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New Straits Times, 16 Jan 05 COVER STORY: Guard our coastal guardians by Marina Emmanuel and Elizabeth John The recent tsunami waves left behind a trail of death and destruction in the Indian Ocean rim. Hopefully, as the waves receded, they would have washed away the ignorance, deliberate or otherwise, about the importance of the mangrove forests to man and marine creatures. ENVIRONMENTALISTS who have long championed the cause of the unglamorous, mosquito-infested mangrove swamps are having the last laugh, although a bitter one. The years of warning about the dire consequences of destroying these coastal guardians have been nothing short of screaming at a brick wall. They’ve gained little for their troubles, save the classic labels accorded to their kind — alarmist and anti-development. Then came the Dec 26 earthquake and tsunamis. Stripped of much of our protective clothing, we were left naked to the onslaught. No mangrove, no barrier. In the devastated countries, realisation dawned that coastal communities which had saved mangrove swamps lost less property and fewer lives. Suddenly a chorus of voices echoed around the world, singing a long-forgotten tune in praise of mangroves. Where had we heard it before? About 52 per cent of the total length of Malaysia’s coastline is fringed by mangroves which protect it against storms, floods and erosion. They are an important source of timber for pilings, charcoal, and paper and cellulose production. Royalty from mangrove products is an important source of government revenue, while the swamps itself support coastal fisheries by serving as a nursery for prawns and a number of fish species. Its importance has always been recognised in Malaysia, but in terms of putting its money where its mouth is for the sake of mangrove protection, it has performed dismally. For instance, we’ve long had a National Mangrove Committee (Natmancom). It has made sterling recommendations including one in 1986 which said that only 20 per cent of mangroves in any given area can be converted to other uses. But environmentalists say this rule was eventually turned on its head and was read as : 20 per cent of all mangrove areas are suitable for aquaculture use; which launched an aquaculture boom in mangrove areas in the late 80s. Many aquaculture projects were carried out in mangroves with a temporary occupation licence (TOL). However, as one environmentalist remarked, "The licence was temporary, but the damage: permanent." Aquaculture isn’t the only or biggest culprit. We’ve lost mangroves to housing schemes, industrial estates, agriculture, tourism and illegal settlements, among others. Between 1980 and 1990, researchers recorded a rate of loss of 6,000ha of mangroves per year, mostly in Sabah. What all of this reflected was the pervasive view that mangroves were useless and provided cheap land. But in March 1996, the Cabinet directed that a major research project be undertaken to find ways to regenerate mangrove forests which at the time covered 646,000ha. It also directed that further aquaculture projects in mangrove areas be discouraged. In June, guidelines were drawn up to limit development projects in mangrove swamps, but nationwide, 2,000ha of mangroves had already been developed for aquaculture. In July, news reports said the Terengganu, Johor and Perak Governments had stopped approving development projects near or in mangroves. In November 1996, the Cabinet directed all mangrove swamps within 400 metres from the coastline be left untouched to check escalating coastal erosion. The National Coastal Erosion Council also recommended that no development projects be allowed in mangroves along the west coast of the peninsula. Sadly but surely, just a year later news reports surfaced that the ban and buffer were being ignored in one State after another. "States never really translated the 1996 call into action and mangroves have since been cleared for aquaculture ponds, hotels and other coastal development," said Sahabat Alam Malaysia’s honorary secretary, Meenakshi Raman. "Only after the tsunami do we see its value; at a time when it is the most threatened ecosystem in the country." Looking at official figures quoted by the Environment Ministers in 1996 and now, mangroves in Malaysia have gone from 646,000ha to 564,971ha. But, how things have changed since the Dec 26 disaster. The Global Environment Centre’s initial assessment in Malaysia has found that mangroves offered substantial protection against the tsunami. A mangrove belt 100 metres wide, with a density of two to three trees every three metres, could have reduced the height of a seismic wave by 70 per cent, assuming the wave was created by a 7.5-Richter earthquake, says GEC director Faizal Parish. Instead of a wave, the water would have reached land like a rising flood. Such a green belt could have also reduced the power of the wave by an estimated 90 per cent, he says. "It would have been able to prevent people from being dragged out to sea, providing them with something to cling to and prevented massive injuries and damage by trapping boats and driftwood that were washed back and forth by the wave." He points to reports of some villages just 100km southeast of worst-hit Banda Aceh which were saved by extensive mangroves. Also, Simeuleu island, just 41km from the quake’s epicentre which suffered just four deaths thanks to its protective mangrove belt. Although it is unlikely that coastal mangroves alone would have been able to fully protect coastal developments from the impact of these waves, particularly in areas such as Banda Aceh, their presence along the shore would have reduced the full force of the wave, says Sharmini Block. Sharmini, who is head of information and communications at the Penang-based World Fish Centre, continued, "In areas where the waves were less intense such as Penang, coastal mangroves would certainly have aided coastal protection and helped reduce loss of life and property." The tsunami has served as a grim reminder, says Meenakshi, but one that will force us to take mangrove conservation seriously. Already, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has called for mangroves to be left untouched and degraded areas to be replanted. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Adenan Satem, who last year said his ministry would look into the draining and development of peat swamp land, has now announced the compilation of an inventory on mangrove swamps instead. He has also asked State Governments to gazette more green belts as forest reserves. The Government is also talking about converting empty state land into mangroves and not the opposite as has been the case. Environmentalists also want comprehensive legislation to protect mangroves and, more importantly, for it to be enforced, unlike previous directives. As for replanting mangroves, over the last five years in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan, Wetlands International and GEC have been running community-based programmes that combine poverty alleviation and mangrove conservation. Groups of coastal villagers are given small loans to buy chickens, ducks and fishing nets and, in return, have to plant and care for a certain stretch of mangroves. If they keep their end of the bargain and the mangroves do well, they need not repay their loans. In the Java project today, a mangrove forest of 30,000 trees thrives and is jealously guarded by the villagers whose lives it has changed, says Faizal. Environmental non-governmental organisations are now asking that it be made a community effort and not a multi-million dollar contract tendered out to those who know little about mangroves and care even less. These are among the calls being made for the future of mangroves in the wake of the devastating tsunami. Hopefully, someone is paying attention this time. Wetlands, treat her like the womb of Mother Earth TEN years ago Datuk Dr Anwar Fazal, then the chairman of Wetlands International Asia, had this to say at an international conference on Wetlands and Development in Kuala Lumpur: "The wetlands are like the wombs of Mother Earth, the ultimate source of life, some will dare say. "If you are careless with the wetlands, you are careless with the life of Mother Earth." "If we do not deal constructively with our environment, the environment will surely deal destructively with us," Anwar had cautioned. Fast forward to January 2005 and Anwar, a recipient of the Alternative Nobel Prize, touches on the tsunami and how the nation continues to invoke nature’s fury. Anwar says the lack of a provision for the environment in Malaysia’s development blueprint — Vision 2020 — is its single "blind spot". "A Cabinet directive to preserve wetlands in the mid-90s seems to have fallen on deaf ears. What has happened to the National Wetlands Policy?" he asks. He cites the recent "callous" destruction of the Koay Jetty mangrove area in George Town as another sad story. The site could instead have been developed into an ecological training centre, as proposed by leading non-governmental bodies. Anwar says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s call is encouraging and adds that the public would support Abdullah in fighting ecological destruction the same way they have with corruption. The Koay Jetty mangrove is but one example of poor coastal management. Another lies near Tanjung Tokong — an area badly devastated by the Boxing Day tsunami — where mangroves have been cleared for a mammoth project. The Penang Government says the State still has 1,030 hectares of mangroves, with 376ha gazetted as permanent forest reserves. State Environment Committee chairman Teng Chang Yeow says more will follow. "We intend to gazette 60ha of mangroves in Pantai Acheh and replanting will be carried out at Balik Pulau, Byram and Sungai Chenaam." Mangroves will also be replanted along Penang’s main rivers like the Muda, Perai, Kerian, Tengah, Jawi and Juru rivers, says Teng. This should be uplifting news to 6,000 traditional fishermen under the umbrella of the Penang Inshore Fishermen Welfare Association. The non-profit community-based group, in existence since 1994, began regenerating mangrove swamps and today has helped plant 32,000 mangrove saplings around the State. "Massive destruction of mangroves in Penang is mostly caused by the aquaculture industries, residential projects, factories and infrastructure development," says association adviser P. Balan. "They destroy mangroves in the belief that this wetland area is a wasteland with no economic value." Balan attributes this state of affairs to a lack of awareness among government officials. However, he is hopeful government support for its conservation will grow. The association has also called for a mangrove research centre in Penang to educate the public. links Related articles on Tsunami and the environment |
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