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| Monday, 17 January 2005 |
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Mangrove ecosystems could thwart the tsunami waves Text and pix by Christie Fernando, Chilaw special correspondent
"There is little doubt that the impact of these tsunamis would have been much less if healthy mangrove ecosystems lined the same coasts which were hit so hard by these events. And, as expected-shrimp farming and tourism projects in the mangrove zones contributed heavily to this great loss of human lives," Quarto added. Grieved Quarto who was much grieved by the loss of human lives, in Asia, conveyed this to the writer in an e-mail sent to him recently. Incidentally, the Mangrove Action Project (MAP), P.O. Box 1854, Port Angeles, Washington, 98362-0279 USA is affiliated to the largest Asian Mangrove Conservation Project situated at Pambala, Chilaw where the writer works. The writer met Alfredo Quarto, the Mangrove expert, when he graced the occasion to inaugurate the Asian Mangrove Conservation Project spearheaded by him in association with the Director, Anuradha Wickramasinghe of the Small Fisheries Federation, Pambala, Chilaw dedicated to the island's oppressed and needy small 'fishers', two years ago. Human activities Human activities, notably the building of coastal resorts and the destruction of natural protection, contributed to the enormous loss of life from killer tsunamis that hit the shores of the Indian Ocean after an earthquake. Quarto also referred to an environmental expert, Jeff McNeely, chief scientist of the Swiss-based World Conservation Union (IUCN), who lived for several years in Indonesia and Thailand (two of the countries) hit by Sunday's disaster who said "it was nothing new for nature" in a geologically active region. McNeely elaborated: "What made this a disaster is that people have started to occupy part of the landscape that they shouldn't have occupied, namely the hotels and shrimp farms," he said in a telephone interview. "Fifty years ago the coastline was not densely occupied as now by tourist hotels," he said. The hotels did not replace traditional villages because the villagers built inland, McNeely said. Shrimp ponds "What has also happened over the last several decades is that many Mangroves have been cleared to grow shrimp ponds so that we, here in Europe, can have cheap shrimp," McNeely said. "The mangroves were all along the coasts where there are shallow waters. They offered protection against tsunamis. Over the last 20-30 years, they were cleared by people who didn't have the long-term knowledge of why these mangroves should have been saved by outsiders who got concessions from the governments and set up shrimp or prawn farms." "The shrimps and prawns are sold to Europeans and other foreigners at a price that does not include the environmental cost which is being paid today," McNeely emphasised. "The same thing has been happening with the coral reefs that also provided protection to the coast," he explained. Coral reefs "When a tsunami comes in, it first hits the coral reef which slows it down, then it hits the mangroves which further slows it down. It may get through that, but by then a lot of the energy has already been dissipated," McNeely explained. McNeely further said that: "Conservationists in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand had warned that mangroves had tremendous value for conservation and to protect the coastline." "On the other hand, Sunday's quake would not have been a disaster for local wildlife still left in the affected areas. "Those living along the coast are rare, that's not a rare habitat, the mangroves are not particularly rich in species; this species of mangroves is used to typhoons, to storms and tidal waves." Pisit Charnsnah, co-founder of MAP and Gold Award winner from Yadfon, Trang, Thailand who the writer knows; when he visited the Small fishers Federation and the ever emerald mangrove conservation expanse fiercely guarded by the locals at Pambala, Chilaw some years back, prophetically declared: "Mangroves protect people who protect the mangroves!" And this adage is indeed factual! Those who wish to learn more about Mangroves could write to: Alfredo Quarto, Executive Director, |
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Produced by Lake House |
"The recent catastrophic events in Asia spotlight the importance
of conserving and restoring the mangrove ecosystems around the world to
prevent or at least mitigate the terrible consequences of short-term,
unsustainable within the mangrove regions of our planet," explains
Alfredo Quarto, Executive Director, Mangrove Action Project (MAP), Port
Angeles, Washington, USA.
