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INTRODUCTION

The mangrove: a unique type of forest

Generally speaking, public perception regarding tropical forests rarely includes mangrove forests, in spite of the fact that this type of ecosystem is found exclusively in tropical and subtropical regions of the planet. Clearly, their characteristics are entirely different from what popular imagination considers as "tropical forests" (exuberant vegetation, gigantic trees, accompanied by the most varied range of species of fauna). However, this does not mean that mangroves are not a type of tropical forest, and a unique one at that.

This book includes numerous articles describing mangrove characteristics in detail, highlighting the social and environmental benefits it provides as well as the struggles for its conservation. Therefore we do not intend to enter into this level of detail but to provide an overall vision helping those who will delve deeper into the book to understand the issue globally.

First of all it should be stressed is that this type of forest is located in zones that are permanently flooded, but also characterised by the presence of salt water. These are forests where the trees "advance" into the water, either on the coasts of oceans or in the deltas of rivers flowing out to the ocean. Few species of trees can survive under these conditions. Mangroves (which in fact are not one, but 20 species of trees on a world level), are able to adapt to these difficult conditions and in turn, to generate the conditions for other species, both fauna and flora, to establish themselves in this environment.

It is therefore a unique type of forest, which in turn provides certain goods and services that are also unique. One of its main functions is the protection of the coastal strip from acute atmospheric phenomena (cyclones, hurricanes), that commonly occur in regions where mangroves develop. It is also fundamental for the development of numerous species of fauna (fish, shrimps, shellfish, fowl, etc.), that use it as shelter, to obtain food and where they are able to breed. The sum of these goods and services in turn provides a means of living to many human communities living close to mangroves and that strongly depend on mangroves for survival.

However, at present mangroves are undergoing a serious process of degradation and disappearance. On a world level, it is estimated that 50% have already disappeared and a large part of the remaining ones are threatened. The reasons are various, but are mostly related to large-scale business activities.

The shrimp industry is the one that stands out in the destruction of the mangrove. This industry establishes itself in mangrove areas, precisely because that is where shrimps develop naturally. However, they do not limit themselves to "fishing them," but attempt to substantially increase their production and even the size of shrimps. What happens is that large areas of mangroves are substituted by enormous "ponds" where commercially valuable shrimps are "sown" and artificially fed.

This is thus a large-scale industrial monoculture, experiencing all the problems which affect monocultures, in particular, diseases. When these appear (and they always do), they are treated with antibiotics while the operation is financially viable, then the company simply leaves the zone and seeks a new mangrove area to repeat the same process. What they leave behind them is a destroyed mangrove and an impoverished population --due to the loss of mangrove resources on which they depended-- but this does not seem to bother either the shrimp companies or the governments allowing them to develop their destructive activities. Why? Simply because it is an exporting sector: the companies obtain their dollars and the "macro-economy" its hard currency. Neither the environment nor the people seem to appear in this equation.

Paradoxically, an important actor in the destruction of mangroves is the tourist industry. The paradox lies in the fact that it is installed in these zones due to the fact that they are clearly attractive to tourism. However, in many cases it does all it can to destroy them: from the construction of highways and roads, to the building of major hotel facilities. All this, at the expense of mangroves. In their eagerness to increase their profits, they "clean" wide areas of mangroves to widen the beach area and therefore the number of bathing tourists. The result is not long in coming. The first hurricane makes everything disappear --due to the lack of protective barrier supplied by mangroves-- not only the beach, but also all the facilities built along the coast. The tourist attraction disappears and the industry dies.

In many countries the central problem is oil and natural gas exploitation. It should be remembered that mangroves develop in water and one of the main characteristics of oil exploitation is contamination of water. As a whole, mangroves are affected by this contamination, which starts off by having an impact on the species of fauna living there, and ends up by killing the trees. Given their coastal location, mangroves are affected both by off-shore oil exploitation as well as by continental oil activities, as in both cases the contaminantion ends up at the mangrove.

Although on a lesser scale, mining is also an agent of destruction in certain regions of the world. In fact, some mineral fields are to be found in mangrove areas and commercial exploitation implies total destruction of the forest.

So far, we have pointed out the agents destroying mangroves, but it is also important to note which actors are intervening in its conservation. Among these, mention must be made of the local communities that use them traditionally as sustenance. In fact, it is they who are struggling to conserve mangroves, for the simple reason that they need them for survival. At the same time, they have traditional knowledge on their sustainable use. For this reason, these local communities are generally at the forefront of struggles in defence of mangroves.

In turn, it is important to point out the essential role played by environmental NGOs in their support of local struggles and in the generation of awareness on a national and global level of the socio-environmental importance of mangroves. In their individual and collective actions, they have in many cases managed to halt processes of mangrove destruction and promote the adoption of specific legislation on this ecosystem. On a global level, they have actively participated in international processes and campaigns that have also led to important progress regarding mangrove protection.

More recently, the appearance of (low impact) eco-tourism has also added to the protection process, developing alternatives, making small-scale tourist activities compatible with mangrove conservation.

From this brief description of the problem and of the main actors involved, the conclusion is clearly seen to be that the future of mangroves depends essentially on a change in the correlation of forces between those contributing to their destruction and those fighting for their conservation. In this respect, it is evident --in particular, on reading the many experiences included in this book-- that local communities are the central nucleus in the struggle. At the same time, it is equally clear that the local struggle must be projected to a national level in order to have a positive influence on government decision-making. Therefore it is essential to widen the front for mangrove defence, incorporating all those actors willing to participate in the struggle: traditional communities, peasants, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples and workers organisations, environmental and social NGOs, academics, parliamentarians, journalists and the public in general.

Finally, the development of campaigns on an international level is essential in order to have an influence on those actors and global processes whose political and economic decisions result in mangrove destruction or conservation (such as multilateral credit institutions, international environmental conventions, bilateral cooperation agencies, etc.) as well as the consumers themselves (of shrimpa, tourist services, oil).

We hope that with this book --and in particular the dissemination of the heroic struggles taking place on a local level-- we can contribute to the process, helping to generate more awareness about the problem, that in turn will result in the necessary change in the correlation of forces in the struggle for the future of mangroves.

Ricardo Carrere
WRM International Coordinator

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