Mangrove Acton Project's Statement

"If there are no mangrove forests, then the sea will have no meaning.
It is like having a tree with no roots, for the mangroves are the roots of the sea..."
(Mad- Ha Ranwasii, the village headman of BahnLaemsai, March 1992)

Mangrove forests exist at the boundaries of sea and terra firma. Today, less than half of our planet's mangrove forests remain. Considering the importance of these intertidal wetlands for the health and future of our coastal regions in the sub-tropics and tropics, I urge those attending the Johannesburg Summit to please give some special emphasis to these threatened coastal forests.

In 1992 MAP formed to address the serious losses of mangrove forest caused by unsustainable and destructive industrial shrimp aquaculture. . Though the shrimp industry claims it is no longer affecting mangroves, there is ample evidence that these wetlands are still being lost to shrimp farm expansion at great cost to both coastal communities and the environment. MAP has always held as one of its central tenets the promotion of the rights of local communities to sustainably manage and conserve their coastal resources, including the mangrove forests. We believe that it is only through local community involvement and awareness that true conservationwill take effect. We also urge those attending the Johannesburg Summit to state this principle in any final declarations or statements made by the attending groups there.

Mangrove forests are one of the most productive and biodiverse wetlands on earth. Yet, these unique coastal tropical forests are among the most threatened habitats in the world. They may be disappearing more quickly than inland tropical rainforests, and so far, with little public notice. Growing in the intertidal areas and estuary mouths between land and sea, mangroves provide critical habitat for a diverse marine and terrestial flora and fauna. Healthy mangrove forests are key to a healthy marine ecology.

However, in many areas of the world, mangrove deforestation is contributing to fisheries declines, degradation of clean water supplies, salinization of coastal soils, erosion, and land subsidence, as well as the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In fact, mangrove forests fix more carbon dioxide per unit area than phytoplankton in tropical oceans. Mangrove forests once covered 3/4 of the coastlines of tropical and sub-tropical countries. Today, less than 50% remain, and of this remaining forest, over 50% is degraded and not in good form. There needs be greater protection of primary or high quality mangrove sites knowing that the total remaining area will continue to decrease. Also, effective and ongoing restoration of degraded mangrove areas is imperative at this time if we are to restore the health of our planet's coastal regions to some level of former productivity and bio-diversity.

Many factors contribute to mangrove forest loss, including the charcoal and timber industries, urban growth pressures, and mounting pollution problems. However, one of the most recent and significant causes of mangrove forest loss in the past decade has been the consumer demand for luxury shrimp, or "prawns", and the corresponding expansion of destructive production methods of export-oriented industrial shrimp aquaculture. Vast tracts of mangrove forests have been cleared to make way for the establishment of coastal shrimp farm facilities. The failure of national governments to adequately regulate the shrimp industry, and the headlong rush of multilateral lending agencies to fund aquaculture development without meeting their own stated ecological and social criteria, are other important pieces to this unfortunate puzzle.

Meanwhile, the previous destructive patterns-- both environmental and social-- continue to be repeated in "new frontier" shrimp countries of Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean & the Pacific Islands. The great earnings of shrimp culture are short-lived, while the real costs in terms of consequent environmental ruin and social disruption are long-term and astronomical! While the immediate profits from shrimp farming may satisfy a few, vast numbers of coastal residents, once dependent on healthy coastal ecosystems for fishing and farming, are being displaced and impoverished.

Any talk of conserving the Earth's biodiversity must include ways to ensure the restoration and conservation of mangrove forest ecosystems! Thank you for this opportunity to isue a declaration in MAP's name at this critical time.