thailand.

According to Australian Associated Press, industry experts insisted yesterday that quarantine inspectors must immediately prohibit raw prawn imports to prevent the spread of diseases into Australian crustacean stocks.

The Australian Prawn Farmers Association (Apfa) warned that government testing of imported raw prawns late last year found 100 per cent were carrying exotic diseases, such as the white spot syndrome virus.

These diseases, Apfa said, could quickly devastate the Australian industry.

Late last week, the Thai government sent a trade negotiating team to hold talks with Australian government agencies to withdraw that country's stringent measures, reasoning that the measures were aimed at protecting only a small group of shrimp farmers in Australia but would directly hit consumers.

In submissions to quarantine regulator Biosecurity Australia's draft import risk analysis on raw imported prawns, Apfa executive officer Scott Walter said strict interim import conditions needed to be introduced immediately. "Australia is an island nation with a mainland coastline of 36,000 kilometres, including the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, with many species of crustaceans that are vulnerable to exotic disease," Walter said.

"Australia's disease-free status is highly valued and well worth defending in the interests of future food production and preserving native seafood resources for future generations.

"It is entirely responsible of the quarantine watchdog to put the onus on importers to prove that product they are bringing into this country is not carrying diseases when the CSIRO [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation] has estimated these diseases have an economic impact of 15 billion Australian dollars [Bt400 billion] to $30 billion internationally."

Walter said that most of the diseased prawns coming into Australia had originated from China, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. The import risk analysis does not propose the banning of all imports, and heat-treated prawns will be accepted without question, he added.

These proposals will be more in line with other countries including Mexico, Colombia and Nicaragua, which all have mandatory disease testing of frozen prawn imports, he said.

From Jim Enright
mapasia@loxinfo.co.th

LATIN AMERICA

Brazil
Worker is assassinated by shrimp farm security guards in Paraipaba, Ceara (Brazil)
14 April 2007

Monday night, 9 Abril, Francisco Cordeiro da Rocha, 31 years old, resident of the community of Camboas, in the city of Paraipaba, was murdered by security guards of the Acqua Clara shrimp farm, located in the community. According to Vilson Oliveira do Carmo, friend of the victim who was with him at the time of the crime, the two had gone out to hunt waterfowl nearby the shrimp farm, a traditional activity in the region. He recounted what he witnessed during an interview with the communications assessor of the Forum in Defense of the Coastal Zone of Ceara (FDZCC):

We went out around 3:30 or 4pm on Monday. We constructed a blind for hunting waterfowl. We stayed there until evening. When it got dark, we came back, but we got close to the fence. There he (Francisco) entered the shrimp farm, to make a detour (he stated that in the road there is a mud puddle where one has to make a large detour to get around it, so as not to walk in the mud ˆ or enter the shrimp farm to take a short cut). I hadn‚t entered (the shrimp farm) yet. As soon as he (Francisco) entered, they shot 7 to 9 times. He (Francisco) yelled. Then they came shooting at me and I ran home, I got out of there. The area was dark, near the fence.

Around 30 community members were present during an interview on Wednesday (11 Abril). Many of them gave depositions concerning the crime and revealed the impacts caused in the community since the arrival of the Acqua Clara farm. The principle complaints of the area residents were: the difficulty in obtaining information on the case, the violence of the farm‚s employees, the environmental impacts generated by shrimp farming, and the poor working conditions on the farm.

The victim‚s family and friends declared themselves to be indignant with the form with which Francisco‚s murder is being treated: „(what is revolting is) how they wanted to treat the dead body. It was terrible what they did, kill the lad and tried to hide the fact without the family's knowledge. Moreover, they later accused the guy, after his death, of being armed and placed shrimp and a cast net to incriminate him,‰ stated Raimundo Acacio, Francisco‚s brother-in-law. „He was killed like a bandit, he‚s being accused of being a bandit, something he never was. Everybody in the community knows him. He‚s an upright citizen, not a bandit,‰ stated Manoel Moreira, a friend of the victim.

At the end of the interview, the residents of Camboas asked for justice: „How many will have to die here until something is done? How many heads of families? How many of our sons or grandsons? So we need this, justice.‰ „We would like the Public Ministry to do a well-done investigation and demonstrate the accused and punish them under the law. The community cannot remain here without a response from the justice system,‰ concluded Manoel Moreira.

According to community residents, Vilson Oliveira gave a statement at the police station on Thursday, and afterwards, left town for another state, as he was being threatened. The Pastoral Council of Fishers (Conselho Pastoral da Pesca) of Ceara sent a report on the case to the Human Rights Commission of the Legislative Assembly of Ceara, which indicated that it would forward the denouncements to the Public Ministry, the Constitution and Justice Commission of the Legislative Assembly of Ceara, and to the Secretary of Public Security of the State, among other institutions. The Commission is evaluating the possibility of convoking a public hearing to discuss the issue.

Source: Aline Baima, FÛrum em Defesa da Zona Costeira do Cear·
www.portaldomar.org.br

Translated by Elaine Corets

From Elaine Corets
manglar@comcast.net

==========

Colombia
Guardians of the Mangroves

http://main.edc.org/newsroom/features/illuminate.asp
http://main.edc.org/newsroom/features/default.asp

March 2007
Colombian schoolchildren explore nature, software

In a poor neighborhood in Cartagena, Colombia, children live in conditions that EDC‚s Kit Yasin describes as „bare bones.‰ Spartan in their simplicity, many homes have rudimentary electricity and few amenities. Further isolating these youngsters is the country‚s ongoing civil war, which has displaced and terrorized Colombians, leaving them reluctant to travel even short distances.

Abutting this stark reality lies another world largely unexplored and unappreciated by most Cartagena residents. A lush, mangrove forest hosting a wealth of tropical plants, animals, and sea organisms˜some of the most biodiverse wetland habitats on the planet˜thrives just off the coast. Mangroves, trees and shrubs that grow in saltwater coastal areas, are biologically unique and also serve as a buffer from erosion and storms. For the Cartagenan children served by EDC‚s „Illuminate!‰ project, these mangroves are their gateway to discovering ecology and software, and a mechanism to connect with other students from both Colombia and the United States.

Through Illuminate!, says Yasin, EDC researchers are testing the viability and cost-effectiveness of computer technology to bridge the geographic isolation facing many students in developing countries and help them communicate with one another and open their horizons.

Illuminate! utilizes software˜Elluminate Live!˜that allows students to communicate online about their experiences in exploring the mangroves. Through bi-weekly interchanges, they share ideas, images, videos, and drawings. This pilot is part of the dot-EDU program, a multi-country education initiative which improves quality, expands access, and enhances equity through digital and broadcast technologies. Dot-EDU is based in EDC‚s International Education Systems Division.

Staff from local environmental NGOs donate their time to teach middle school students about mangroves, reef systems, and other native ecosystems. Thanks to a Cartagena eco-tourism organization, the Cultura del Mar, students are learning how mangrove forests are integral to the balance and survival of their local ecology. Last August, the students˜calling themselves Los Guardianes del Mangle (Guardians of the Mangroves)˜completed a service learning activity, cleaning up a local park populated by mangroves.

„It was amazing to see 7th and 8th grade kids show up for this activity at 7 a.m. on a Saturday,‰ says Yasin. „There must have been about 60 of them, and they stayed there until noon.‰

The students then shared their experiences via the Internet with other students in Colombia and have connected with a public charter middle school in Washington, D.C. The Academia Biling¸e de la Comunidad (ABC) is a Bilingual English and Spanish total-immersion school comprised mainly of immigrant Salvadoran students. The entire junior high school participated in a virtual visit as they listened to the Guardians in Colombia talk about their experiences with this program.

After the virtual visit the U.S. students were inspired to conduct their own clean-up day in Washington‚s Rock Creek Park.

The Guardians also have read stories, listened to educational radio programs, and written rap songs˜all relating to mangroves. They recently won an international competition to illustrate a calendar produced by the non-profit Mangrove Action Project (MAP).

Through the project, the Guardians have developed greater comfort using a computer for educational purposes, as well as other less tangible skills and abilities.

„They have broadened their horizons. They have learned to share experiences with people outside of their community. And they have become expert in a content area,‰ says Yasin. „They take pride in being referred to as the Guardians of the Mangroves in their city, and are proud to be involved in something positive.‰

One of the Washington students who is originally from Senegal brought in a picture of his mother and sister taken in front of the mangroves in his native country.„It was really great for other students to see this ecosystem represented elsewhere in the world,‰ states Yasin. „It helped to demonstrate their shared connection with the Colombian children, even though they live several thousand miles away from each other.‰

For more information, contact Kit Yasin
kyasin@edc.org

From Elaine Corets
manglar@comcast.net

THE CARIBBEAN

THE CARIBBEAN Caribbean region's forest cover continues to decline

Rome. - The Latin America and Caribbean regions lost some 64 million hectares of forest cover from 1990 to 2005 and occupies first place in the world in tree species considered endangered, according to a FAO report published today.

The annual variation rate of forest cover from 2000 to 2005 was -0.51%, in comparison with -0.46% in the 1990s, says the report "Situation of the forests in the world," presented in the opening of the 18 session of the FAO Forest Committee.

Latin America and the Caribbean have abundant forest resources, 47% of the land, which represents 22% of the world‚s forested surface, but together with Africa are the regions that posted the highest losses.

Full story at http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=23084

From: Martin Keeley
mangrove@candw.ky

==========

The Bahamas San Salvador Residents Want National Park
12th March
By Myles Adderley

The Bahamas National Trust recently submitted a proposal for a National Park on San Salvador to the Prime Minister’s office.

"This is an initiative that came from the community, from the people of San Salvador," said Eric Carey, executive director of the Bahamas National Trust (BNT).

Mr. Carey said that having heard about the work of BNT in other parts of the Bahamas, residents of the island requested a national park on their island, and were supported by various universities that have done field studies on the island.

"San Salvador is probably the most well studied island from the point of view of scientific research in the Caribbean," he said.

The San Salvador Gerace Research Centre - founded by San Salvador residents Dr. Cathy and Dr. Don Gerace - formerly the Bahamian Field Station, has been a key destination for the past 25 years for universities and scientists to conduct field studies because of the scientific knowledge within the island.

The Gerace Research Centre is now under the direction of The College of The Bahamas, and COB works closely with well over 18 international universities that have sent in letters of support of the national park.

Aware of the developments around the country including the national park in the Exuma cays and the successes in protecting the resources there, San Salvador residents formed a community conservation group called ‘The San Salvador Living Jewels.’…..

From: "Lee Dettor"
leedettor@bellsouth.net

==========

US Virgin Islands
Green Building For A Sustainable Future

ST. THOMAS - A Yale University researcher and author warned a rapt audience at the University of the Virgin Islands on Tuesday that land in the Virgin Islands - and across the United States - would continue to be developed with often dire environmental consequences unless responsible development guidelines were adopted. Gaboury Benoit, a researcher at Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, made a special presentation titled "Green Sprawl: Can land be developed sustainably?" at the MacLean Marine Science Center on UVI's St. Thomas campus.

The presentation drew more than 30 people including V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources and Coastal Zone Management officials. Benoit, an expert in the biogeochemistry of heavy metals in aquatic systems, has focused his recent research on urban environmental issues and the effects of development on water sources. On Tuesday, Benoit spoke extensively about the environmental harm of uncontrolled sprawl such as habitat destruction, soil erosion and water pollution.

Most often, rapid land development is completed without any real thought to both immediate and future negative environmental impacts, Benoit said. When asked about the Virgin Islands in particular, Benoit said land development appeared "haphazard" and showed no signs of clear environmental constraints. Benoit has co-authored a book on sustainable land development, with Diana Balmori, called "Land and Natural Development Code: Guidelines for Sustainable Development."

The book offers a method and set of guidelines for sustainable development based on scientific research. He outlined many of the solutions offered in his book. The solutions are aimed at encouraging sustainable growth without restraining it. Some of the books' guidelines that Benoit discussed Tuesday included: - Build close to a mass transit system. - Cluster developments close together to minimize land use. - Bury silt fences to make them more efficient.

The book's guidelines are modeled after the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System. The system is a national benchmark for design, construction and operation of "green" buildings, according to the council's website. The U.S. Green Building Council is a national nonprofit organization made up of building industry leaders working "to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work."

While the council's system focuses on buildings, Benoit's system centers around sustainable development. Developers who adopt, or even plan to adopt, the guidelines will be able to use their "green" designation as a selling point. For example, a developer could approach a community showing hostility about a project with a plan to meet some or all of his development guidelines. The seminar is part of a series presented by the Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or VI-EPSCoR. The National Science Foundation program is designed to boost science and engineering research.

From: Martin Keeley
mangrove@candw.ky

NORTH AMERICA

USA
State closer to finingU illegal cutter of mangroves

By Kevin Lollar
klollar@news-press.com
Originally posted on March 06, 2007

The state is a step closer to assigning responsibility and making somebody pay for illegally cutting down 36,000 square feet of mangroves at Burnt Store Marina & Country Club.??Gulf-to-Bay Tree and Landscape violated the terms of its Florida Department of Environmental Protection permit by cutting the mangroves between a lot owned by Daniel Loren and the water, Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The lot now has an expansive view of Charlotte Harbor, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.??Before they were cut, the mangroves ranged from 21 feet to 25 feet.??Another problem is that Gulf to Bay also cut mangroves without authorizaion on a lot adjacent to Loren's owned by Fort Myers Beach realtor Sam Lurie.??Neither Loren nor a representative of Gulf to Bay returned phone calls Tuesday.??Mangroves, which are protected by state statutes, serve many ecological functions. They filter pollutants and

prevent erosion; their leaf litter provides the basis of the estuary's food chain; and red mangrove prop roots are an important habitat for fish, mollusks and crustaceans.

All parties involved met Monday with DEP officials to discuss possible penalties, which are_ Fines of $10,000 per day during which the work was done; Gulf to Bay cut the mangroves over the course of two days, for a total of $20,000. To that, add $500 in DEP costs.

Purchase of mitigation credits at Little Pine Island Mitigation Bank, at a cost of $170,000. Under Florida law, if a developer harms wetlands, has several options, including purchase of mitigation credits at a mitigation bank - degraded wetlands that are restored by someone else.

The responsible party must monitor the illegally trimmed mangrove area for five years to make sure it recovers naturally - this would include removing any exotic vegetation that invades the site. If the site doesn't recover, the responsible party must come up with a plan for restoring it.

"We need to be really clear: This is not a proposal; it hasn't been accepted by anybody," DEP spokesman Elijah Fleishauer said. "This is what we could feasibly do. It's going to take a long time."

Next step: The concerned parties have 60 days to decide who is responsible for the destruction and who, therefore, must shoulder the penalties.

Until that decision is made, under Florida law, everyone involved is considered liable, including Lurie, and if no one takes responsibility, everyone involved will be responsible for the fines, mitigation and mangrove monitoring, including Lurie.

"It was a rude awakening that I could be liable because people trespassed on my property and cut mangroves," Lurie said. "I can't see how I'd have to pay for that. But it's a potential, and potential is not a good place to be in."

Regardless who ends up taking responsibility, the penalties are maximum the state allows.

Mangrove expert and Burnt Store Marina expert Terry Tattar said even the maximum penalties don't fit the environmental destruction.

"To begin with, the fine itself is so miniscule as to be a joke," said Tattar, professor emeritus of microbiology at the University of Massachusetts. "The property was worth $1 million and is probably worth a lot more now because of the view.

"So the fine wouldn't be really much of a deterrent. People will look at this and say,

'Should I cut those mangroves and make my property worth $2 million instead of $1 million? What's it going to cost me? Twenty thousand? Oh, that's nothing.'"

As for buying mitigation credits at Little Pine Island, Tattar said that doesn't do much ?for people who have to look at the ravaged Burnt Store Marina site.

Making the responsible party monitor restoration is also a bad idea, Tattar said, because a study by Tattar and geologist David Scott shows that mangrove forests damaged by Hurricane Charley Aug. 13, 2004, are recovering very slowly on their own.

"They should make them go do some plantings to get trees up there more quickly," Tattar said. "Proactive restoration would be much more appealing."

Something else bothers Tattar. "When we have who is responsible, there will be legal wrangling," Fleishauer said. "They'll have the opportunity to give a counter proposal."

In other words, the penalties might be decreased. "This is like when the prosecution recommends a sentence to the judge, and the defense comes back to recommend a lighter sentence," Tattar said. "So, in this case, they might offer to pay a $10 fine, donate $25 to Little Pine Island, watch the mangroves three years to see if they grow. Then the judge decides something in between.

"There's going to be a lot of disappointment around here because there will be the feeling of if you really want to improve your property, you might consider breaking the law."

From: "Fiona Wilmot"
fionawilmot@earthlink.net

STORIES/ISSUES

Healthy coastal wetlands would adapt to rising oceans

Public release date: 28-Mar-2007
Contact: Monte Basgall
monte.basgall@duke.edu
919-681-8057
http://www.duke.edu/
Duke University

DURHAM, N.C. -- Tidal marshes, which nurture marine life and reduce storm damage along many coastlines, should be able to adjust to rising sea levels and avoid being inundated and lost, if their vegetation isn't damaged and their supplies of upstream sediment aren't reduced, a new Duke University study suggests.

Such marshes "offer great value as buffers of coastal storms in cities such as New Orleans, which is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by marshlands," Matthew Kirwan and A. Brad Murray said in a report published online on Monday, March 26, in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

The researchers built a 3-D computer model that agrees with other recent work in suggesting that marshlands have some potential for adapting to environmental change. However, the Duke modeling also suggests that substantially disturbing the wetlands' plants or starving them of sediment could disrupt that equilibrium.

These coastal systems of water-tolerant plants and tidal channels also "provide highly productive habitat and serve as nursery grounds for a large number of commercially important fin and shellfish," according to the researchers. Murray is an associate professor of geomorphology and coastal processes at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. Kirwan, the report's first author, is a doctoral student working with Murray.

Despite those benefits, a variety of environmental changes often linked to humans -- including sea-level rise, sinking land and alterations to sand and silt supplies that anchor the wetland plants -- are "affecting coastal marshes worldwide," the scientists said.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The team's model, which was based partly on field studies done in South Carolina, and compared with observations in Louisiana, Massachusetts and British Columbia marshlands, uses computerized mathematical equations to help researchers evaluate the evolution of marsh shapes and complex ecosystems.

Other research teams have devised similar computer exercises, but Murray said Duke's version emphasizes how biology influences and interacts with physical erosion processes.

The model describes how vegetation and sediments can meld into living "platforms" that adjust to changing water levels. It also factors in how tidal creeks and channels can both supply silt and sand to the evolving matrix or help undo that process through erosion.

"With a steady, moderate rise in sea level, the model builds a marsh platform and channel network (that rises) with the rate of sea-level rise, meaning water depths and biological productivity remain temporarily constant," said the new report.

"If the vegetation is intact, it holds the system in place and enhances the trapping of sediments and tends to minimize the erosion," Murray said. "Up to some high level of sea-level rise, the system is going to keep itself in place because of that vegetation."

But the model also shows that removing some vegetation or reducing sediment supplies will set the stage for increasing water depths, a change exacerbated as the rates of rising sea levels increase.

Those changes might set the stage for "a scary metastable state," Murray said. Under that state, "conditions would tend to revert to an open-water subtidal basin that becomes too deep for the plants to come back," he said.

"We think that could be why marshes in the Chesapeake Bay region as well as in Louisiana are tending to deteriorate," he said. "That's because those are both places with relatively high sea-level rise rates, and because of land-use changes that decrease rates of sediment delivery downstream."

Such land-use changes could include the damming of rivers and the reforestation of formerly open land.

In fact, the study suggests that heavy sediment runoff during the extensive deforestation of America's colonial period may have created the conditions that built up today's extensive -- but now possibly "metastable" -- marshlands along the East Coast.†

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-03/du-hcw032807.php

From: "Elaine Corets"
manglar@comcast.net

==========

ITALY: March 14, 2007
Forest Loss/ Greenhouse Gain

By Catherine Brahic

ROME - An area of forest twice the size of Paris disappears every day although the rate of global deforestation has started to slow, according to a United Nations report issued on Tuesday.

"Deforestation continues and it continues at an unacceptable rate, however there are signs of potential change," said Wulf Killmann, a forestry expert at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) which published the report.

The destruction of forests not only reduces habitat available for wildlife but also adds to the greenhouse effect because the carbon stored in trees is released into the atmosphere.

Deforestation accounts for 18 percent of the carbon dioxide produced each year, a significant proportion of the emissions scientists say are causing global warming which also poses risks to forests via increased fires and the spread of pests.

Demand for agricultural land is one of the main reasons that forests continue to be erased at the rate of 13 million hectares a year, an area about the size of England.

However, moves by some countries to replant forests has meant the annual net loss has dropped from around 9 million hectares in the 1990s to 7.3 million, according to the "State of the World's Forests 2007" report.

A huge tree planting programme in China, for example, more than offset large-scale deforestation in other parts of Asia such as Indonesia, to produce a net increase in the amount of forested land in the Asia-Pacific region during the first five years of the decade.

China's economic boom has driven demand for wood and the country has adopted a tree planting policy, not only to reduce its reliance on imported timber, but also for soil protection, especially in areas near the Gobi desert, Killmann said.

In Africa and Latin America, there are fewer positive signs.

Forested land in Latin America -- home to the Amazon -- fell to less than half of the continent's area. By 2005, forests were estimated at 47 percent of the total land, from 51 in 1990.

More than half of global deforestation in the period 2000-2005 happened in Africa, the report said, underlining its conclusion that poverty and war are major contributors to forest destruction.

Although economic growth often contributes to illegal logging, the FAO concluded that development was, on the whole, beneficial to forests as wealthier countries were more likely to establish conservation policies.

Citing the growth in forests in India and China, it concluded: "Economic development appears to be a necessary condition for deforestation to cease."

Story by Robin Pomeroy
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

From: LESrrl3@aol.com

==========

Rising sea levels threaten Asia coastline, says new study

A new international study says coastal communities in Asia are increasingly at risk of rising sea levels and powerful storms that may be caused by global warming.

Using new computer population models and satellite data from NASA, the study estimates up to 634 million people were living in vulnerable coastal regions in 2000, more than 75 percent of them in Asia.

The study says billion-dollar policy shifts are needed to encourage more people to move inland.

Writing in the journal Environment and Urbanisation, the authors say rising sea levels and storms related to changing weather patterns are likely to bring storm surges and heavy erosion.

"Settlements in coastal lowlands are especially vulnerable to risks resulting from climate change, yet these lowlands are densely settled and growing rapidly," the researchers say.

They say even people living up to 10 metres above sea level could be vulnerable to cyclones, subsidence, erosion of river deltas or intrusion of salty sea water onto cropland.

More than 90 percent of the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, the Cayman Islands and the Turk and Caicos Islands are less than 10 metres above sea level.

"If you are in that zone you need to take the issues of sea level rise seriously," said Gordon McGranahan, lead author at the London-based International Institute for the Environment and Development.

Ranked by population, China is most at risk with 143 million people living by the coast, followed by India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Egypt and the United States.

Source: AB

From: icsf@icsf.net

==========

Press release: International Institute for Environment and Development
Sustainable development is dead! Long live sustainable development!

A 20-year international effort to put the planet on a path to sustainable development has been woefully inadequate and will need a radical rethink if it is to achieve its aims, says a report published today by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

The report was written by Steve Bass, a senior fellow at IIED and former chief environment advisor at the UK government's Department for International Development. It is being released to mark the 20th anniversary of the influential Brundtland Commission's report Our Common Future, which first put sustainable development on the mainstream political agenda.

The IIED report calls for:

_ Traditional, local and non-Western approaches to play a major role in a new, globally constructed and globally shared drive towards genuine sustainable development.

_ A shift from the inviolability of economic growth to the inviolability of human well-being and environmental limits.

_ Governments to account for the economic and social benefitsthat natural resources provide and the costs of mismanaging these environmental assets.

The Brundtland Commission's 1987 report defined sustainable development as: "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Since then, twenty years of international summitry has produced anincoherent set of commitments, plans, tools and agreements. Yet development remains far from sustainable. The IIED report looks forward 20 years to identify future challenges and ways that sustainable development can be turned from a planner's dream into a tangible reality in the everyday lives of people and businesses.

"Three UN-commissioned reports from 2005 show clearly that development has not yet become sustainable," says Bass

_ The Millennium Project confirmed that progress in reducingpoverty was too slow.

_ The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment concluded that 16 out of 25 services that ecosystems provide humanity were being critically degraded.

_ And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change clearlydemonstrated one aspect of unsustainable development and its likely impacts.

"Sustainable development is never going to materialise as a result of edicts from New York or Geneva," says Bass. "It needs to be constructed, shared and implemented in a truly global way that takes account of traditional, local and non-Western approaches."

"Instead of top-down plans and wish-lists, we need to look from the bottom up," he says. "Linking the many approaches that actually work - wiring together new systems, not rehashing plans - is the key to shaping a new era in sustainable development."

"We need to challenge the notion that environmental resources are there for the taking, that Nature provides a free lunch," says Bass. "The mismanagement of these resources carries a cost that we are only just beginning to appreciate.

"We are borrowing from the future, and leaving the next generation with an environmental overdraft. We need policy to shift from viewing economic growth as inviolable to seeing that environmental limits and people's rights are more important."

IIED wants to spark a debate among different sectors and stakeholders about what sustainable development really means - and how to achieve it. "It is high time for new questions to be asked," says Bass. "Getting the answers will mean engaging a much wider range of people and perspectives than have been heard in international summit halls to date."

The full report will be available online on 20 March 2007.

From: Mike Shanahan
Mike.Shanahan@iied.org

CONFERENCES/ WORKSHOPS & PUBLICATIONS

New book on fishers' knowledge in fisheries science and management published

A new peer-reviewed and edited book, "Fishers' Knowledge in Fisheries Science and Management", has just been published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Edited by Nigel Haggan, Barbara Neis and Ian G. Baird, the book brings together examples from indigenous, small-scale industrial and recreational fisheries in marine and freshwater environments across the globe, with examples of collaboration between traditional and 'modern' fisheries science and management.

According to the Foreword of the book by Walter Erdelen, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO, in 1985, UNESCO published the groundbreaking volume edited by Ken Ruddle and Richard (Bob) Johannes on "The Traditional Knowledge and Management of Coastal Systems in Asia and the Pacific". In those early days, environmental knowledge possessed by local and indigenous communities was beginning to gain recognition, but only in isolated circles and at disparate localities. This changed with the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity and its explicit requirement in Article 8(j) that contracting Parties must 'respect, preserve and maintain the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities'. Today, local and indigenous knowledge is widely recognized as a key element in biodiversity conservation, even though its role continues to stir considerable controversy and debate.

The present volume caps more than twenty years of partnership between UNESCO and Bob Johannes, and his tireless efforts to bridge the persistent gap between scientists and fishers. On UNESCO's side, this partnership was initiated in the early 1980s by its Coastal Marine programme. This programme has evolved into the Coastal Regions and Small Islands Platform (CSI), but its focus remains on interdisciplinary work that crosses the boundaries between the natural and social sciences, and between ecological and cultural systems. UNESCO's Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) programme, established in 2002, expands this work with an explicit focus on traditional knowledge and customary management. LINKS embraces several of the goals espoused by Bob Johannes and exemplified in this volume. It focuses on empowering local knowledge holders in biodiversity governance by strengthening collaboration among local communities, scientists and decision-makers. It also contributes to the safeguarding of traditional knowledge and practices within local communities by enhancing their transmission to the next generation.

As the fourth contribution to the UNESCO series entitled "Coastal Management Sourcebooks", this volume provides analyses and case studies that convincingly support Bob Johannes' contention that, throughout the world, the knowledge of local fisherfolk must become an integral part of decision-making on renewable resource management.

Source: Ian Baird

From: ianbaird@shaw.ca

==========

2007 China Forum on Non-Governmental Wetland Conservation

April 5th, 2007
The importance of wetlands has been increasingly regarded. However, the survival of wetlands has dropped into a critical situation. More and more wetlands have gradually vanished. Therefore the conservation of wetlands becomes too urgent to waste time.

Fortunately, all social forces have been taking actions. Relevant sectors of government, research institutes and universities have been constantly studying how to protect and utilize wetlands scientifically. In addition, the unremitting endeavor of the non-governmental force must be seen, especially the effort of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organization) that are playing an increasingly important role as a third-party force. Besides the International Non-Governmental Organizations, many local NGOs like CMCN (China Mangrove Conservation Network) have emerged in multitude in China. They have made a long-term effort for the protection of mangrove wetland ecosystem. The experience that they accumulated has been learnt by other local NGOs.

To some extent, all social forces cooperate mutually. Firstly, relevant sectors of government like Administrative Bureau of Protection Area play a decisive role in funds, policies and managements, which directly influences the wetland conservation. Secondly, Research Institutes and Universities play a leading role in scientific research, technology support, and popular science, which strengthens the protection of wetlands. Thirdly, NGOs promote the wetland protection in terms of sustainable education, public participation and popularization, which expands the wetland conservation.

In the common level of wetland conservation, the key subject of protecting wetlands effectively is how to share resources and advantages, achieve agreements and cooperate with Administrative Bureaus, Research Institutes and NGOs and how to learn from each other. However, all forces still lack communications with each other. Therefore, we will hold the 2007 China Forum on Non-Governmental Wetland Conservation on May 12th-13th, 2007 in Xiamen, Fujian province. In order to protect the wetlands effectively, we sincerely invite all professionals to discuss how to further the cooperation and share the resources.

The forum is hosted by China Mangrove Conservation Network, Ecological Society of Fujian Province and School of Life Science, Xiamen University, sponsored by Greenwild Association of Xiamen University and Graduate Association of Life Science College, Xiamen University, cosponsored by Wetlands and Ecological Engineering Research Center of Xiamen University and supported by Whitley Fund for Nature. It will be divided into three parts: the opening ceremony, sub-forums and inspections of protection areas.

As a faithful protector of wetland conservation, you will have many opinions and experiences to share with us. We will sincerely enjoy the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with you in the forum.

China Mangrove Conservation Network
Ecological Society of Fujian Province
School of Life Science, Xiamen University

From: "Mangrove in China"
china_mangrove@126.com

==========

RECOFTC Sponsors World Focus on Poverty and Forests

World experts on the use of forest resources to benefit the poor, while sustaining those same forests, are being invited to Bangkok in September for an international conference. Under the theme ÏPoverty Reduction and Forests: Tenure, Market and Policy ReformsÓ the conference, scheduled for 3-7 September 2007, will examine current efforts to reduce poverty through sustainable uses and management of forests, and discuss issues involving AsiaÌs threatened forests and 300 million rural poor who live in and around and depend on the resource for livelihoods. The conference is being organized by RECOFTC, in collaboration with other Rights and Resources Initiative partners, and many other organizations and donors that are concerned for poverty and forest issues.

The aim of the conference is not only to craft an agenda strengthening reforms for poverty reduction and preserving forests in Asia. It will be looking also for national and regional support, through existing and new networks of stakeholders, to ensure this agenda is carried out in the future. Among the audience will be policy makers and administrators involved in land tenure and policy reforms, people leading community organizations and associations, researchers and leaders of development organizations working on forest rights and trade issues as well as people in the corporate or private sector working in related areas.

Papers are called from potential participants addressing the central theme of the conference - the relationship between forests and poverty, and particularly the role of forest resources, products and services in poverty reduction.

Deadlines for submitting abstracts: 16 April 2007

For detail information, visit websites:
www.conference.recoftc.org

From Jim Enright
mapasia@loxinfo.co.th

==========

Conference on Freshwater Swamp Issues Connected to Mangroves

I would like to inform you of an upcoming awareness campaign in the same place in the Philippines. This time, a scientific conference will be conducted that will focus on the conservation issues of a freshwater swamp known as the Agusan Marsh (Ramsar Site). Although your newsletter focuses on mangrove conservation, we believe that the health of the coastal mangrove ecosystem is also significantly affected by the conditions of the river and upland systems. Thus, I would like to inquire if it would be possible if you help us disseminate our upcoming 2007 Agusan Marsh Scientific Conference in Butuan City Philippines. Additional information are posted in this website link: