Mexico City. The
fish catch decline with the increase in the destruction of mangroves
estimated annual loss of about 800 pounds of shrimp and commercial fish
per hectare of these ecosystems destroyed, because the correlation
between the extent of the tidal zone (mangrove the
tropics) and the amount of catch in the waters adjacent said Francisco
Javier Flores Verdugo, specialist in biological oceanography and
fisheries.
These
areas are of great importance not only for its socio-economic value,
but by the ability to maintain high productivity and balance in the
lagoon estuarine environments.
Fertilities
presented as high as the most efficient domestic crops, in some areas
reach capacity to export that adjacent marine waters and in arid regions
adjacent terrestrial ecosystems are functionally equivalent to an
oasis, added the researcher of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology (ICMyL), Unit Mazatlan, UNAM.
Three quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but 90 percent have fertility similar to that of a desert scrub. Sea fertile regions cover only 10 percent and are located within coastal ecosystems, particularly mangroves.
In
fact, he added Flores Verdugo, an estimated total world fisheries, 90
percent is done in coastal regions, and of those, 70 percent are at
estuarine organisms, or those who at one period of his life living in
these environments.
The
benefits of mangrove-estuarine and lagoon ecosystems comprise a variety
of goods, services, uses and functions of value to society, flora and
fauna, as well as for the maintenance of natural processes, and interact
with other marine and terrestrial . For example, there is evidence that destruction causes loss of coral reef structure, detailed the university.
Mangroves
are characterized by high production are habitat to support fisheries
of the continental shelf, are areas of food, shelter and crustaceans and
fry growth and protection of flora and fauna, including species
threatened with extinction , endemic and migratory.
Systems
also act as natural flood control and erosion, as hurricane protection
and saline intrusion, and improve water quality by acting as a
biological filter.
They
also help to prevent the formation of acid soils, microclimate
conditions generate, help maintain natural systems and processes in
response to changes in sea level, carbon traps, and retain accretion
processes, sedimentation and formation mobs, he said biological oceanographer, whose main research is primary productivity in estuarine and mangrove lagoon systems,
An estimated 60 to 75 percent of the tropical coasts are bordered by mangroves. The extension covering the country is six thousand 600 square kilometers, and ranks sixth in the world.
Have
adaptations to soils rich in organic matter (anoxic) and comprise more
than 50 species, of which four are widely distributed in Mexico red
mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), black mangrove (Avicennia germinans),
white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) and buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus).
In
the country are referred to within the standard 059 of the General Law
of Ecological Balance for conservation, with a special category for
mangrove protection white, black and buttonwood, and a rare species, the
red mangrove.
They
are also under a conservation or sustainable use by various standards
such as NOM 022 for the conservation of wetlands, he said.
Search News Archive
Thursday, January 31, 2013
URGENT ALERT! Mangrove International Action Needed for Reversing Brazil's Forest Code
Manifest for Brazilian mangroves
Recent amendments to Brazilian Forest Code (BFC)
threatens the country’s status as the second largest mangrove area in the world
(1). Contrary to major
scientific advisory (2–18) and public opinion (19), government made legal
for shrimp farmers and salt producers to convert tidal wetland ecosystems into
ponds. Changes are being encouraged throughout the country considering BFC is a
Federal regulation and applies nationally. In the Amazon biome (which comprises
the coasts of the States of Amapá, Pará and Maranhão), where 60% of Brazilian
mangroves are located(20), 10% of these systems
can be converted. Along the rest of the shoreline, 35% can be converted.
Additionally, this regulation also assures amnesty to transgressors that
occupied these areas until July 22, 2008.
Assessments
made prior to the consolidation of shrimp farming industry in Brazil revealed
that the country had already had lost 50,000 ha between the years of 1985 and
2000 due to diverse causes(21). Nevertheless, it is
estimated that shrimp farming industry alone is responsible for the conversion
of another 50,000 ha of the country’s tidal wetland ecosystems into ponds (22, 23), mainly on salt flats (24).
Despite the increasing growth rate of shrimp farming in
Brazil during the past decade (from 7,000 to 90,000 tonnes per year
production), its CO2 emissions — resulting from both land conversion
and shrimp production — have not been included in Brazil’s emission statistics (2, 25), thereby
underestimating the country’s share in the responsibility of climate change
mitigation.
Salt flat conversions outlined in the BFC could lead to
staggering mangrove losses and hugely increase CO2 emissions,
considering that these systems possibly store an equivalent to roughly 2.5 times annual
global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (26). Considering only
shrimp farms that have already been installed in the country, these land
conversions correspond to 1.5% of all Brazilian marine wetlands, or only 0.03%
of the national territory; however, they alone account for 1% of the total
Brazilian yearly CO2 emissions (2, 27).
Considering Brazil’s mangrove coverage, which makes it a
critical player on the mitigation of the CO2 effects and climate
change stabilization, we
ask for international support to help in reversing this horrible political
decision. Join us by exerting any type of pressure, either by divulgating this
absurd decision or by writing straight to our government representatives
(contact info attached).
Thank you very much.
"Instituto
Bioma Brasil (IBB) and Contributors"
Authors who
contributed to this article:
André
Rovai (UFSC / IBB)
Paulo
Pagliosa (UFSC)
Alessandra
Fonseca (UFSC)
Ricardo
Menghini (MPSP)
Yara
Schaeffer-Novelli (IOUSP / IBB)
Gilberto
Cintron-Molero (FWS)
Clemente
Coelho-Júnior (UPE / IBB)
Renato
almeida (UFRBA / IBB)
Marília
Cunha Lignon (UNIFESP / IBB)
Literature cited:
1. M. Spalding, M. Kainuma, L. Collins, World Atlas of Mangroves (Earthscan,
London, UK, 2010), p. 319.
2. P. R. Pagliosa, A. S. Rovai, A. L.
Fonseca, Carbon mismanagement in Brazil, Nature
Climate Change 2, 764–764
(2012).
3. A. S. Rovai, R. P. Menghini, Y.
Schaeffer-Novelli, G. Cintrón-Molero, C. Coelho-Jr, Protecting Brazil’s coastal
wetlands, Science 335, 1571–1572 (2012).
4. J. P. Metzger et al., Brazilian Law:
Full Speed in Reverse?, Science 329, 276–277 (2010).
5. A. G. Nazareno, Call to veto Brazil’s
forest-code revisions, Nature 481, 29 (2012).
6. Y. Schaeffer-Novelli, A. S. Rovai, C. Coelho-Jr, R. P.
Menghini, R. Almeida, in Código Florestal
e a Ciência: o que nossos legisladores ainda precisam saber, (Comitê Brasil
em Defesa das Florestas e do Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Brasília DF, 2012),
pp. 18–27.
7. F. Michalski, D. Norris, C. A. Peres,
No Return from Biodiversity Loss, Science
329, 1282 (2010).
8. F. R. Silva, V. H. M. Prado, D. C.
Rosa-Feres, Value of Small Forest Fragments to Amphibians, Science 332, 1033–1033
(2011).
9. L. F. Toledo, S. P. Carvalho-e-Silva,
C. Sánchez, M. A. Almeida, C. F. B. Haddad, The review of the Brazilian Forest
Act: harmful effects on amphibian conservation, Biota Neotropica 10,
35–38 (2010).
10. L. Cassati, Changes in the Brazilian
Forest Code: potential impacts on the ichthyofauna, Biota Neotropica 10,
31–34 (2010).
11. P. F. Develey, T. Pongiluppi,
Potential impacts of the changes proposed in the Brazilian Forest Code on
birds, Biota Neotropica 10, 43–46 (2010).
12. A. V. L. Freitas, Potential impacts of
the proposed Brazilian Forest Act on native butterflie, Biota Neotropica 10,
53–58 (2010).
13. V. L. Imperatriz-Fonseca, P.
Nunes-Silva, Bees, ecosystem services and the Brazilian Forest Code, Biota Neotropica 10, 59–62 (2010).
14. J. G. Tundisi, T. M. Tundisi,
Potencial impacts of changes in the Forest Law in relation to water resources, Biota Neotropica 10, 67–76 (2010).
15. K. T. Ribeiro, L. Freitas, Potential
impacts of changes to Brazilian Forest Code in campos rupestres and campos de
altitude, Biota 10, 239–246 (2010).
16. O. A. V. Marques, C. Nogueira, M.
Martins, R. J. Sawaya, Potential impacts of changes in the Brazilian Forest
Code on reptiles, Biota Neotropica 10, 39–42 (2010).
17. M. Galleti et al., Forest legislative
changes and their impacts on mammal ecology and diversity in Brazil, Biota Neotropica 10, 47–52 (2010).
18. P. H. S. Brancalion, R. R. Rodrigues,
Agricultural land reduction due to the compliance with the current Forest Code:
a study case of sugarcane production in the State of São Paulo, Biota Neotropica 10, 63–66 (2010).
19. Datafolha, What Brazilians think about the “new” Forest Law proposal,
(Brasília,
2011;http://d3nehc6yl9qzo4.cloudfront.net/downloads/10_may_2011_datatafolha_cf_doc.pdf).
20. P. W. M. Souza-Filho, Costa de manguezais de macromaré da
Amazônia: cenários morfológicos, mapeamento e quantificação de áreas usando
dados de sensores remotos, Revista
Brasileira de Geofísica 23,
427–435 (2005).
21. FAO, The world’s mangroves 1980-2005 (Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United States, Rome, 2007), p. 77.
22. G. A. Daldegan, M. Matsumoto, A. Chatwin, in XIII Simpósio Brasileiro de Sensoriamento
Remoto, (INPE, Florianópolis, SC, 2007), pp. 851–857.
23. MMA, Panorama da
conservação dos ecossistemas costeiros e marinhos no Brasil A. P. L. .
Prates, M. A. Gonçalves, M. R. Rosa, Eds. (MMA/SBF/GBA, Brasília DF, ed. 1st,
2010), p. 148.
24. A. G. Zitello, thesis, Duke University
(2007).
25. M. S. Copertino, Add coastal
vegetation to the climate critical list, Nature
473, 255 (2011).
26. J. Siikamäki, J. N. Sanchirico, S. L.
Jardine, Global economic potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from
mangrove loss., Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109, 14369–74 (2012).
27. MCT, Segunda comunicação
nacional do Brasil à Convenção-Quadro das Nações Unidas sobre mudança do clima
(Brasília, 2010; http://www.mct.gov.br/clima), p. 280.
Attachments:
Info about Presidency of Brazil
President:
Dilma Rousseff
Address:
Palácio do Planalto
Praça dos Três Poderes,
Palácio do Planalto, Anexo I, Ala B, sala 107
Cep: 70150900
Phone:
+55 61
3411.1200
+55 61
3411.1201
Fax:
+55 61
3411.2222
E-mail:
sicplanalto@planalto.gov.br
Electronic messages can also be sent at:
Sample Letter:
President of Brasil January
16,2013
Dilma Rousseff
Palácio do Planalto
Praça dos Três Poderes,
Palácio do Planalto, Anexo I, Ala B, sala 107
Cep: 70150900
Dear Honorable President Rousseff,
I wish to draw your attention to a dangerous revision to your
country’s coastal regulations that are troubling me now. Recent amendments to Brazilian Forest Code
(BFC) threaten your country’s mangrove forests and will, if implemented,
adversely affect the status of Brazil as the second largest mangrove area in
the world. Because of this ill-conceived amendment, I am very concerned for the
future of all of Brazil’s coastal wetlands, including the mangroves and their
associated inter-tidal wetland areas- the mud flats and salt flats, sea grass
beds and coral reefs.
Assessments made prior to the consolidation of shrimp farming
industry in Brazil revealed that the country had already lost 50,000 ha between
the years of 1985 and 2000 due to diverse causes. Nevertheless, it is estimated
that shrimp farming industry alone is responsible for the conversion of another
50,000 ha of the country’s tidal
wetland ecosystems into ponds,
mainly on salt flats, which will be the last refuge for the mangroves to
colonize as the sea level rises as is now occurring at a much moré rapid rate
than earlier predicted. Loss of these intertidal areas to expanding shrimp farm
development will mean loss of future mangroves that would otherwise have
colonized those same sites.
For the sake of combating climate change
and restoring your country’s coastal wetlands and wild fisheries, I ask that you please reconsider this troubling
amendment and act now to reverse this earlier decision.
For the Mangroves And the Mangrove Communities!
Alfredo Quarto,
Executive Director
Mangrove Action Project
MAP staff joins the Livelihoods Camp in India
Jaruwan (Ning) Enright,
MAP-Asia
I as a MAP-Thailand’s Field
Project Manager was selected to attend a three days event called the “Livelihood
Network Camp 2012 (2nd Edition) 8-10th October 2012: “learning by doing”
at Araku, Vishakapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh, India. There were 140 participants which came from
from 21 countries and 65 organizations, including private companies and NGOs. I was the only participant from Thailand.
The objective of the Livelihood
Network Camp was to share experience and knowledge and explore innovative
solutions and know-how in order to support efficiency and sustainability for
the implementing projects in the Araku valley of Naandi Foundation
and in other parts of the world.
Photo 1 Ning in the middle of the Livelihood Camp participants. |
The camp was help in the Araku
valley, where the tribal people are now growing fair-trade organic coffee
supported by Naandi Foundation, a local Indian NGO which is playing an
important role helping the farmers with training in sustainable agricultural
practices, setting up a state-of-art coffee processing unit and formation of a
Small and Marginal Tribal Farmers Mutually Aided Co-operative Society
(SAMTFMACS) with a connection to the international market. There were 6 sub-workshops during the
camp.
|
I participated of the group work on “Fruit
for the hard work” to discuss about “Access to Markets” which is part of a carbon
credit project. After the full day field
visit to a very beautiful tribal village where they grow organic mangoes and
coffee our group tired to evaluate the most appropriate value chain from local
markets to global markets, identifying and creating added value and product
differentiation for the communities
involved. Our task was to provide
recommendations to Naandi Foundation on how they could adjust from a pilot
action to large-scale implementation.
The project being implemented at Araku is one of the projects supported by Livelihoods, an organization based in Paris supported by donors in France as well as a well as the worldwide dairy product company, Danone . There are 3 programs including Livelihoods Fund, Livelihoods Venture and Livelihoods Network. Under the Livelihood Fund programme there are three mangrove restoration projects funded in different regions of the world. They are being implemented by Nature Environment & Wildlife Society (NEWS) in the Sunderbans-India, Casamance in Senegal and Yagasu in Indonesia. I had the opportunity to present a poster on MAP’s work and shared the Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR) approach with the other NGOs representatives who are working on mangrove restoration mentioned above.
Photo 3: Ning’s poster presentation session regarding MAP’s Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR) and Livelihoods activities in Thailand. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
The community of adults and youth in Cayman Islands has come together recently to release a series of educational videos. Each is geared to...
-
By: Isabel Robinson, MAP Volunteer Intern Some months ago I decided to come to Thailand and do an internship in mangrove conservation, ...
-
J.H. Primavera, Ph.D. Among others, Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami have highlighted the importance of m...
MAP News Issue #594 - March 23, 2024
Saving Lamu Mangroves: From Futile Photo Ops To Real Progress KENYA - Hundreds flock Lamu County, not only for the beauty of Kenya’s oldes...