An Overview Of Our Solution
Ecological Mangrove Restoration - A Global Solution to Mangrove Forest Loss
Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosystem
Lautan/Pantai
Community Type
Pedesaan
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Oceania
Problem
Describe the problem
Mangroves are among the most threatened habitats in the world, disappearing more quickly than inland rainforests with little notice. Most attempts at restoration fail because of lack of understanding of mangrove ecology & hydrology. Through EMR, MAP is taking a more ecological approach designed to correct blatant errors that plague most attempts at restoration and end in costly, embarrassing failures. EMR works on restoring natural hydrology & geomorphology of restoration sites allowing natural reseeding to occur & greater biodiversity and long-term success in restoration. Because EMR works on basic ecological principles of functioning mangrove wetlands, it has greater potential to succeed. EMR is more economically practical, potentially saving millions of dollars if utilized correctly.
Biodiversity Impact
Mangroves are marine nurseries, so restoring them is vital in addressing problems of declining fisheries.. To effectively counter mangrove loss, MAP promotes & implementis Ecological Mangrove Restoration worldwide. EMR restores natural hydrology along the coasts, thus greatly increasing overall success rates for restoring damaged mangrove wetlands, while producing more natural and bio-diverse restoration. The goal is to restore full biodiversity to large degraded areas, while involving local communities in restoration, monitoring and resource management decisions over long term. Far beyond just hand planting seedlings, or “gardening†approach that usually ends in failure, EMR restores natural water flows and emulates former coastal terrain, greatly increasing overall success rate for restoring resilient mangrove forests. This in turn restores marine fisheries and wildlife habitat which itself declined because of mangrove loss. To accomplish MAP’s goal to reverse the dangerous 1% decline of mangroves, MAP is implementing EMR training programs in the global South so that local restoration practitioners, including community members, can effectively restore damaged mangroves. EMR is a holistic approach to mangrove restoration. This methodology focuses on the proposed plant and animal community to be restored as part of larger ecosystem and ecological communities that also have functions to be protected or restored. EMR aims at restoration of certain ecosystem traits and replication of natural functions, thus helping to restore marine life in the process.
Solution
Because mangrove forests may recover without active restoration efforts, it has been recommended that restoration planning should first look at the potential existence of stresses such as blocked tidal inundation, that might prevent secondary succession from occurring, and plan on removing that stress before attempting restoration The second step is to determine by observation if natural seedling recruitment is occurring once the stress has been removed. Only if natural recovery is not occurring should the third step of considering assisting natural recovery through planting be considered. Unfortunately, many mangrove restoration projects move immediately into planting of mangroves without determining why natural recovery has not occurred. There may even be a large capital investment in growing mangrove seedlings in a nursery before stress factors are assessed. This often results in major failures of planting efforts. To ensure EMR works to counter local threats, MAP involves local communities in the restoration, monitoring and resource management decisions, recognizing this inclusion as vital to any successful restoration over the long term. When local communities are involved in the restoration process, they feel a sense of ownership in that process and they are more likely to be responsible stewards of the mangroves. In turn, this ensures the sustainable management and conservation of their coastal resources. Who better to oversee the vitality of the mangroves than those directly benefiting from the health and productivity of these coastal forests? // Worldwide, there are around 15 million ha of mangroves remaining-less than half the original area. MAP is working in several regions at once with potential EMR projects being developed in Asia and Latin America. In Indonesia there are several medium-sized EMR projects of 200 ƒ?? 500 ha, and in Thailand several small EMR projects are underway totaling perhaps 50 ha at this time, but all of these smaller restoration efforts will serve as working models to demonstrate the EMR approach, acting as training sites for future EMR practitioners. EMR holds great promise for larger-scale restoration projects, once the method is better understood and seen as a much more effective approach to restoration. In Latin America, MAP is working with local partner NGOs EcoViva and Asociacion Mangle in El Salvador with two sites of around 100 ha each. This restoration work will be linked up with other sites along the so-called ƒ??Mangrove Corridor,ƒ? which involves Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras in the project work, potentially covering the entire Mangrove Corridor and hundreds of ha of mangrove coastline. One major issue that MAP is addressing is the restoration of some of the 400,000 ha of abandoned shrimp farms, many of which were established in former mangrove areas. EMR is especially applicable to restoring these ponds to productive mangrove wetlands. The EMR program is going global and thus has the strong potential of undertaking large-scale mangrove restoration. Meanwhile, those regional teams of trained EMR practitioners will have a lot of work on their hands!
Replicability
How many years has your solution been applied? 35 years // Have others reproduced your solution elsewhere? Yes // Our solution entails several phases: 1) Find a suitable community-based local NGO and other contacts to help organize the event locally, 2) Find funding support to undertake the project 3) Organize and implement training workshops for both local community members and local restoration practitioners in EMR in the area being considered for restoration, and explain the philosophy and reasoning behind the technique, delving into mangrove ecology in the process. 4) Followed by site assessments for determining suitability for doing EMR, as EMR may not be suitable if certain conditions are absent, or certain threats remain. 5) Followed by actual hands-on mangrove restoration using EMR, if the selected site meets criteria for successful restoration. 6) Once the EMR work is done on site, the actual restoration is followed by 3-5 years of monitoring of the restored site as needed to ensure success and learn from both the mistakes and successes, whereby local community members are trained in monitoring and reporting techniques. 7) From the beginning, working with and involving local community representatives is vital 8) Getting local government interested is also important. 9) We will be in regular contact with local NGOs via e-mail, telephone and Skype where possible, working with them throughout the project. 10) Each EMR site will serve as a training ground for future, larger-scale restoration. Training materials can be developed from each workshop offering us the ability to further disseminate the methodology and help further spread the word on EMR.
Human Well Being and Livelihood Impact
By restoring the mangroves of the coastal zones in the global South, we are also restoring critical habitat for marine fisheries upon which millions of coastal poor depend for their livelihoods. Loss of mangroves coincides with dramatic loss in marine life integrally dependent on mangroves as marine nurseries and vital components of the ocean food chain, whereby leaves, branches, bark and fruit of mangrove all become part of ocean detritus that in turn feeds ocean life from zooplankton to larger sea creatures. Mangroves are an important ingredient in making of â€the bread of life†for the seas. They also protect the coral reefs and sea grass beds from sedimentation by limiting coastal erosion. When mangroves are restored back to a semblance of their past health, there’s an almost immediate return of many fish species that were absent soon after mangrove loss. Fishermen have witnessed noticeable increases in daily catch of fish, crustaceans, mollusks and other sea life. MAP’s cofounder, 2001 Goldman Prize winner Pisit Charnsnah of Yadfon in Thailand says “mangroves sustain the people who sustain the mangroves!†He also calls mangroves the “poor people’s supermarket,†where the goods & services that mangroves provide from seafood, fruits, honey, teas, medicines, lumber & fuel wood to shoreline protection from tsunamis & cyclones are all there for the local communities. When the mangroves are lost so are most or all of these amenities, not to forget that mangroves also are one of the best sequesterers of carbon dioxide and storers of carbon in their peat soils.// When EMR is brought to a local area via the partnership between MAP and a local community-based NGO, we establish a tie with the local community itself via this relationship with our organizing partner. During the preparatory phase leading up to the actual training workshop, MAP asks the local NGO who is familiar with the community to find men and women, who are interested in working with us in conservation, restoration, management & monitoring of a selected mangrove site. These individuals who come forward may have the extra incentive of part time employment for their involvement in working on the project area. In addition, they will be learning important skills in mangrove resource management and restoration, which may be useful for them beyond the immediate project for which they are being trained. Part of the training will involve capacity building to enhance management skills of local community representatives involved in the project. Also, efforts are made to help the community bring back some of its “traditional wisdom†that allows the community to remember some of its original resource management skills from the days of the “Commons†when natural resources were more equitably shared among the community and certain resource-user rights applied. Overall, efforts are made to raise awareness among the general community as to the significance of what MAP is undertaking and how this restoration and conservation will directly benefit the whole community via the numerous services, goods and safety that these coastal forests provide.