Document Actions
The MAP News, 185th Ed., 10 June 2007
Dear Friends,
This is the 185th Edition of the Mangrove Action Project News. (June 10, 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.
Back Issues available!
Note: Can't wait to get your next issue of the MAP News in your inbox? It's now possible to read the news on MAP's new website, as it breaks. All news items and notices published in the MAP News can be accessed directly from our home page www.mangroveactionproject.org, with links to the full story and the original source. New items are posted daily!
===================================================
UNDER THE SEA: MAKING SMARTER SEAFOOD CHOICES
MAP WORKS
MAP Announces Its Spin Off From Earth Island Institute Receiving Its Own Non-Profit 501 © (3) Status
MAP Launches New, Greatly Improved Website
Replies From Some Of MAP's Friends About MAP's Independent Status and New Web Site
MAP Attends Post-Tsunami Living Lakes Conference
MAP Director Invited To Present at Upcoming Blue Salon
Video Co-produced by MAP to be Screened at Rio Film Festival
Entries Called For Next MAP 2008 Children's Art Calendar
Help MAP and Make the Call to Working Assets Today
Internship / Volunteer with Mangrove Action Project:
Nigeria
Shrimp Farming Being Promoted By Big Oil In Niger Delta
Togo/ Congo
Mangrove Conference Planned for July in Togo
Thailand
Community rights and the forests
Indonesia
Correction to Previous Article:
Indonesia is fastest forest clearer
Mangrove Loss in Lampung Leaves Environment in Ruins and Local Communities in Peril
Government Should Not be in a Rush to Sell Dipasena
Indonesia counts its islands before it's too late
Malaysia
World Environment Day :All must be Nature‚s custodians
Vietnam
Vast Areas of Mangrove Wetlands and Farmlands Converted To Unsustainable Shrimp Farming
Vietnam's fisheries industry nets award for being world's fifth largest fish farmer
Cambodia
Mangrove Planting in June at Koh Kong-- Cooperation with Cambodian Government in Mangrove Project
Burma (Myanmar)
Locals cooperate in Natmataung conservation
Maungdaw Business Zone Unlikely to Meet Shrimp Exports of Previous Year
India
MANGREEN SUMMER CAMP 2007
Brazil
Brazil's Shrimp Farm Industry In Trouble?
Shrimp from Ceara (Brazil) loosing out in international markets
National standard for environmental permitting will be discussed
Honduras
Honduran Shrimp Producers Concerned About Closed Border To Nicaragua
Border closed to Honduran shrimp larvae
The Bahamas
Save Guana Cay Campaign Argument Carried To UN
Gov't To Abandon Mega Projects Policy
Save Bimini Island
Campaign
Sint Maartens
***ACTION ALERT!!!*** From Global Response
US Shrimp Imports Still On The
Rise
Safety alert on U.S. feed export turns the tables.
Vet Drugs in Imported Seafood, Refusals Up
Dramatically
Wal-Mart to push sustainable shrimp
Wal Mart Attempts To
"Influence" Shrimp Farm Industry
Melamine From U.S. Put in Feed
FDA Testing Fewer Seafood Imports
Talks set on sick crawfish *** Farmers urged to protect crop
STORIES/ISSUES
How Mangroves & Other Plants Fit In To Carbon Cycle
Deforestation: The hidden cause of global warming
Mangroves Key To Ocean's Health
"Earth, Inc. Sliding Into Bankruptcy"
U.N. Professor Says Climate Change Is Creating New Refugees Who Deserve U.N. Protection
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Ecosystem Marketplace's Community Forum?Connecting people to ecosystem markets
AQUACULTURE CORNER
Alliance for Aquaculture Reform
OFFSHORE DRILLING: U.S. plan to use old rigs for aquaculture raises concerns
Production Of Sustainable Fish Feed Sought By MSC
Safety Of China‚s Seafood Questioned
FEATURE STORIES
UNDER THE SEA: MAKING SMARTER SEAFOOD CHOICES
Do you know where your fish is from?
Take a close look at your next menu - chefs are increasingly taking an interest in replacing iffy species with sustainable alternatives
BEPPI CROSARIOL May 30, 2007
Robert Clark has a caveat for people planning an Aussie-style grillfest this summer: Don't throw another farmed tiger shrimp on the barbie.
For one thing they taste bland, says Mr. Clark, executive chef of Vancouver's shrine to seafood, C Restaurant, and its sister establishments Nu and Raincity Grill.
But more important, tiger shrimp - almost all of which come from China, Thailand and Brazil - are destroying ecologically vital tropical mangrove forests because of waste products and chemicals associated with intensive farming.
Mr. Clark has earned an enviable reputation over the past 10 years as one of Vancouver's top toques, but these days he's garnering more widespread acclaim for what's not on his menus: iffy fish.
As the founding chef of Ocean Wise, a Vancouver Aquarium conservation program launched 2? years ago, Mr. Clark has been working with city restaurateurs to reduce their reliance on products harvested from scarce wild stocks and environmentally questionable ocean farms.
Other pressing examples include cod, halibut and sole from the Atlantic, as well as monkfish, orange roughy, shark and skate. So far, more than 60 Vancouver restaurants have vowed to replace at least one questionable species with a sustainable alternative.
And lately, Mr. Clark has been taking his sustainability gospel on the road, and literally across the ocean.
In March, he flew to Melbourne at the request of the Australian Conservation Foundation to help raise money and awareness for Ocean Wise's first international chapter, slated for launch in October.
And last week Mr. Clark was present at a ceremony to inaugurate the program's first Canadian spinoff in Victoria, where six restaurants have taken the sustainable-seafood pledge. Soon to follow is the Okanagan region in late June and, Mr. Clark hopes, possibly Calgary, a city normally more preoccupied with the quality of its beef.
"To make other cities in Canada or in the world take notice of things that don't affect them on a daily basis, I think it's going to be a great accomplishment," he says.
Mr. Clark is part of a growing network of professional cooks prompted into action by a series of events over the past decade. With the East Coast cod fishery in collapse, chefs began noticing something was wrong with the ocean's bigger fish, such as swordfish and tuna - the fillets and steaks they were preparing seemed to be shrinking almost before their eyes.
In 1998, a group of culinary stars in New York announced they were taking swordfish off their menus as part of a campaign dubbed Give Swordfish a Break. The ripples were felt as far as Washington, where six months later then-president Bill Clinton imposed a ban on the sale and importation of north Atlantic swordfish weighing less than 33 pounds.
In Mr. Clark's case, the wake-up call came about eight years ago in the form of Chilean sea bass - officially but less palatably known as patagonian toothfish - then the darling of upscale restaurant kitchens because of its ability to endure the cardinal sin of haute cuisine, overcooking.
"At some point it didn't even look like Chilean sea bass any more," says Mr. Clark, who had also become worried about reports that up to 75 per cent of sea bass supplies were illegally poached.
Mr. Clark's solution, initially motivated by the more selfish desire to expand his seafood offerings, was to bypass large wholesalers and go straight to local fishermen, who could offer more than just the ubiquitous "farmed salmon, halibut and shrimp," he says.
In a move that remains a milestone of Vancouver's modern fine-dining explosion, he replaced Chilean sea bass with a then-unsung local variety known as sablefish (a.k.a. black cod), now a cornerstone of spring menus around the Lower Mainland.
"Eight years ago, not an ounce was sold locally," Mr. Clark says. "Now every white tablecloth sells it. That was kind of the eye-opener for us, that we needed to go to fishermen directly."
Sablefish's other distinction is that it can be purchased fresh. That's not the case with most other species.
"The majority of seafood consumed in North America is previously frozen, whether they tell you that or not," Mr. Clark says. "Not one ounce of sea bass that reached this country was fresh."
After dropping the inconvenient toothfish, as it were, from his menu, Mr. Clark got the go-ahead from C's owner, Harry Kambolis, to revamp the rest of the menu.
As C - the name is a play on "sea" - began acquiring a reputation for sustainable seafood, conservationists and fresh-fish suppliers came "out of the woodwork" with information and new choices, Mr. Clark says.
Three years ago, the Vancouver Aquarium came knocking, looking to duplicate a chef-awareness program started a couple of years earlier by the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. They discovered Mr. Clark had already been practising everything they wanted to preach.
"C Restaurant was the inspiration in many ways," says Jason Boyce, the Aquarium's manager of conservation programs. He notes that industrial fishing has wiped out 90 per cent of large ocean fish, including swordfish, tuna, marlin and halibut.
Working with Mr. Clark, the Vancouver Aquarium set up an audit system whereby restaurants could apply to join Ocean Wise by replacing at least one fish menu item with a sustainable choice and committing to transition away from unsound items. That list today includes orange roughy, monkfish, most tuna, shark and, of course, tiger prawns.
In return, the restaurant earns the right to place the Ocean Wise logo next to the menu item. Plus, there's the not-so-fringe benefit of a more consistent and fresher fish supply.
Other centres that have recently launched chef-outreach programs include the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and the South Carolina Aquarium.
Why are ocean-conservation advocates spending time educating chefs instead of consumers? Because professional cooks are the gatekeepers of most seafood consumed on the continent. According to a 2004 study, 68 per cent of fish sold by suppliers, on a dollar-value basis, goes to restaurants and caterers, Mr. Boyce says.
"If you want to change the market, you're either going to have to educate a million consumers that are all buying maybe a pound of seafood a week, or you educate a thousand chefs that are buying thousands of pounds of seafood a week."
The sustainability imperative isn't limited to chefs located near aquariums. Two weeks ago Keith Froggett, chef-partner at Scaramouche, one of Toronto's top dining rooms, was named one of six chef-ambassadors of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program, joining two previous Canadian inductees, Toronto's Jamie Kennedy and Vancouver's Mr. Clark.
For a restaurateur like Mr. Froggett in landlocked Toronto, sourcing fresh, responsibly harvested ocean fish hasn't been easy. Nor are the choices always clear-cut.
Colleagues had nominated him for the Monterey ambassadorship because of his ardent devotion to the cause, but the aquarium, after secretly monitoring his ever-changing menu, called him with a condition before agreeing to bestow the honour.
"The only issue they had was that in fact we were using the West Coast farm-raised salmon, so we took it off," Mr. Froggett says. "We were using it in good faith. It was organically raised and organically certified. We weren't aware that it was on their list. And in fact they said it hadn't been until a couple of months ago."
The search for righteous fish has led him to suppliers from as far away as Scotland. Johnson Sustainable Seafoods in Shetland farms cod Mr. Froggett says is better than the wild variety he ate as a boy growing up in the southern English coastal town of Westgate-On-Sea. "If they could start to rate these farms as well, it would make things easier."
Back in Vancouver, Mr. Clark says he now gets fish so fresh he has to wait a day or more before cooking because of rigor mortis, the postmortem chemical change that causes muscle stiffness.
"The shocker for us was that we'd never even seen fish fresh enough to go into rigor," he says. "You can't flake it or break it. It's like shoe leather."
The good, the bad and the roughy
Conservationists recommend choosing seafood sources that are abundant and caught or farmed in environmentally responsible ways. Here's a select few from the list.
***BEST CHOICES
-Rainbow trout (farmed)
-Scallops (farmed)
-Halibut (Pacific)
-Mussels and oysters (farmed)
-B.C. sablefish (black cod)
***
AVOID
-Tiger shrimp (farmed) (Editor' Note: And White Prawns Too!)
-Shark
-Chilean sea bass
-Orange roughy
-Skate
***
Fresh or frozen?
Sashimi and sushi lovers take note: Most seafood sold in North America has been previously frozen, whether it's labelled that way or not, says Robert Clark, executive chef of Vancouver's C Restaurant.
Not that Mr. Clark is opposed to properly frozen fish, much of which arrives in better condition than "fresh," a retail term simply meaning unfrozen but often confused with "recently caught." The reason: If it's frozen at sea or soon after capture, it hasn't had a chance to decay like fish sitting around for days in a fishmonger's smelly display case.
The real crime is frozen fish that has been thawed and laid out on ice by the retailer to give the appearance of just-caught freshness. Demanding chefs prefer to buy their frozen fish in a frozen state and thaw just before cooking.
Source: Globe and Mail
LAC.20070530.LOCEANWISE30/EmailTPStory/Life
MAP Announces Its Spin Off From Earth Island Institute Receiving Its Own Non-Profit 501 © (3) Status
Mangrove Action Project Becomes Independent
Martha Davis, President of Earth Island Institute, and Alfredo Quarto, Founder of the Mangrove Action Project, today announced that Mangrove Action Project became independent of Earth island Institute effective March 1, 2007, after more than 15 years as a project of the parent organization.
"Earth Island Institute is an innovative organizational home for many environmental initiatives," said Davis. "While many of our projects have found a long-term home in our network, we have regularly supported those projects that chose to set off on their own. We are proud of the considerable accomplishments and growing leadership of Mangrove Action Project in global networking, and mangrove conservation and restoration."
Mangrove Action Project (MAP) was incorporated as a Washington nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization in 2006 to assume the work of the existing Earth Island Mangrove Action Project. Alfredo Quarto will serve as Executive Director of the new Mangrove Action Project organization.
Since Earth Island's founding in 1982, more than 60 projects have called Earth Island home, and among the notable projects that have gone on to independence are Rainforest Action Network, International Rivers Network, Northern Appalachian Restoration Project, Urban Habitat Program, Bluewater Network, and Sea Turtle Restoration Project.
"Mangrove Action Project has been fortunate to work with Earth Island Institute as a project incubator. The infrastructure support, program guidance and dynamic community of activists and environmental leaders have allowed Mangrove Action Project to mature into a strong, independent organization," said Quarto.
In 14½ years with Earth Island Institute, Mangrove Action Project has developed solid educational, action support and networking programs all over the world. They have collaborated with hundreds of grassroots nonprofit organizations in both the global South and North. They have worked with local NGOs and community groups in the pursuit of effective and long-term mangrove conservation and restoration, while also focusing on resolving those problems which are threatening the world's remaining mangroves. "With over half the original mangrove forest cover having been lost to coastal development and a third of that loss occurring in the last 20 years, MAP's effort to conserve and restore these vital coastal ecosystems is imperative," said Quarto. "Mangrove Action Project is uniquely positioned to raise awareness globally about the importance of mangrove wetlands and to spotlight the problems affecting the mangroves."
For more information about the work of Mangrove Action Project, please contact Alfredo Quarto, Executive Director, via email (mangroveap@olympus.net) or telephone (360-452-5866).
For more information about the work of Earth Island Institute, please contact John A. Knox, Executive Director, via email (johnknox@earthisland.org) or telephone (415-788-3666 x108) or visit www.earthisland.org.
From: Alfredo Quarto mangroveap@olympus.net
======================================================
MAP Launches New, Greatly Improved Website
EDITOR'S NOTE: We at MAP would like to sincerely thank Elaine Corets, our Latin America Coordinator, who spent more than 2 months of dedicated and difficult time to help redesign and launch MAP's new web site. Her courageous efforts to take this rather monumental task on were completely done as a dedicated volunteer, which exemplifies the value and potential of volunteerism in this world we live in today, where too often the worth of one's work is pre-judged by the hourly rate of one's pay. However, how do you place a monetary value on that which is given freely and still done professionally and thoroughly? For such an important contribution, a big THANK YOU is in order, and a great appreciation and public recognition for Elaine;s good work. May she inspire others to step forward and volunteer in the service of hope and of directed action for the future of all life on this planet.
24 May 2007
New website will give greater visibility to Mangrove Action Project's international activities and programs
MAP's new website has been launched! The site includes the content of the former site, but has gone through a complete overhaul of look and functionality. In addition to a reorganized site, you will find an updated layout and new tools.
With the new site it will be possible to:
§ Search by keyword(s)
§ Keep informed about all of MAP's programs, as well as regional offices
§ Learn about mangroves and the communities that depend on them, as well as the threats to their survival
§ Download MAP documents
§ Keep abreast of breaking news through our new 'Current Headlines' feature
§ Sign-up to receive the biweekly 'MAP News' electronic newsletter, as well as RSS feeds
§ Submit inquiries directly to MAP
§ Become a member of MAP, donate to MAP, or purchase from the MAP Store
www.mangroveactionproject.org
We welcome suggestions for improving the site. Please send us your comments!
Fundraising Drive
Since October 1998, MAP has sent out its biweekly electronic newsletter, the MAP News, for free to our subscribers, friends, and associates with no substantial support from neither foundations nor individuals along the way. We at MAP would really appreciate your help with some financial support so that we can improve upon our newsletter, which is now in its 8th year and 185th Edition. We would like to bring on board a Communications specialist to help us improve upon the MAP News, increasing its scope and making it a truly effective and useful educational and awareness raising tool.
In honor of the launch of our new website and this exciting occasion in MAP's history, we are holding a special fund-raising drive through 30 June 2007. If each of our MAP News subscribers would donate merely $10 (or more), MAP could then look for that right person to take on this important service for our global network.
Thank you in advance for your support.
For the mangroves,
Alfredo Quarto,
Executive Director
================================================
Replies From Some Of MAP's Friends About MAP's Independent Status and New Web Site
Please note that MAP has received morethan 50 e-mails from 21 nations with congratulatory messages on or independent NGO status and our new web site. Elaine Corets our web site designer and manager has just added a comments page to the website: http://www.mangroveactionproject.org/comments-page
You can visit this section to read some of the comments!
======================================================
MAP Attends Post-Tsunami Living Lakes Conference
MAP's Asia Coordinator, Jim Enright, was invited to the by the Global Nature Centre of Germany to present at the first Post Tsunami Living Lakes Conference from 23 - 26 April 2007 in Bentota, Sri Lanka. The conference was entitled "Restoration of Mangroves and Reestablishment of Livelihoods in Sri Lanka". Jim's presentation focused on MAP and Ecological Mangroves Restoration (EMR) and can be found along with all other conference presentations in PDF format at http://www.globalnature.org/SriLanka-Conference/.
One of the outputs of the conference was a 68 page "Mangrove Rehabilitation Guidebook" which contains a section on MAP's 6 step approach to Ecological Mangrove Restoration. This guidebook can be also downloaded as a 1.6 MB - PDF from the above web site.
The conference involving over 100 participants from 10 countries, offered a valuable platform for discussions and knowledge exchange between engaged institutions and organizations, ministries, administrations and business partners from all over the world. The hosts of this conference were Global Nature Fund and the Sri Lankan Living Lakes partner organizations Nagenahiru Foundation and EMACE. The event involved a two-day pre-conference field trip to view local host's projects at the lake areas of Bolgoda, Maduganga and Madampe where mangroves fringe the lagoons. The conference and projects are being supported by the EU ASIA PRO ECO II B Post-Tsunami Programme.
From Jim Enright <mapasia@loxinfo.co.th>
======================================================
MAP Director Invited To Present at Upcoming Blue Salon
MAP's Dirctor is invited to present at the upcoming conference in WA, DC, entitled "The Blue Salon" which follows on the idea of the "Green Salon" . Other presenters on te panel during this event will include Alexandra Cousteau, the grand daughter of Jacques Cousteau. The confeence dates are June 16-17.
======================================================
23 May 2007
Video Co-produced by Mangrove Action Project to be Screened at Rio Film
Festival
The video short, Lia, a co-production of the Mangrove Action Project (MAP), Abrolhos Marine National Park, and the CineClube of Caravelas (Bahia, Brazil), will be screened at the Rio de Janeiro audiovisual festival, Festival Visões Periféricas (Peripheral Visions Festival) www.observatoriodefavelas.org.br/observatorio/noticias/noticias/4473.asp, occurring from 6-17 June 2007. From a total of 185 submissions to the festival, Lia is one of only 34 which were selected to participate in the prize categories.
Two members of the Lia production team, Jaco Galdino (co-director) and Franklin da Silva Costa (artistic director and actor), are packing their bags and will soon be on their way to Rio in order to share their experiences from the Caravelas production with other festival participants.
Festival Visões Periféricas is the only film festival in Rio conceived especially to bring together Brazil's best artistic production from inner-city and marginalized communities. Submissions to the festival originate from neighborhood film schools and workshops.
The protagonist of the video from Caravelas is Lia, a young girl who carries a mysterious book with her as she wanders the southern Bahian coastal town of Caravelas. Daughter of a mangrove crab collector, she visits typical locals - the youth orchestra's rehearsal space, the fishermen's wharf, children attending to a charcoal kiln, and a children's playground, all the while searching for someone with whom to share a special poem. The video (10 min) can be viewed on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIPzdZtYC_A (Portuguese, no subtitles).
Other productions of the Caravelas CineClube include: Outros Carnavais (Other Carnivals), a documentary about the tradition of Carnival celebrations in Caravelas, as well as a yet untitled drama, a co-production with MAP and financed by the Overbrook Foundation, about the local fisherfolk population and their relationship to the mangrove forests which surround the region.
Source: MAP-Latin America
Submitted by: Elaine Corets
mapamericas@mangroveactionproject.org
======================================================
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
=====================================================
Help MAP and Make the Call to Working Assets Today
Dear Friends,
MAP is being offered $50 for every new sign-up from our membership onto the Working Assets telephone service. Working Assets gives 1% of their profits directly to non-profits, and over the years have given away $50 million to various good causes! Please consider joining and becoming a subscriber to Working Assets, mentioning your affiliation with MAP so MAP can receive the donation from Working Assets..
Working Assets gives millions of dollars every year to groups like MAP to support a cause more important than any other: building a better world.
Great Wireless. Better World. 1% of their charges will automatically go to progressive nonprofits ó at no extra charge. And all those donations add up. Since 1985, weíve raised over $50 million for nonprofit groups.
To learn more, click here:
http://values.workingassets.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/etUe0BF7Dc0XCw0BaKB0E8
From: "Working Assets"<workingassets@values.workingassets.com>
======================================================
Internship / Volunteer with Mangrove Action Project:
Position Title: Asia Office Development & Field Project Assistant
Location: MAP Asia Regional Office, Trang, Thailand
Time Frame: 3-6 months preferred
Background: MAP's Asia office is small and supports partner NGOs and projects in India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Burma and Thailand involving mangrove restoration, coastal resource conservation, awareness raising, Community Based Coastal Resource Management, developing alternative livelihoods, environmental education and network building. The MAP Asia Coordinator requires office assistance to support a wide range of projects activities. There will be some opportunities to assist with an environmental education field project in Thailand. Assisting with project proposals and searching and analyzing funding opportunities will be a central part of the position. The work possibilities are wide and varied and can be geared to the skills and interest of the intern. Learning by doing will be very much a part of the experience. The Intern / Volunteer will need to be fully self-supporting covering food, accommodation, and accident insurance which estimated at about $100/week.
Qualifications Required:
· Involvement in/ familiarity with international conservation and tropical coastal ecosystems a plus.
· Experience in development/ fundraising for non-profits, including grant / proposal writing is a plus
· Experience in environmental education and awareness building especially with children an asset
· Skills in training and organizing will be useful
· Attitudes and behaviors which show respect for different culture & religions,
· Effective communication and representation skills
· Computer skills in Window, Words, Excel, and Power Point
· Experience in information research and developing information materials would be useful
· Ability and willingness to travel some within country,
· Willingness to work irregular hours
· Excellent spoken and written English and willingness to learn some basic spoken Thai language
· Ability to work both independently and in close coordination with a team,
· Excellent networking skills and the ability to communicate with a wide range of organizations and communities.
Contact: Jim Enright, E-mail: mapasia@loxinfo.co.th
Nigeria
Shrimp Farming Being Promoted By Big Oil In Niger Delta
SHRIMP FARMING: IS IT A SUSTAINABLE COMPLEMENT? Today P. monodon with its comparative largeness - in terms of size and biomass - is adjudged God sent, but, the negative implications, if there may be, of this "salvaging" exotic species as to the well being of indigenous shrimps, general biodiversity and ecosystem equilirium is/are yet to be ascertained.
Commercial shrimp farming is a new venture in Nigeria; lately pursued by mostly Oil giants and their foreign collaborators. In an attempt to boost Nigeria's shrimp production and export, Shell Petroleum Development Company (S.P.D.C) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) proposed in 2004 to embark on industrial shrimp aquaculture in the Niger Delta. The project estimated to cost N266 billion, would 'boost the country's foreign income and alleviate poverty of host communities through gainful employment", the proponents claim. According to the duo, the project would be executed in line with FAO code of conduct for responsible aquaculture after "an integrated Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) is carried out and independently verified in accordance with internationally recognized best practices" (Business Day, 2004).
However, the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) took a hard position against the project.
CEHRD contends that the project is targeting the fragmentary mangrove forests of the Niger Delta, which are multi-resources ecosystems that have sustained livelihoods of local populations since remembered time. Citing evidences from countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, etc, where Shrimp farming has degraded coastal environments and impoverished the people, CEHRD insists that Shrimp farming is environmentally unsustainable and limit livelihood opportunities of local populations via the destruction of multi-resource based ecosystems like mangroves for a monolithic Shrimp aquaculture system.
Presently, the Shell/USAID Shrimp project has been suspended but Mobil Oil producing, another oil giant operating in Nigeria's Niger Delta, has Shrimp aquaculture very dear to her corporate heart. Again, this has caught the attention and necessary reactions of concerned civil society groups. Whether Mobil would succeed in her Shrimp culture bidding or not is left to providence.
What I may consider ironical is that oil companies with unrepentant history of environmental negligence and disregard for regulatory policies in Nigeria are in the forefront of the process to making the country a dual producer of shrimp through capture and culture fishery-and the Oil Corporation are talking about 'responsible aquaculture and best practices'. Both concepts are key guidelines, which, if duly followed, might yield less negativity but the environmental track records of the shrimp culture proponents in Nigeria demands thorough scrutiny or better still, outright rejection. For instance, burning of Associated Gas (AG) by the oil companies makes Nigeria the leading gas flaring country in the world - a significant contributor to global warming. Approximately 2.2 billion cubic feet of AG is flared daily. But Gas flaring in Nigeria had been prohibited since 1984. Since these companies hold the key to the country's economy, they preferred to emit AG and pay defaulting fees rather than a final stoppage. Consequently, sequential terminal deadlines fixed by Government to end gas flaring have been repeatedly violated. In its 2003 report, SPDC admitted that the 2008 deadline was "becoming tight" and would be reviewing in 2004 the resources needed to meet it (SPDC, 2003). This further degenerated to an absolute "2008-not-feasible" pronouncement by SPDC in 2006. This illustration casts doubts as to how best practices could be sustained in shrimp aquaculture in Nigeria by the proponents, especially when the primary aim is to make robust gains through shrimp export.
From: Nenibarini Zabbey zabbey1@yahoo.com
======================================================
Togo/Benin
Mangrove Conference Planned for July in Togo
On may 23, 2007, ANCE has organised a public conference of the theme «The mangroves of the Gbaga channel in Togo and Benin, between the necessity of conservation and the population‚s survival stakes». Please find bellow a short
report and two pictures of this conference.
A public information conference took place on May 23rd, 2007 in SITTO Residence at Lomé on the topic: «The mangroves of the Gbaga channel in Togo and Benin, between the necessity of conservation and the population‚s survival stakes»
It was organized by the NGOs National Consumers and the Environmental Alliance (ANCE- Togo) and ECO-ECOLO (Benin) in partnership with the Ramsar Focal Point in Togo.
The objective of this public information conference is to discuss on the problems of the conservation and the restoration of the Gbaga channel mangroves in the two countries in opposite to the local population‚s survival stakes which have only the mangrove resources for their survival. This conference is organised in the framework of the activities of the project SGF / 06 / BJTG / 01 entitled " Transborder Project of Support for a Participative Management of the Mangrove Resources of Gbaga channel in the
South-East of Togo and the Western South of Benin " which is financed by the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention based in Switzerland.
The conference known the participation of about thirty participants coming from the official institutions like the Directorate of Fauna and Hunting (in charge of mangroves restoration and Ramsar focal point in Togo), the University of the Lomé and several journalists composed by Togolese National Television (TVT), ten radios and three newspaper industries. The TVT and three FM radios have carried out long reports on the topic of the conference.
The conference has known three communications:
1. The first communication is from Mr. EBEH, the Director of ANCE. Talking to the assistance, he said this project which aims to preserve and to manage in a sustainable and participative way, the biodiversity of the mangroves of the Gbaga channel will make it possible to rehabilitate the drills and sites of degraded mangroves starting from the reforestation and the promotion of the income generating activities in the zone. He then detailed the various
activities to be implemented in the framework of this project such as, training and sensitizing of the local partners in sustainable management of mangrove resources, elaboration and implementation of participative management plans, regeneration naturally or artificially of degraded mangrove forests, setting up of a local committee of permanent follow-up and the promotion of
income generating activities.
2. The second communication was done by the Representative of the Directorate of Fauna and Hunting (in charge of mangroves restoration) and Ramsar focal point. After a short presentation of the Togolese mangroves, she specifies that these ecosystems constitute a natural inheritance of great value because of their multiple ecological, biological and economic functions. She has then
specified that in Togo, the authorities integrated into the main trends of the environmental policy, the rational management of these ecosystems through the development and the validation of the national strategy for the conservation, the restoration and the sustainable management of the mangroves in the framework of the implementation of the Convention on the Biological
Diversity. She recognized that the pressure exerted these last years on the mangroves is related to the economical importance of these natural resources for the local communities. She also recognized that the best way of preserving the living resources remains a source of divergence, the local communities continuing to put forward their habits compared to the living resources and the land one, which makes difficult the application of measurements planned to achieve the goals of the Biological Diversity Conservation. Thus according to her, the topic of this conference is not fortuitous and starts again the dialectical question of Environment and Development.
3. The third and last communication was done by Mr Jean KOUGLO, in charge of the Project. This communication has as a subject «The mangroves of Togo and Benin between the necessity of conservation and the population‚s survival stakes". After a short definition of the mangrove ecosystems and their localization in Togo, he added that because of the high density of the population in this zone and their extremely poverty, the mangrove ecosystems and their associated wet formations are undergo a significant anthropic pressure, and therefore under threatened. In Togo for example the surface of
the mangroves knew a reduction of 50% in less than ten years. He estimated that it is thus urgent to undertake actions of restorations and conservations which taking account the local population‚s survival stakes and the needs of conservation of these resources.
Relating the causes of degradation of the mangroves, the speaker subdivided these causes in two categories: immediate causes and indirect causes.
- the immediate causes are the exploitation of halieutic resources and the poaching, the abuse use of watery animal species like fish, crustacean and molluscs, the bush fires in agriculture, hunting and breeding involving the degradation and the disappearance of mangroves, eutrophisation, the demographic growth of the local population.
- the indirect cause in result principally from the modification of the
hydrochemical and hydrological conditions of Gbaga channel due to the Nangbeto dam.
He finally underlined the need for preserving of these ecosystems because of the richness of their vegetable and animal biological diversity while promoting the technical and financial support to the local populations for the development of incomes generating activities.
A rich debate followed these various presentations. The questions posed by participants are related to the degree of implication of the national authorities, the principal activities to be carried out, the degree of implication of the local populations and the principal expected results and the role of journalists.
Issued in Lomé (Togo), May 24, 2007
From: Ebeh Adayade Kodjo, Executive Coordinator
National Consumers and Environmental Alliance of Togo
Email: ebeh@cooperation.net
Thailand
Bangkok Post
Community rights and the forests : Thursday May 10, 2007
SANITSUDA EKACHAI
For more than 10 million people who live in the forests, their struggle for community rights to stay and conserve the forests for sustainable use is far from over.
And if you think the Surayud administration will be more open-minded with the grassroots movement to manage local natural resources, you are totally wrong.
Although community rights are fundamental to political decentralisation and democratisation, all previous governments were under the hypnotic spell of the Forestry bureaucrats to resist the locals' say on forest management.
The Surayud government is no different. While a group of National Legislative Assembly members led by environmentalist Tuenjai Deetes tried to give a new lease of life to the people-sponsored community forest draft bill which failed miserably under the Thaksin regime, the Surayud government's draft bill for parallel deliberation is nothing but a channel for the Forestry authorities to keep an iron grip on forest policy and management.
During the Thaksin government, the Forestry authorities defeated the community forests movement by drumming on the false belief that forest dwellers are the main destroyers of the dwindling jungles. With the strengthening of bureaucratic power under the Surayud regime, they certainly will not settle for less than another win.
The government's draft bill prohibits community forest efforts in any areas demarcated by state authorities for "other purposes".
This "other purposes" phrase is quite telling. It must be noted that the Forestry Department is revising forest and wildlife laws to allow tourism business to make money from their national parks. This means that should the Forestry Department demarcate any particular forest areas for tourism, the villagers' forest conservation efforts will have to take a back seat. Worse, the villagers might even be evicted since they are just illegal forest encroachers according to forestry laws, although they had lived in the forests long before the areas were declared national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
To defeat the purpose of community forests altogether, the government's draft bill also prohibits the forest dwellers from making any use of their community forests. Such resistance is understandable. All forestry laws and policies have been written by the Forestry Department to give itself sole authority to control all forests, which they define as all land without title deeds. To easily let go of their power to whom they consider to be mere simple, uneducated folk is simply not in their scenario. For the forest dwellers, community forests are not about a power game. It is a struggle for survival. It is common knowledge that when the authorities routinely use draconian forestry laws to send forest dwellers to jail, they generally kowtow to influential people with their resort, plantation and mining businesses in the forests. We know why. When logging was finally banned, the Forestry Department still continued to destroy natural forests on a massive scale through its promotion of commercial tree farming, which further intensified forest evictions. Cornered by constant arrests and eviction threats while being edged out by big business, the forest dwellers have no choice but to fight for their community rights.
Given the Forestry Department's long history of destructive policies and corruption, not to mention scarce personnel and budget, we need to seriously think how best to preserve our dwindling forests. "We must encourage good, old communities with a sustainable way of life and forest conservation practices to continue doing so," said Ms Tuenjai. To revive degraded forests, new forest settlements must also adhere to forest conservation and sustainable use to earn the right to stay, she added....
From: MAP / ASIA <mapasia@loxinfo.co.th>
======================================================
Indonesia
Correction to Previous Article:
Editor's Note Concerning previous issue of MAP News-- the 184 th Edition: The figure on total Indonesian farmed shrimp exports quoted in a previous article entitled "Japan rejects shrimp exported from S. Sulawesi, Indonesia" was in error, stating that Indonesia's total shrimp farm production was only 7,000 tons. In 2005, Indonesia produced around 300,000 metric tons of farmed shrimp, according to Bob Rosenberry's 2006 World Shrimp Farm Report, p. 189.
====================
ENVIRONMENT
Indonesia is fastest forest clearer
Fri, 04 May 2007
Indonesia had the highest deforestation rate in the world between 2000 and 2005 with almost two million hectares destroyed annually, environmental group Greenpeace said on Thursday.
Indonesia had lost more than 72 percent of its intact ancient forests and much of the rest is threatened by commercial logging and clearance for palm oil plantations, Greenpeace also said in a statement.
The group said Guinness World Records had approved its proposal that Indonesia's destruction be included in its 2008 record book to be published in September.
"Of the 44 countries which collectively account for 90 percent of the world's forests, the country which pursues the highest annual rate of deforestation is Indonesia," Greenpeace said the citation would read.
Indonesia had "1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres) of forest destroyed each year between 2000-2005, a rate of two percent annually or 51 square kilometres (20 square miles) destroyed every day," the group said.
Greenpeace accused the government of failing to crackdown on illegal logging because of rampant lawlessness and corruption in its forestry sector.
Several devastating floods and landslides have been blamed on deforestation, most recently in the north of Sumatra island, where more than 400,000 people were forced to flee flash floods in December.
================================================
Note: The following is excerpted from an article published by Samudra and written by Oyos Saroso H.N., entitled "Mangrove destruction leaves Indonesia's Lampung coast vulnerable."
The article reveals the many problems associated there with the ongoing shrimp farm expansion around Lampung, an area where one of the largest shrimp farms in the world was built.
Mangrove Loss in Lampung Leaves Environment in Ruins and Local Communities in Peril
According to the author, logging of mangrove trees by shrimp farmers in coastal areas of Lampung poses a serious threat to both traditional and modern shrimp farms. "Lampung Maritime and Fisheries Office data indicate that...60 per cent of the mangrove forest along coastal Lampung, are badly damaged…"
Along the coast of East Lampung, mangrove clearing is causing serious coastal erosion in a number of areas. According to the article, "In South Lampung regency, traditional shrimp farmers are facing difficulties obtaining seawater for their ponds. In coastal areas in Tulangbawang regency, the logging of mangroves and the destruction of buffer zones have threatened the existence of modern aquaculture companies, such as PT Dipasena Citra Darmaja (DCD) and PT Central Pertiwi Bahari (CPB). Around 3,000 hectares of mangrove swamp around PT DCD shrimp farm have been felled -- an area approximately 27 km long and 300 to 700 m wide…"
In citing the Director of the Lampung chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, Mukri Friatna, it is noted that mangrove forest destruction continued unabated and conservation efforts were seriously impeded by funding shortages and a lack of environmental awareness, among both residents and the State.
Mukri states that "traditional farmers whose farms are located near PT DCD recently lost hundreds of tons of ready-to-harvest shrimp due to poison flowing from the river. The spread of toxins could have been minimized if the mangrove swamps still existed."
Environmental degradation in Lampung, as a result of mangrove wetland destruction is not only detrimental to shrimp farmers and residents living along the east coast of Sumatra, but is also causing "coastal abrasion."
"Without the buffer zone that mangrove swamps and forests provide, coastal communities in South Lampung, Bandarlampung and Tanggamus are at risk in the event of a tsunami, especially those communities around Lampung Bay and South Lampung if Krakatau volcano in the Sunda Strait erupts," according to Mukri, He also claimed that the amount of remaining mangrove forest in Lampung can be now measured in the hundreds of hectares.
"Mangrove forests in a number of coastal areas in Lampung are now in critical condition. Data from Mitra Bentala, an environmental group concerned with coastal communities and mangrove conservation, indicate that only 5 to 20 per cent of mangrove forests remain in particular coastal areas, and some have totally vanished. Mitra Bentala director Herza Yulianto predicted more natural disasters without concerted efforts to revitalize coastal areas."
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070518.G05&irec=4
The Jakarta Post
From: icsf@icsf.net
======================================================
Source:
http://www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/ekbis/2007/05/25/brk,20070525-100686,uk.html
Government Should Not be in a Rush to Sell Dipasena
Friday, 25 May, 2007 | 09:31 WIB
TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Forum for the Environment (Walhi), a non-governmental organization, asked the government not to be in a hurry to decide the future of the Dipasena shrimp industry regarding the plan to announce a new investor which will take over the company, today (25/5).
According to M. Riza Damanik, Manager of Walhi's Coastal and Sea Campaign, the government should have not only prioritize the matter of capital. Moreover, he said, Dipasena has caused many social and environmental problems that are not yet solved. „The fact is, no one knows the exact amount of money they must pay,‰ said Riza.
Earlier, PT Perusahaan Pengelola Aset (PPA) has announced four investors as the Dipasena tender participants: Konsorsium Laranda (Philippines), PT Central Proteinaprima (Charoen Pokphand group, Thailand), Thai Royal (Thailand) and PT Kemila International Holding Co (Indonesia). During the tender, the winner was Neptune consortium˜the moving force being PT Central Proteinaprima.
Riza said one of Dipasena plasma fishermen named Suprakanto, was surprised after reading the decision letter of the Financial Sector Policy Committee that the debts of Dipasena plasma pond-fishermen are Rp100 million on average.
However, he said, fishermen have been producing for eight years and have paid the obligations that are automatically taken from each shrimp crop. This uncertainty made plasma fishermen difficult to repay their debts and regain the land certificate that was previously held by the BDNI bank in 1989.
Regarding the issue of environment damage, it has also become a certain problem in this industry, starting from the destroyed mangrove forest ecosystem to the decreasing water and land quality.
„That is why it‚s better for the government to use this opportunity to gain the commitment from all sides in order to protect and guarantee the rights of fishermen and the society around the company,‰ he said.
Ninin Damayanti
From: M.Riza Damanik
Marine and Coastal Campaigner
Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI)
email: riza@walhi.or.id; mriza_damanik@yahoo.com
=====================================================
The following is an excerpt from a news article:
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSJAK7973020070515
REUTERS Service
Indonesia counts its islands before it's too late
Tue May 15, 2007 7:24PM EDT
By Ed Davies
PULAU AYER, Indonesia (Reuters) - Indonesia has so many islands it has not been able to count them all and is having a hard time finding names for them.
From coral-fringed atolls to jungle-clad volcanoes thrusting up from the ocean, its chains of islands sprinkled along the equator make up the world's biggest archipelago.
Officially there are about 17,000 islands, but that number may drop as one minister fears hundreds of islands might vanish because of rising sea levels from global warming.
So, before it's too late, the country aims to complete its first detailed survey this year, spurred on by worries ranging from sovereignty disputes to climate change....
======================================================
Malaysia
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/National/20070605111117/ Article/pppull_index_html
World Environment Day :All must be Nature‚s custodians
By Reports: Nisha Sabanayagam, Ranjeetha Pakiam, Minderjeet Kaur, Teresa Yong, David Yeow, Regina Lee and Jeeva Arulampalam
10 June, 2007
THE tipping point is very close. Environmentalists warn that once past it, our country‚s environmental deterioration will lead to irreversible consequences. It may already have happened. Consider the list:
? Air and water pollution. Remember the haze? Think about the last time you saw a clean river or a clean beach on the west coast, for that matter.
? The greenhouse gas emission per capita in the region?
? Fisheries and species depletion. Thousands of leatherback turtles in the 1960s, fewer than five today. About 500 tigers left in the jungles of Malaysia. Only 30 Sumatran rhinos.
? Deforestation and illegal logging. We have only about 57 to 62 per cent of forest cover left. That‚s almost half our forest cover gone.
No wonder most experts speak with regret about the environmental situation in Malaysia.
Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) executive director Dr Loh Chi Leong sees the amount of habitat loss that our country has suffered as a reflection of the state of the country‚s environmental deterioration.
"Just in the last 30 years, we have lost 50 per cent of our mangroves and more than half our coral reefs."
The number of endangered species, protected by law, continues to decline, while more new species are joining the endangered list, Loh noted.
Further degradation threatens not just plants and animals but also our own ability to survive and sustain ourselves.
"Increasingly, we will also feel the effect of climate change."
Malaysia‚s lack of urgency to tackle climate change is worrying.
According to the Environmental Protection Society of Malaysia (EPSM) this is something that our country should address immediately, considering the level of our greenhouse gas emission.
EPSM past president Nithiyananthan Nesadurai said that Malaysia was probably in a state of "ecological overshoot".
"This means that we could be living beyond nature‚s carrying capacity."
This could have serious implications for the future in terms of depleting water resources, carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere, deforestation and a reduction of landfill area for solid waste.
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) honorary secretary Meenakshi Raman said the environmental deterioration had been worsening since the late 1990s. "There is still a lot to be done. Our rivers are polluted and highlands are getting warmer."
She said the state governments‚ focus was on economic development, with environmental problems left for later.
"This should not be the case. The world is going through climate change which will cause temperatures to rise and affect our air, water and natural resources."
She said that Wildlife Department statistics indicate that Malaysia had 57 to 62 per cent forest cover.
"But it is not clear how much is protected forest, as some of the forest could be degazetted for development."
In Sarawak, especially, a lot of forest is now under concession for logging, she said.
WWF-Malaysia executive director Dr Dionysius Sharma said that according to the United Nations Development Programme, the most important environmental issues for Malaysia were currently air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions, water pollution from raw sewage, deforestation and haze from forest fires.
"The onus is on us," said Sharma. "We have to take the right measures to ensure the natural environment is conserved."
Still, it isn‚t all doom and gloom yet. Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk S. Sothina-than said the government would step up enforcement of environmental laws.
"Our objective is to make every Malaysian a custodian of the environment. This is in line with the philosophy that the environment is the responsibility of everyone and not merely the concern of a single government agency."
And, non-governmental organisations are able to speak of success stories, some involving local community involvement.
For example, MNS‚ project in Ulu Geroh involved getting the Orang Asli villagers to stop the unsustainable harvesting of Rafflesia flowers and Rajah Brooke butterflies. "Instead, we made them partners in conservation and provided them with alternative sources of income." said Loh.
SAM started the Friends of the Environment Movement in Kedah, Penang and Pahang, which taught thousands of villagers from five villages to identify environmental problems and ways to reduce pollution.
"Instead of environmental groups creating awareness on the environment, the villagers have taken it upon themselves," Meenakshi said.
"Some have successfully replanted mangroves and other trees while others have started their own recycling centres."
Sharma said that WWF-Malaysia had been successfully involved in environmental impact assessment (EIA) work with the government to help mitigate the effects of development projects through proper land use planning.
© Copyright 2007 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
======================================================
Vietnam
Vast Areas of Mangrove Wetlands and Farmlands Converted To Unsustainable Shrimp Farming
The following is excerpted from the 2006 World Shrimp Farming Report published by Bob Rosenberry. This industry-favored publication sometimes offers some important and rather disturbing insights into the industry happenings around the world:
In Vietnam, for instance, the report cites the following:
"1,846.000 Hectares: At the Global Shrimp Outlook Conference (Oct. 2005). Sponsored by the US-0based Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), an international, non-profit trade association dedicated to advancing environmentally responsible aquaculture, it was reported:
Shrimp farming in Vietnam encompasses 873,000 hectares of tidal areas(including mangrove forests). 446,000 hectares of reservoirs and 127,000 hectares of small ponds and channels-for a grand total of 1,876,000 hectares where shrimp farming takes place.(The report did not say how much of this hectarage was actually in production.)
Vietnam's total shrimp production of farmed and captured shrimp rose from 249,000 metric tons in 2001 to 400,000 tons in 2004. Production will probably reach 420,000 tons in 2005…."
But Will It Last: Shrimp farming in the southern province of Ca Mau has taken off to such an extent that it's being called a "phenomenon". The majority of rice paddies in places like Dam Doi District have been completely restructured as shrimp farms. After five years of economic reforms, shrimp has become the mainstay of the local economy. Thanks to shrimp farming, the District's revenues have increased from 12 to 24 percent for the last five years. 'Shrimp can bring three or four times as much profit as rice farming," said the deputy chairman of the district People's Committee.
"Previously, the entire area was rice paddies and we had to work very hard for little profit. In 2001, we decided to breed shrimp and our situation improved…."
But will it last? "Shrimp breeding is not sustainable development," says the district deputy chairman. Since 2001, the district has converted 60,000 hectares of rice paddies and orchards into shrimp ponds. In order to access water with the right salinity, farmers break down seawalls to allow salt water to flush into their ponds. As a result, the rice paddy irrigation system is destroyed. Tis unplanned transformation has led to the destruction of the area's freshwater ecosystem and to the degradation of the environment.(Source Vietnam News Agency (Ministry of Culture and Information))"
From World Shrimp Farming 2006, Bob Rosenberry, pp 264-265
======================================================
Vietnam's fisheries industry nets award for being world's fifth largest fish farmer
Vietnam's fisheries industry has been conferred the Golden Star Order by the State for retaining its rank as the world's fifth largest fish farmer for five years in a row.
The ranking, recognized by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), has put Vietnam, which farmed close to 1.7 mn tonnes of aquatic products in 2006, behind China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
At an award ceremony held in Hanoi on May 17, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung extolled the fisheries industry as a significant contributor to the national poverty reduction programme and the nation's continued socioeconomic development.
Dung also called on the industry to pay greater attention to sustainable growth in the industry when it implements its 2010-20 development strategy, focus more on product quality, improve the living conditions of fishermen and ensure the safety of people fishing offshore.
In addition, FAO's rankings have placed Vietnam 12th on the list of fish-catching nations and 9th for fish exports for the 2001- 05 period. The fisheries industry has recorded an annual average growth rate of 18.4 per cent and provided jobs for almost 4 million workers in 2006, more than doubling the 1990 figure.
The country's seafood processing chains have seen the benefit of modernization and now allow the nation's better-known trademarks to take a firm foothold in 140 foreign markets.
Aquaculture contributed to over 41 per cent of the gross fish catch of over 3.4 mn tonnes in 2005, a massive increase from the 25 per cent of gross catch it recorded in 1986.
Minister of Fisheries Ta Quang Ngoc said the industry's 2010 plan called for a production output of 4 mn tonnes. Exports revenues are also expected to increase to between 4.5 and 5 bn USD against 3.35 bn USD in 2006, he concluded.
Source: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/2007/05/696243/
VNA
From: icsf@icsf.net
=====================================================
Cambodia
May 25, 2007
Note from Nong of PMMR in Cambodia: I think that the contribution by MAP, especially you (Jiim Enright), has been helping a lot to both local community and our project to achieve our short term and long team goals on Sustainable Use and Management of Mangrove Resources .
http://www.oisca.org/e/about/news/2006/1110_2.htm
Mangrove Planting in June at Koh Kong-- Cooperation with Cambodian Government in Mangrove Project
A mangrove forest rehabilitation project was launched in Cambodia in October 2005 under the cooperative framework of OISCA Cambodia, Cambodian Environmental Ministry and OISCA headquarters. On 7 October 2006, Mr. Kim Nong, Deputy Director, Department of Environmental Education, the Ministry of Environment, Cambodia, visited OISCA headquarters and reported about the progress and achievements of the one-year-old project.
The project initiated in Koh Kong Province, southwestern part of the country as a three year project, was aimed at reforesting about 30 hectares of coastal area within the Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary. Koh Kong Province had cut a lot of mangrove trees in the past as they were consumed as materials for charcoal. The loss of mangroves led to the destruction of coastal ecosystems, which rapidly depleted the source of livelihood of village people who depended on marine resources along the coast line.
As of October 2006, a total of about 1,000 villagers, students, teachers and staff members of the Environmental Ministry took part in the mangrove planting work, having completed planting about 15 hectares. In parallel with the actual planting work, OISCA organized workshops for villagers to enhance the awareness about the necessities of mangrove forests, to impart knowledge and skills of planting, and management of forest resources.
During his stay at the OISCA headquarters, Mr. Kim Nong talked to the headquarters officials about the significance of the project.
„As of October this year, it is only three month since the first planting work was carried out in August 2006. We need to continue taking care of the planted trees. It was significant that we worked in close cooperation with the local people, who have understood the importance of mangrove forests through their participation in the practical work, workshops, and lecture meetings, and proved to be highly cooperative in the project. The villagers learned about the meaning of eco-systems, and usefulness of mangrove trees to nurture many living beings in the forests. To my pleasant surprise, no body cut mangroves nowadays. Since they worked together, they have acquired a sense of solidarity and spirit of cooperation among themselves. Besides the actual forests that have been created, this consciousness of people about their forests and their own community is a noteworthy achievement. The village people enjoyed taking part in the mangrove planting, and really appreciate the value of project.‰
„I think that this project has set an example of international cooperation, restoration of mangrove forests, and most importantly enhancing peoples‚ awareness.‰ „Recently, the Governor of Koh Kong visited the site in person, and a TV net reported on the project. 30 hectares of land as a planting site is small by comparison with the total area of Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary. Yet, the project is giving a great deal of impact to many parties concerned.‰
„The project‚s term is three years, and we need to carry this out, and make it a success. The site is far, and it takes us more than eight hours one way from Phnom Penh to reach there. We need to establish a more efficient coordination mechanism to achieve an ultimate success.‰
From: "Nong" pmmr@online.com.kh
======================================================
Burma (Myanmar)
http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes16-309/n016.htm
Myanmar Times March 20-26, 2006
Locals cooperate in Natmataung conservation
By Nyunt Win and Aung Tun
Villagers in the town of Okpho work in a plant nursery that was established with help from BANCA.
NGO workers who are involved in conservation efforts in Natmataung National Park in Chin State are reporting that the cooperation of local villagers is helping make the project a success.
The project was started in October 2004 by the domestically based Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA), in cooperation with the Darwin Initiative and BirdLife International, both of which are headquartered in England.
„Our main focus is conservation, followed closely by community development, without which conservation is almost impossible,‰ said BANCA member U Aung Kyaw Nyunt. „Community development can help conserve the Natmataung area, which is one of the most important protected areas in Myanmar.‰
He said the project included helping support locals and persuading them to cooperate in the conservation efforts.
„We start by distributing rice, corn and improved potato varieties to the villagers, and helping them build brick water tanks,‰ he said, adding that the association has taken these steps in six villages in the area so far.
U Aung Kyaw Nyunt said the project also included the establishment of nurseries where villagers can grow plants for food and for sale, and the formation of patrols to monitor the park against illegal extraction of forest products and poaching.
In return, the villagers must agree not to kill wild animals, pick wild orchids, expand cultivation into the Natmataung area or designated buffer zones, or collect tree resin used in the production of turpentine.
BANCA chairman U Uga said conservation of Natmataung National Park is particularly important because it is located within the watershed of many important rivers and big streams, and environmental conditions there will affect areas downstream.
Originally a forest reserve, the area was designated a national park in 1993 to increase its protected status. It is now the only heavily forested area in Chin State.
„Natmataung protects a montane evergreen ecosystem,‰ U Uga said. „If it is destroyed it will throw the natural balance of the area into chaos.‰
„I think this is the first area in Myanmar where a national park has been protected under a program that focuses on cooperation between conservationists and local people,‰ he said.
BANCA secretary Daw Khin Ma Ma Thwin said the association has been careful to provide locals with food that will fulfil their needs.
„We didn‚t just decide to give them corn ˆ we asked them what they needed,‰ she said. „Land in Chin State is hard to cultivate, and their food often runs out in June or July, so we bring them supplies so they don‚t have to resort to hunting or slash-and-burn agriculture.‰
U Aung Kyaw Nyunt said he was happy with how the project was proceeding.
„So far, so good ˆ the locals don‚t want to go deep into the forest to hunt, so our project provides a golden opportunity for them,‰ he said. „They don‚t have to spend as much time worrying about food, so they can take the initiative to cooperate in monitoring the area for illegal forest product smugglers and poachers.‰
Natmataung National Park covers 279 square miles encompassing three townships: Kanpetlet, Matupi and Mindat.
From Jim Enright mapasia@loxinfo.co.th
======================================================
Maungdaw Business Zone Unlikely to Meet Shrimp Exports of Previous Year
6/5/2007
The Burmese military government recently opened a business zone in the western border town Maungdaw to export Arakanese produced shrimp to Bangladesh, but the sector is unlikely to meet the level of exports of previous years due to damage of shrimp farms caused by the May 14 cyclone, said a shrimp trader.
In Arakan State there are 155,533 acres of shrimp farms, comprising 76 percent of shrimp farms in the whole of Burma. Several tons of shrimp from Arakan State have been exported to neighboring countries, including Bangladesh and Malaysia, in the last few years.
However, estimates are that 75 percent of the state's shrimp farms were damaged in the cyclone that struck on May 14, and many are yet to be repaired as shrimp farm owners are facing many difficulties, reported the trader.
In Rathidaung Township 381.5 acres of shrimp, with 85 acres belonging to the army, were damaged after embankments collapsed in the cyclone.
Many shrimp farms from Akyab, Ponna Kyunt, Pauktaw, Minbya, May Bon, Kyaukpru, and Rathidaung were damaged, and will be able to recover during the rainy season, said the trader.
Because of this, the shrimp production in Arakan State is expected to decrease this year, and Arakanese shrimp traders will be unable to export shrimp to Bangladesh at the levels of previous years.
From: icsf@icsf.net
India
MANGREEN SUMMER CAMP 2007
As a part of community interaction of Mangreen Project - funded by Light House foundation - the village children in summer holiday were invited for the second year Mangreen Summer Camp that held from 17.5.2007 to 21.5.2007.
This is the first such programme in the Second Mangreen Village. The children had opportunity to learn about their coast, mangroves, associated fishes, documentaries on world oceans, sharks, playing new games - chess, team games and also participated in competition.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/91322438@N00/
From: "Vedharajan Balaji (via Flickr)" <marine_balaji@yahoo.com>
Brazil
Brazil's Shrimp Farm Industry In Trouble?
From a reliable source in Bazil, the following brief assessments paints a bleak picture of the industry's future in that country:
"In regard of abandoned shrimp farms in Brazil, the only known is that this is happening in this exact moment: The industry is going fast to bankruptcy as a result of international lowering prices, the Brazilian real vs the US dollar appreciation, disease, environmental damage and commercial barriers, like USA anti-dumping. Nobody knows the numbers, but lots of farms, hatcheries and processing plants are closed or in very bad economical situation. As an example, in the Rio Grande do Norte State, in the Northeast, of the existing 19 processing plants only 6 are working in a reduced production rate. The industry lost hundreds of jobs. Seems like rape and run situation, is it not…?"
Note: According to another reliable MAP source:
"…Thousands, not hundreds of jobs have been lost. We know that just in the city of Aracati, in Ceara (where Alfredo visited during the Redmanglar meeting), 3000 jobs have been lost. The hectares of abandoned farms, however, hasn't been determined. There aren't even accurate numbers of the hectares of farms total, as so many are clandestine!"
============================================
Shrimp from Ceara (Brazil) loosing out in international markets
22 May 2007
by Suelem Caminha
Shrimp farmed in the state of Ceara is losing competitiveness in foreign markets as a result of the devaluation of the dollar compared to the Brazilian real. The new exchange rate scenario ˆ which has been slowly developing since last year ˆ has caused a crash in external sales. From January to April of this year, exports of the crustacean have dropped 62.2% compared with the same period last year, according to data from the International Business Center (CIN, by its abbreviation in Portuguese).
During the quarter foreign shrimp sales from the state of Ceara earned US$7.6 million, against US$20.1 million obtained during the same period last year. This negative result reflects the shrimp producers‚ loss in competitiveness in international markets. „From 2003 to 2007, the loss in revenue approached 35%,‰ according to Itamar Rocha, president of the Brazilian Association of Shrimp Farmers (ABCC).
Prices
According to Rocha, shrimp prices have been falling during the last 4 years. In 2003, the average price per kilo was US$3.50 in the international market, which corresponded to R$11.50 per kilo for producers. „This year, the average value per kilo of shrimp is US$3.40, but due to the devaluation of the North American currency the producers‚ revenue dropped to R$6.80.‰
The devaluation of the dollar relative to the real is only one of the obstacles for shrimp producers in the state. „Ceara‚s shrimp competes with crustaceans from Ecuador and Asian countries,‰ evaluated the superintendent of CIN, Eduardo Bezerra. The barriers imposed by the United States for the entrance of Brazilian shrimp, in the opinion of Bezerra, obliged Ceara‚s producers to offer the product in other consumer markets.
Of the total shrimp exported through April, 55% was bought by France, 23% by Spain, and 20% by Portugal. The United States, which traditionally was the largest shrimp buyer, this year didn‚t import anything from Ceara, according to the statistics elaborated by the CIN.
Source: Diario do Nordeste
http://diariodonordeste.globo.com/materia.asp?codigo=435598
Translated by Elaine Corets
mailto:mapamericas@mangroveactionproject.org
====================================================
30 May 2007
National standard for environmental permitting will be discussed
Brasilia ˆ The standardization of environmental permitting regulations for the culture of fish, shrimp, shellfish and other aquatic organisms will be discussed in Brasilia, 19-20 June, by the Working Group of the Technical Chamber of Biodiversity, Fauna and Fisheries Resources of the National Environment Council (CONAMA).
As there is no national legislation, current environmental permitting is done by state environmental entities. „This opens the way for disparities in relation to requirements and parameters, in addition to making it more difficult to obtain a permit,‰ evaluated the general coordinator of mariculture of the Special Secretary of Aquaculture and Fish (SEAP), Felipe Matarazzo Suplicy, who is reporter for the WG.
According to Suplicy, it is estimated that the sector involves 100,000 aquatic producers in the country, and corresponds to an annual income of one billion reals (app. US$520 million). Aquaculture grows about 10% per year worldwide, but the lack of regulations for the concession of environmental permits impedes the sustainable development of the activity in Brazil,‰ he affirmed.
Source: Estado do Sao Paulo
http://www.estadao.com.br/agronegocios/noticias/2007/mai/30/72.htm
Translated by Elaine Corets
====================================================
Honduras
from Seafood.com
25 May 2007
Honduran Shrimp Producers Concerned About Closed Border To Nicaragua
Honduran shrimp producers are concerned over a recent decision by Nicaragua to close the border to imports of shrimp larvae from Honduras. At issue is whether some feed (from China) may be contaminated with a shrimp virus. The fact that the story is public may be an attempt to put pressure on local Honduran authorities to step up their own inspections.
================================================
23 May 2007
Border closed to Honduran shrimp larvae
* Chinese feed is cause for worry for Nicaraguan sanitary authorities
By Gustavo Alvarez
Authorities of the Ministry of Livestock and Forestry (Mag-For) decided to close the border to shrimp larvae imports from Honduras because the industry of that country is using feed imported from China that could be a carrier of a disease called „yellow head.‰
The information was published by the Honduran press, but due to the secretiveness of this government it was not possible to get a confirmation on the part of the Nicaraguan authorities.
Birmania Martinez, on staff at the General Direction of Livestock Protection and Health (Dgepsa), told El Nuevo Diario that they weren‚t authorized to provide information on the subject.
According to the Honduran press, inspectors of Mag-For carried out an investigation in Honduran shrimp larvae laboratories, encountering artemia and polychaete products, which are fed to the larvae in the labs, and were imported from China.
The Honduras shrimp larvae labs didn‚t report to the higher authorities the importation of said feed.
The Nicaraguan authorities had been worried about if the feed brought from China is free of the yellow head disease, for which they decided not to put into risk the shrimp farms of the west of the country.
The yellow head disease is considered to be worse than white spot, which appeared in 1998, after Hurricane Mitch, and is currently under control, but caused extensive losses to the industry.
The Hondurans are worried because the closing of the Nicaraguan market to shrimp larvae can be the start of a chain of closures to the entrance of their shrimp exports to the markets in the United States and Europe, which would cause the loss of more than US$ 219 million per year.
Honduras exports at least 50 million pounds of shrimp to the international market and Nicaragua buys larvae which are raised in shrimp farms in the west, and are then exported as Nicaraguan shrimp.
The Nicaraguan inspectors carried out their work in Honduras from 8-11 May. Nicaragua exported more than US$ 39 million in 2006 of farmed shrimp, for which it utilized, in part, larvae coming from Honduras.
Source: El Nuevo Diario - Managua, Nicaragua
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2007/05/23/economia/49416
The Bahamas
Save Guana Cay Campaign Argument Carried To UN
by KRYSTEL ROLLE , Guardian Staff Reporterkrystel@nasguard.com
The Save Guana Cay Reef Association (SGCRA) took its two-year old battle with the Baker's Bay, a multi-million dollar resort to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in an ongoing effort to protect the eco-system surrounding the development and eventually the entire Bahamas.
According to SGCRA, the project that the group is protesting, which will include an exclusive resort and gated community, along with an 18-hole, 585-acre championship golf course, will cause significant damage to the coral reef and the mangroves on the tiny island in the Abacos.
The group's attorney Fred Smith presented the legal and cultural side of the story at the UN session on Monday. And in a press statement he said: "It is imperative that Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham's new Free National Movement (FNM) government not simply talk about environmental legislation. It must fulfill its pre election promise to enact environmental protection legislation for the land, air and marine environments, and create an environmental protection agency with teeth; with environmental marshals and an environmental court."
During his communication at the UN presentation he claimed that the former government's quest for the "Holy Grail" of development has resulted in wholesome abandonment of the rule of law, due process, abuses of human rights and terrible destruction of the marine and land environments.
"It has destroyed much local culture, society and heritage."
Explaining that anchor projects were introduced with an aim to create economic relief in many of the undeveloped Family Islands, Smith told UN member nations, UN agencies, major international funding agencies, the private sector and the press, that while they want to bring development to The Bahamas, they want environmentally savvy developers.
"Most of the time locals in the Family Islands are not trying to stop development," the statement continued. "They recognize the need for jobs and economic opportunities. Frequently, however, these anchors have been dropped most inappropriately in areas that do not need them or cannot provide the necessary labor, skills or resources.
"Locals simply want a legitimate role in participating and visioning the future of their communities, as stake holders. They want a place on the bargaining table. They want to help to mitigate the extent of damage to the environment.
"The locals feel that the dictatorial centralist powers exercised by Cabinet destroy their culture, society and heritage, and it takes away their crown land. More to the point, it makes most of the locals feel like foreigners and second class economic citizens in their own communities."
Continuing to blast the previous administration, the group claimed that a "development-at-all-costs policy" was promoted and paid little or no regard to environmental protection along the way.
"This allowed for a proposed shoreline golf course to make it through with omnibus approvals. The threat of severe situation and the ruin of one of the healthiest coral reefs in the region is very real. The people of the Bahamas have said that they were not happy with the status quo and given a mandate to a new government, the Save Guana Cay Reef Association will be watching this new administration very closely," the group warned in the statement.
According to the release, the SGCRA will continue to battle the proposed Baker's Bay Club on the grounds that the development's footprint is much too large and destructive for this small island whose economy relies on small-scale tourism and fishing.
Copyright © 2006 The Nassau Guardian.
=====================================================
11th May
Gov't To Abandon Mega Projects Policy
By Tameka Lundy
The anchor development policy based on mega resorts that the former PLP administration touted so highly is apparently not one that the current FNM administration intends to continue.
According to Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, he is more in favour of a model that better suits the country's environment as opposed to the mega projects that have been aggressively attracted here over the last few years. He made that quite clear this week as he pointed to the crucial role the new Minister of Tourism and Aviation, Lucaya MP elect Neko Grant will play in finding the right model for The Bahamas.
"He will refocus the drive for a deepening in the local content of our tourism product away from the failed mega anchor development programme we've heard about so much over the past five years and toward a more environmentally compatible tourism development plan for our islands," Mr. Ingraham said.
The prime minister explained that the alternative model would be designed to foster a better mix of local and foreign ownership; avoid threatening the sustainability of local resources and ensure a strong tourism sector for years to come.
The Christie administration had been attracting foreign direct investments through huge resorts as a means of boosting lackluster economies in the various Family Islands. It was successful in wooing the Ginn project in Grand Bahama; the Ritz Carlton development pegged for Rose Island; the Baha Mar project on Cable Beach and others in Mayaguana and Rum Cay.
One of the last disclosures that Mr. Christie made before he was ousted as prime minister was that his government was also in advanced negotiations with major investors for three of the largest resort/residential mixed use projects ever proposed for Eleuthera, at Half Sound, at Winding Bay, at GovernorÅfs Harbour Airport, and in the vicinity of Hatchet Bay.
He also said there had just been approval granted for projects for La Bougainvillea outside Palmetto Point and Islandia near Tarpum Bay. The projects were said to have collectively represented over $2 billion of new development.
Mr. Christie had regularly declared that there was an unprecedented level of economic growth under his watch as a direct result of the anchor project policy.
"Much has been said of the anchor investment policy of the government, and every available statistic indicates that The Bahamas is experiencing the positive effects of this policy," Mr. Christie said.
"We have taken this initiative as a government because we firmly believe that all Bahamians must share in the growth and development of The Bahamas."
He added that the anchor project policy had the advantage of rationalizing the huge politically motivated infrastructure expenditures on some Family Islands.
According to some of the last figures that were revealed, since May 2002, the Ministry of Financial Services and Investments has received 430 investment projects for consideration. Of that, 48 of the approved are under construction and 192 are at various preparatory stages, according to officials in the Ministry of Financial Services and Investments. That ministry is not being continued as an exclusive entity under the current Ingraham administration.
While the new government embarks on the quest to bring more focus to the tourism sector, Prime Minister Ingraham has suggested that improving the lot of Grand Bahama is crucial. He acknowledged that the tourism sector on that island has endured neglect during the last five years and that Minister Grant's tourism appointment will deal with that.
"So among his first orders of business is to get Freeport and Grand Bahama off the tourism back burner; bring you to the front burner so that you can receive all the attention and opportunities you so richly require and deserve," Mr. Ingraham said.
There are those who believe that The Bahamas is missing an important opportunity to diversify its economy. Former CEO and Co-Chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority and former Governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas Julian Francis is one of them. He pointed out in the past that although tourism employs quite a large number of people they have low paying jobs where minimal skills are required.
"The economy of The Bahamas today is showing signs that it needs the diversification of that economy, which Freeport makes possible," said Mr. Francis.
"In other words, one can question very, very seriously whether the historical, classic tourism model is one which is going to continue to sustain the Bahamian economy as we go forward."
Mr. Francis said Bahamians in general should be concerned about the failure to diversify, which he labeled as the greatest problem The Bahamas faces today.
======================================================
Save Bimini Island Campaign
***ACTION ALERT!!!***--Letters To Prime Minister Needed To Save Bimini Before It Becomes "An Island In The Extreme"!!!
Sample Letter:
The Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham - Prime Minister
The Office of the Prime Minister
Cecil Wallace - Whitfield Centre
Cable Beach
P.O. Box N 3017
Nassau, N.P. Bahamas
mailto:pmingraham@bahamas.gov.bs
FAX 242- 327-5807
Dear Sir,
I would first like to congratulate you and your party, the Free National Movement, on your recent electoral victory in the Bahamas. The results of this recent general election were being watched by many people outside of the Bahamas due specifically to one issue, the proposed Bahamian Marine Reserve Network. In the year 2000, during the FNM 's last period in parliament, your party put forth a plan to establish a network of Marine Protected Areas throughout the Bahamas . This is an idea that, at the time, was truly visionary and very positively proactive in sustaining the beauty and natural resources of the Bahamas.
Now, just a few years later the concept of establishing Marine Reserves has become far more than just a way to sustain small regions of the ocean, it has now become the most promising remedy for curing a global problem. Recent reports have shown the ocean's fish stocks to be in a state of dramatic collapse, with over-fishing, habitat destruction, and climate change pushing our marine resources past their limits. Marine Protected Areas have been proven more effective than any other legislative or fishery management efforts to date.
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas has been given the opportunity to be seen as a world leader in dealing with a global problem that is wreaking havoc on many coastal countries and their economies. Your party had the solution to this problem identified seven years ago, now we are asking you to follow up on your promise and prevent the Bahamas from losing its most valuable resources.
Five sites were identified as top-priority for the Bahamian Marine Reserve Network, with Bimini topping the list. The original plan called for these five sites to be fully implemented and established by 2003. Tragically, during the PLP's reign in office, no movement was made towards establishing these reserves. Over the last five years, it seemed as if the PLP's loyalty lied closer to foreign developers than to the Bahamians themselves. This was undoubtedly a factor in the recent FNM victory.
The people of Bimini have voiced strong support for their MPA over the years, and as recently as January of 2007 the issue has been reinstated as a top priority for the island. Around the world, millions of people have learned of Bimini's plight from National Geographic magazine, U.S. & Bahamian news reports, and dozens of websites. This is both a local and international priority.
All who love the amazing islands of Bimini are desperate for action to be taken to preserve them.
By following up on a promise made seven years ago, you have the chance to not only guarantee economic and ecological sustainability for the future of Bimini, and indeed all the Bahamas, but to truly become a world leader in tackling a global crisis.
We now look to you to take action; the world is truly watching.
Respectfully yours,
CC: Editor, The Tribune
P.O. Box N-3207
Nassau, N.P.,
Bahamas
FAX: 242-328-2398
EMAIL: mailto:letters@tribunemedia.net
From: "Grant Johnson" grantjohnson86@gmail.com
======================================================
Sint Maartens
***ACTION ALERT!!!***
From Global Response
Environmental organizations on the Dutch island of Sint Maartens are seeking help from the international community to prevent the destruction of the last remaining mangrove forest and seagrass beds in Simpson Lagoon. Mullet Bay Resort plans to build an 85-yacht marina including mega-yachts up to 300 feet, and 32 yacht villas with private docks. If allowed to move forward, this construction would result in massive loss of mangroves and seagrass habitat.
The proposed resort site is in the Mullet Pond section of Simpson Lagoon, the area of greatest biological diversity where 65% of the Lagoon's remaining mangroves are found.
The United Nations has estimated that Mangrove stands are valued at $900,000 per km² per year. These aquatic trees are crucial for fisheries, serving as a nursery for fish, conch, lobster, shrimp and many other forms of sea life. Impacts within the Lagoon would likely have negative consequences for coral reefs and offshore areas, which rely on this nursery area for replenishment of fisheries. Birds nest and feed among the roots and branches. These trees also have the remarkable ability to remove pollution from the water. In addition, Mangroves are needed to act as a buffer during hurricanes, preventing erosion of the shoreline.
Citizens of St. Maarten launched a local letter-writing campaign, but they need the support of the international community. Because St. Maarten's economy relies almost exclusively on tourism, the input of people from the around world can show the government that visitors do not want to see large expanses of concrete and big buildings. They instead want to visit areas with vital, healthy ecosystems and sustainable tourism.
Click here to view a 5-minute video created by the Mullet Pond Coalition
http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=
143209313&u=1373423
An online petition is available
http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=
143209313&u=1373424
And below is a model letter created by the Mullet Pond Coalition. Please write your own letter or adapt this one. The Coalition wants to hand-deliver the letters to the Lt. Governor's office and receive a receipt for them, so please follow these mailing suggestions:
Mail letters to:
EPIC
Attn: Mullet Pond Coalition
200 Dr. M.L. King Jr. Blvd.
Riviera Beach, FL 33404
USA
Fax: Nature Foundation of St. Maarten: Int'l code + (599) 544-4268
Email : The other option is for people to sign their letters and scan them, or insert a digital signature (as a jpeg, for example), and email them to mailto:beverly@naturefoundationsxm.org. Then the Coalition can print them out and have them registered.
MODEL LETTER
Dear Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards:
I strongly urge the government of Sint Maarten and Mullet Bay Resort to protect the few remaining mangroves and seagrass beds of Simpson Lagoon. Specifically, I support the zoning of Mullet Pond, located between Point Pirouette and Mullet Beach, as a protected area in which it is prohibited to remove and/or cut existing vegetation, including mangroves and seagrass, within 15 meters of the lagoon shoreline.
As one of the largest lagoons in the Caribbean, the Simpson Lagoon provides essential habitat for wildlife and plants; it forms the center of a food web which extends all the way to the ocean reefs. The lagoon also drives a significant portion of the economy by providing safe harbor, goods, and services to the maritime sector. In addition, this remarkable body of water adds to the beauty of the island.
Tragically, the lagoon continues to be polluted and destroyed. Each year, more mangrove trees are ripped from the coastline and more seagrass beds are smothered with fill dirt or dredged. The pace of development has left little behind in its devastating wake. Only about 1/4 of the coastline of Sint Maarten's lagoon is still populated by mangrove trees. Approximately 65% of these mangroves are found in Mullet Pond which also harbors the largest contiguous stand of mangroves in Sint Maarten.
Recent research out of the United Nations has valued mangrove forests at more than $900,000 per square kilometer per year. They serve as storm buffers, supply our fisheries, support birdlife, and provide aesthetic enjoyment.
Mangrove roots stabilize the coastal soil, especially important during hurricanes, and remove pollutants from the water. Our marine ecosystem is dependent upon mangroves, trees which form the basis for an entire food web. Ultimately we rely on mangroves for the fish we eat. Resident and migratory birds thrive in these coastal margins, where they roost, forage, and nest.
The economy of Sint Maarten is dependent upon tourists who want to visit a beautiful tropical island. It is the beaches, the coastal cliffs, the lagoon, the reefs and the mountains that visitors enjoy; the very resources which are being destroyed at a phenomenal rate. Development will continue, but it must be managed responsibly so that areas as important and unique as Mullet Pond are preserved. Sint Maarten can attract tourists without destroying important natural areas. Indeed, saving such places will only make it a more attractive destination.
Please ensure that the mangroves and seagrass beds of Mullet Pond are protected.
Sincerely,
(YOUR NAME HERE)
USA
US Shrimp Imports Still On The Rise
According to a May 15th, 2007 article by Ben DiPietro
of IntraFish, U.S. Q1 shrimp imports rose 1.3% in the January-March period compared to 2006, totaling 162.2 million tons. The value of the shipments was $856.1 million (€631.2 million), down 0.4 percent from the year-earlier period. China led the way in breaded frozen shrimp imports to the United States. sending 10.4 million kilos through March 31, up 9.7 percent from the first three months of 2006, according to statistics released by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)….
Web site www.intrafish.com
U.S. Q1 shrimp imports rise 1.3% Page 1 of 1
http://www.intrafish.no/global/news/article134748.ece?service=print 5/15/2007
======================================================
News Flash!
Note: The following is excerpted from a longer article:
Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:32:30 -0700
Safety alert on U.S. feed export turns the tables.
The U.S. FDA has alerted health officials in more than a dozen countries about U.S.-made shrimp-feed products that could be contaminated with small amounts of melamine, a turnabout likely to complicate the debate over the safety and export of food. Wall Street Journal [Subscription Required]
After Scrutiny of China, Food-Supply Issue Grows More Complex
By NICHOLAS ZAMISKA in Hong Kong and LAUREN ETTER in Chicago
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has alerted health officials in more than a dozen countries about U.S.-made shrimp-feed products that could be contaminated with small amounts of a potentially dangerous chemical, a turnabout likely to complicate the debate over the safety and export of food.
The chemical, melamine, is used in plastics and fire retardants, but it isn't allowed to be added to food in the U.S. or in China. It is the same chemical that has been linked to the deaths of a number of cats and dogs in the U.S.
It is unclear whether the shrimp-feed products exported to the 13 countries warned actually reached their destinations or entered markets there. It is also unclear how widely available the products are in the U.S., though its U.S. manufacturer issued a nation-wide voluntary recall last week.
Based on information from the U.S. company and its suppliers, the FDA estimates the products carry only small amounts of melamine that are unlikely to pose a risk to human health.
Still, the uncertainties underscore the complexities inherent in monitoring a vast and diffuse food supply.
The alert also shows how, while China has been facing criticism over the safety of its food exports and how closely they are regulated, the U.S. is coming under similar scrutiny….
Michael Herndon, a spokesman for the FDA in Washington, said yesterday that the melamine-contaminated products made in the U.S., including feed ingredients and shrimp feed, may have been exported by Zeigler Bros. Inc., a feed manufacturer in Gardners, Penn. The countries are Panama, Venezuela, Belize, Suriname, Costa Rica, Honduras, Ecuador, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Gambia, Lebanon and Canada….
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118123796038927998.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
From: darlenes@olympus.net
======================================================
Vet Drugs in Imported Seafood, Refusals Up Dramatically
Food & Water Watch Calls for Increased Inspections and a Temporary Ban on All Chinese Food Imports
Washington, DC - Questions about the safety of imported food go far beyond melamine contaminated wheat products, according to the consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch. A Food & Water Watch analysis reveals that refusals of seafood shipments from China for veterinary drug residue contamination increased dramatically in April, even though the U.S. Food & Drug Administration inspects barely 1 percent of all seafood imports.
"A ban on Chinese food imports to the United States should be implemented until the safety of U.S. consumers can be guaranteed. The current crisis demonstrates that all shipments of food items from China should be inspected and tested," said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter.
Very few drugs are approved for use in domestic fish farming. However, drugs like flouroquinolones ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin are routinely used in fish farm operations in Asia. These drug residues could result in life threatening allergic reactions and may encourage development of drug resistant bacteria.
FDA refused 78 shipments from China for veterinary drug contamination between January and April 2007, the same number of shipments refused in all of 2006. More than half of those shipments were refused in April 2007.
The state of Alabama recently joined Mississippi and Louisiana in enacting a ban of Chinese catfish after test revealed flouroquinolone residues. Earlier this month, Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark, asked the FDA to ban Chinese catfish and Senator Sessions, R-Ala, added an amendment to FDA legislation calling on the agency to increase import inspections and testing.
"The high profile case of contaminated wheat gluten in pet and animal food is just one example of how federal regulators are unable to offer even a minimal level of protection to consumers in the face of ever-increasing food imports," Hauter said. "Congress must give the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture the resources and authority they need to protect consumers and avoid these risks in the first place…."
CONTACT Andriann