Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Mangroves : Reducing the Risk of Disaster through Nature-Based Solutions

Published on May 2, 2016

https://youtu.be/Ub0Z9x7NUYA

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The coastal mangrove forest is the buffer between land and sea, playing the critical role of protecting the land and coastal communities from storms, wind and erosion. The short documentary takes us to an island in Southern Thailand illustrating how mangroves have depleted greatly in the last 50 years, how people have been affected, and shows what is being done to restore these habitats to secure a more sustainable future.

The Mangrove Action Project have been working with IUCN and local sub-district government organizations to demonstrate the model of Community-based Ecological Mangrove Restoration on the island for others to follow at a larger scale. Our vision is to restore abandoned shrimp ponds back into lush mangroves with the local people, greatly improving their lives, securing a more sustainable future, and ensuring the most effective protection from storms for generations to come.

For more information about the project please visit: http://www.iucn.org/EPIC/

And to find out more about the Mangrove Action Project and their unique approach to mangrove restoration, please visit: http://www.mangroveactionproject.org/cbemr/

Photo credit - © Tim Plowden / www.timplowden.co.uk Category Nonprofits & Activism License Standard YouTube License SHOW LESS COMMENTS

Transcript

English 0:17The coastal mangrove forest is really the buffer between land and sea, 0:21playing the critical role of protecting the land and coastal communities 0:24from storms, wind and erosion. 0:27Growing in the tidal beach zone, a 100m deep forest can weaken the destructive forces of 0:33a tropical storm and reduce wave height by as much as two thirds. 0:37And with climate change, sea levels are rising and storms are becoming more intense. 0:43Our coastlines and their communities are more vulnerable than ever. 0:47As well as being nature’s shock absorbers, they have shaped the way people live on tropical 0:52coastlines for thousands of years, providing us with many essential goods and services. 0:59Mangrove forests are rich in biodiversity and are important nursery grounds 1:03for many commercial fish species. 1:06They supply firewood, building materials, medicines 1:10and a wide variety of foods to local people, 1:12and provide other economic opportunities such as eco-tourism initiatives. 1:19Over the last 50 years, mangroves have depleted greatly. 1:23The number one cause of destruction in Thailand, like other countries in SE Asia, has been 1:28shrimp aquaculture, which boomed from the mid 80s to the late 90s. 1:33At least half of the mangrove forests in Thailand have been completely lost 1:37and a lot of what’s remaining is degraded. 1:40Many shrimp farms are abandoned after just a few years. 1:44There are now successful sustainable methods to restore abandoned ponds 1:48back into mangrove forests. 1:51Today we’re on Koh Klang. It’s an island on the west coast of Southern Thailand in 1:56the Krabi River Estuary. 1:58It’s a RAMSAR site for its significant importance at a global level and is populated mostly 2:04by Muslim communities of small-scale fisher families. 2:08The low lying island has a highest elevation of about 1 metre above sea level making the 2:135,000 or so locals extremely vulnerable to any storm that hits the coast here, 2:17particularly in monsoon season. 2:21Also erosion is happening very rapidly, especially on the exposed southern coastline where land 2:26is being lost up to 3 metres per year. 2:57Khun Nit has lived here all her life, on the southern coast of the island, and she’s 3:01had to relocate her house inland 5 times in the last 20 years. 3:06Her interest in mangroves grew as a result and is now an active community representative 3:11spreading the importance of mangroves 4:04Like the rest of Thailand, Koh Klang experienced a huge loss of their mangrove forests having 4:09been converted into shrimp farms. 4:57Intensive farming for profits led to widespread diseases and contaminated farms 5:02were abandoned after just a few years. 5:05One of Imam’s abandoned ponds is now a model restoration site for the EPIC project. 5:10MAP has been restoring abandoned shrimp ponds back to mangroves 5:14using a method we call Community-Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration. 5:19This holistic approach emphasizes restoring the hydrology of the site 5:24to facilitate natural mangrove regeneration. 5:27The restored hydrology ensures that every species will grow in the correct zone, creating 5:32a more biodiverse mangrove forest, and avoiding the common problems 5:37of monoculture plantations. 5:40Collaborating with communities is critical to the success of these projects. 5:44They provide physical help, and local expertise and ideas. 5:47We add to their local knowledge with technical understanding and equipment. 5:53They are involved in all phases, from the planning stage, through implementation to 5:58long-term monitoring and protection. 6:01This empowering process creates a sense of ownership 6:04for the long-term success of the project. 6:08Still in it’s early stages of restoration after 3 years, we are already seeing a lot 6:12of marine life come back. 6:14This has been very encouraging to people on the island. 6:43As a coastal defense, restoring mangroves is more cost effective 6:47than building and maintaining concrete sea walls, 6:49and overcomes many of the problems with artificial walls, such as accelerating erosion elsewhere 6:56as waves are deflected downshore and standing sea water behind the walls when they are breached. 7:02A healthy mangrove ecosystem has hugely valuable unseen impacts. 7:06Their organic-rich soils have the ability to sequester 3 to 5 times more carbon per 7:13hectare than tropical rainforests. 7:14They also protect coral reefs by trapping sediments and absorbing nutrients from the 7:19water, maintaining the health of our oceans. 7:39Here, we are demonstrating the model of Community-based Ecological Mangrove Restoration 7:44at a small scale for others to follow at a larger scale. 7:48There are over 250,000 hectares of abandoned shrimp ponds across the coastlines of SE Asia, 7:54perhaps nearly double that around the world. 7:57Our vision is to restore these back into lush mangroves with the local people, greatly improving 8:04their lives, securing a more sustainable future, and ensuring the most effective protection 8:09from storms for generations to come.