2. Mangrove Action Project-Working at the
Roots of the Sea
September2011- Savannah Ocean Exchange
Shaping The Future Of Our Coasts

4. Benefits of Mangroves
Goods:
• Seafood (fish, crabs,
shellfish, shrimp
etc.)
• Building materials for
houses boats, and
fishing traps
• Firewood & Charcoal
for cooking
• Tannin for fishing
nets / dye for cloths
• Medicinal plants
• Raw material for
handicrafts
• Feed for livestock
• Income from Eco-
tourism – sea
kayaking, bird
watching, boardwalks
Recreation- sight
Services:
• Fisheries nursery habitat and
feeding grounds
• Storm protection
• Erosion control > seagrass >
coral- reef protection
• Absorption of nutrient from
landward side
• Buffer protection for agriculture
land
• Protection of ground water from
salinisation
• Detritus provide nutrients for
marine animals
• Carbon Sequestion

6. Old mangrove stands threatened in Burma by
Expanding Agriculture and Aquaculture

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

8. Ecuador has lost over half its mangroves, mainly to
shrimp aquaculture. In Esmeraldas Province the tallest
mangroves in the world are now in peril.

10. The mangroves are the roots of the sea- holding down
the soils… a buttress against the mounting storms.

11. 70-80% of all commercial fish in the
tropics depend on mangroves
Larger mangrove area =
Larger fisheries production

12. Shellfish Gathering in the Mangroves- Thailand
Gathering shellfish off the mangrove coast of Thailand-
“Mangroves sustain the people who sustain the mangroves…”

13. Abundance at a seafood Market in Trang, Thailand-
“Mangroves are like the supermarkets for the coastal poor “-
Pisit Charnsnoh winner of the Goldman Prize in 2001

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

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

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

18. Mangroves reduce wind & wave energy
Phang Nga, THAILAND –after 2004 Asia Tsunami

19. Tsunami Mangrove Destruction
Panama Lagoon, Ampara District, SRI LANKA

20. Mangroves & Climate Change
•Mangroves are carbon sinks, burying
massive amounts of carbon in their peat
soils
• Mangroves sequester 15 times more
carbon at a rate up to 50 times that of
inland forests
•Mangroves prevent erosion & play an
essential role in stabilizing coastal
shorelines against rising sea levels
•Mangroves are ultimate natural buffers
against increasing frequency and intensity

21. Area of Mangroves Worldwide
CURRENT RATE OF LOSS = 150,000 HA/YR
Mangrove Loss > 1% /year (FAO)

23. Mangrove stumps inside illegally constructed shrimp
pond- southern Thailand

24. Half these ponds shown in this photo are abandoned

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

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

29. Turnimg Sinks Into Carbon
Sources
Each hectare of mangrove sediment might
contain nearly 700 metric tons of carbon
per meter depth. In building large numbers
of shrimp farms, each ranging in area from
half a hectare to several hectares in size,
approximately two meters of sediment are
dug out. This clearing of mangroves &
subsequent excavation of the mangrove
substrate could result in the potential
oxidation of 1,400 tons of C per ha.

32. Mangrove Planting on Mudflats, Indonesia
Massive failures in attempted mangrove restoration result in great
losses in funds and man hours- Indonesia
e

33. Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, Thailand
Mangrove Planting Failures

34. 70-80% Mangrove Failure
Post Tsunami Sri Lanka > WHY?
• Inadequate site assessment & ignorance of hydrology
• Lack of knowledge of mangrove ecology
(i.e. Relief Organizations & Development NGOs)
• Lack of follow-up and seedling protection
• Inadequate project period driven by funding agencies
• Lack of interest on sustainability > community & local
stakeholders not involved in planning
• Wrong species, planted in the wrong location at the
wrong time Source: Jayatissa, 2010

35. WHAT IS ECOLOGICAL MANGROVE
RESTORATION (EMR) ?
AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH
TO SUCCESFUL MANGROVE
RESTORATION METHOD

36. Work together with communities, organizations and local
government to:
Understand the normal hydrology
>tides >fresh water input
Ecological Mangrove Restoration

37. Robin Lewis demonstrated the EMR approach in the
Ft. Lauderdale area of Florida in the late 1980s
e

38. Reconnecting
Tidal Exchange

39. 400,000 ha of abandoned shrimp ponds in
former mangrove areas in Asia
Robin Lewis, MAP’s Mangrove Technical Advisor

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

42. Advantages of Hydrological Restoration
• Higher success rate
• Higher bio-diversity
• Rebilitated area is closer to previous
natural forest species composition
• Restoration costs can be much lower,
especially for large areas
• Costly seed nurseries are usually not
required
• Based on science
• Small scale planting can still be utilized to
promote stewardship / ownership

44. Education
AdvocacyCollaboration
Networking
Conservation &
Restoration
Sustainable
Community-Based
Development
MAP is implementing a pro-active five-
pronged approach to long-term conservation

47. Technical Training Workshops in EMR

48. EMR
Demonstration
Project in
Thailand
Tale Nok Village, Ranong, Thailand