Mangrove swamps of Burma/Myanmar - general studies and articles

expand all
collapse all

Individual Documents

Title: Guardians of Pat-Chan: How river conservations thrived before Myanmar’s crisis
Sub-title: A group of conservationists and villagers fought to preserve Myanmar’s southern Pat-Chan River and its mangrove forests – until a military coup forced their efforts to halt
Description: "TANINTHARYI, MYANMAR — Efforts to conserve rivers and mangroves in southern Myanmar came to a standstill when activists fled the country in fear of their safety. The responsibility now falls on those who remain, although they face intense surveillance from the military. Ko Shwe Phan was once known as the “Pat-Chan Hero,” a title given to him by Myanmar news outlet Tanintharyi Weekly Journal in 2019 in recognition of his efforts to protect the Pat-Chan River. The Pat-Chan, also known as Pakchan, is a 130-kilometer boundary river shared by Myanmar’s southern Tanintharyi region and Thailand’s Ranong province. It hosts a large area of mangrove forests that provide habitats for marine animals, making it the primary “rice pot” for about 5,000 people living along the river at Myanmar border. Ko Shwe Phan, originally from Myanmar’s southernmost Kawthaung town where the river meets the Andaman Sea, formed the Pat-Chan River Conservation Group in 2016 in collaboration with local people – who were aware of the river’s value to their lives. They were able to stop local companies that planned to clear the mangrove forests for profit-making enterprises while working with more than 250 villagers to request a “community forest” status for about 920 hectares of mangrove areas on various parts of the river. This status would allow local communities to obtain legal rights to guard the forest and earn sustainable livelihoods from it. The Forest Department under the previous elected government answered their call. Many forests were still in the process of receiving this status when the military staged a coup in February 2021, suspending conservation work across the country as environmental activists fled in fear for their safety. Ko Shwe Phan was forced to take refuge in a neighboring country, far from the river he cherished. “We were able to protect the Pat-Chan River by demonstrating that we would survive only if the river and mangrove forests existed,” he recalled. “What I can do in the current situation is worry about the Pat-Chan River from afar.” Similarly, other members of his group had to maintain a low profile within Myanmar or leave their homes due to various reasons, including harassment, the economic downturn, and the military government’s reactivation of the national conscription law. One of the conservationists remaining in the country showed an image of a community forest certificate on his mobile phone and lamented, “Who can we show this certificate to now?” With the weakened presence of the conservation group, the river and mangrove forests were left without guardians – which opened the door for unregulated and unsustainable businesses to flourish. Mangrove forest seizure Less than one year after the coup and up until now, members of the Pat-Chan River Conservation Group, who had already scattered into refuge, received reports of widespread mangrove forest clearance in many areas. At the mouth of the river, where Kawthaung town is located, local people witnessed workers from a local company cutting down trees in the mangrove forest of Nga-Eain-Su village and fencing off the area. They were told the forest was going to be turned into a crab farm. Conservation network members in Chaung-Wa and Aye-Chan-Tha villages, situated in the middle part of the Pat-Chan River, also reported the clearing of mangrove forests for commercial prawn and crab farms. “They cut the forests without letting us know,” said a villager who asked to remain anonymous due to safety concerns. Buildings were erected in the cleared areas, and an embankment was constructed along the riverbank, leaving no space for the mangrove forests to grow back. Palm oil and rubber companies have also seized land along the river’s banks and in community areas. Conservation group members who have remained in their villages reported seeing the military patrolling the river in speedboats. Landmines were planted on the paths that villagers previously used to access the mangrove forests, by both the military and its opposition armed revolutionary groups fighting for control of the area. Kawthaung town is now under the control of the military, with little presence of armed groups. This situation allows military members and their bureaucrats to dictate the usage of the river and mangrove forests. “Some local businesspeople are granted protection due to their close ties with the military network. We dare not run conservation activities at the mouth of the river, let alone try to stop them,” said a local conservationist who remains in the area. The contrast is striking on the eastern side of the river, which is under Thailand’s administration. Without war and unrest, conservation efforts for mangrove forests are thriving, along with local eco-tourism businesses. Facing Kawthaung town, Thailand’s 14,230-hectare Ranong Mangrove Forest remains protected and is now part of the Thai government’s nominated Andaman Sea Nature Reserves for UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Conservation before the coup Due to the booming seafood and aquaculture industry, areas near the mouth of the Pat-Chan River had long been eyed for facilities like dockyards, fuel depots, cold-storage factories, fish-processing factories and warehouses. Since 2014, many businessmen arrived with plans for large-scale developments that would involve clearing the mangrove forests, but these efforts were thwarted by a strong local conservation movement. The Pat-Chan River Conservation Group, with support from local villagers, ran several initiatives in the pre-coup years. These included campaigning for river conservation, educating local communities on the value of the river, planting mangrove trees and implementing a waste management project to ensure clean water. The group also sought support from Forest Department officials, civil society organizations, the media and experts, who were invited to provide know-how on conservation work. The key message of their campaign was clear: “If you care about the river and mangrove forests, you will always have your rice pots.” This message proved true as many villagers found their livelihoods improved, despite having limited access to roads and electricity. They could catch more marine animals such as fish, crabs, prawns and oysters when the river was healthy. Many even ran small-scale oyster and fish farms near the riverbank. “I could send three of my children to school because of this,” said Ko Bike-Hla, who earned a living by selling mud crabs and horseshoe crabs caught on the banks of the Pat-Chan River. The growth of the conservation movement was also driven by local communities’ experiences with the loss of mangrove forests when they had previously cut down trees for charcoal production. As a consequence, many riverbanks collapsed and some marine species disappeared. “Some crab species only inhabit the mangrove forests. They are still found in the mangrove forests on Thailand’s side, but they never came back to our side [at Myanmar’s border],” said a Pat-Chan villager. Although Pat-Chan hero Ko Shwe Phan cannot return home just yet, he believes the river’s protection now largely depends on the local people who remain. “We made an arrangement for local people [to lead conservation work] so they can protect the river if we are no longer there. Anyone who takes care of the Pat-Chan River can be a hero,” he said. While it won’t be easy for them to drive the conservation movement at the moment, there will be those who are ready to step up once the unrest has subsided. This story was produced in collaboration with Dawei Watch, a news outlet covering Tanintharyi region in southern Myanmar. Read Burmese version..."
Source/publisher: Mekong Eye
Date of entry/update: 2024-08-26
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Title: Drivers of change in Mangroves ecosystem of Myanmar: population and climate change
Description: "Population in Mangroves ecosystem and climate change Myanmar is considered one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and sea level rise Myanmar coastline consists of large low-lying areas, including the Ayeyarwaddy Delta, where sea level rise projections would translate into increases in permanently flooded areas as well as increased frequency and magnitude of flooding Sea level rise causes saltwater intrusion and flooding of agricultural land and ultimately threatens the livelihoods of farm households The projected increase in sea levels is likely to carry flooding further inland in the future, resulting in even greater impacts: a 0.5 meter rise in sea levels could lead to a retreat of the coastline by approximately 10 kilometers in Myanmar’s lowest lying areas (NAPA, 2012) The most productive rain-fed farming areas and the rice-growing areas are not well protected against periodic saltwater intrusion during the monsoon periods. Therefore, flooding and saltwater intrusion, along with the rise in sea level, are becoming the main challenge for the farming communities in this zone..."
Source/publisher: MA-UK Myanmar via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2024-01-03
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 554.39 KB
more
Title: Myanmar’s mangrove forests are in grave peril
Summary: "Mangrove forests are under threat across Southeast Asia and in the country of Myanmar alone more than 60% of them were lost within just two decades between 1996 and 2016, according to researchers at...
Description: "Mangrove forests are under threat across Southeast Asia and in the country of Myanmar alone more than 60% of them were lost within just two decades between 1996 and 2016, according to researchers at the National University of Singapore. “Mangroves are one of the world’s most threatened ecosystems, and Myanmar is regarded as the current mangrove deforestation hotspot globally,” the scientists write in a study published in Environmental Research Letters. “Net national mangrove cover declined by 52% over 20 years, with annual net loss rates of 3.60%–3.87%. Gross mangrove deforestation was more profound: 63% of the 1996 mangrove extent had been temporarily or permanently converted by 2016.” Most of the country’s mangroves have been converted into rice paddies, oil palm and rubber tree plantations, as well as areas used for aquaculture. The profound loss of deforestation in the country’s mangrove forests, which are critical for biodiversity, is the reason why Myanmar has been described as a primary hotspot of mangrove loss in the world. “It is quite incredible to consider that nearly two-thirds of all mangroves in Myanmar were deforested over a 20-year-period,” says Edward Webb, one of the authors of the study. Mangrove trees grow in various depths of water in coastal areas and they are crucial for coastal marine ecosystems. Their dense entangled roots stabilize coastlines and provide homes to a variety of marine species, including fish and crustaceans. Mangroves can also absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, as a result of which these forests play an important role in the fight against climate change. Mangroves growing in South Asia, in Southeast Asia and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region account for nearly half, or 46%, of the world’s entire mangrove forests. Southeast Asia is home to the world’s highest rate of mangrove biodiversity. Many of the region’s mangroves, however, have been lost owing to agricultural activities..."
Source/publisher: "Sustainability Times"
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-16
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Title: New study a call to action for Myanmar’s mangroves
Description: "A new study by the National University of Singapore (NUS) has found that mangrove deforestation in Myanmar is taking place at a faster rate than previously estimated. The NUS study, led by Edward Webb and Jose Don De Alban and published online in Environmental Research Letters on March 3, found that between 1996 – 2016 more than 60 per cent of all mangroves in Myanmar had been permanently or temporarily converted to other uses, including the growing of rice, oil palm, and rubber, as well as for urbanisation. Mangroves slow down climate change by sequestering carbon, and also conserve biodiversity, improve food and nutrition security and support human well-being, according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development(IISD). The institute says sustainable management of mangroves can help achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations (UN)..."
Source/publisher: "AEC News Today"
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-17
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Title: More Than 60% Of Myanmar’s Mangroves Has Been Deforested In Last 20 Years
Description: "Mangroves account for only 0.7 per cent of the Earth’s tropical forest area, but they are among the world’s most productive and important ecosystems. They provide a wealth of ecological and socio-economic benefits, such as serving as nursery habitat for fish species, offering protection against coastal surges associated with storms and tsunamis, and storing carbon. While many countries have established legal protection for mangroves, their value for sustainable ecosystem services face strong competition from converting the land to other more lucrative uses, particularly for agriculture. In the past decade, studies have shown that mangrove deforestation rates are higher than the deforestation of inland terrestrial forests. New research from the National University of Singapore (NUS) provided additional support for this, with results showing that mangroves deforestation rates in Myanmar, an important country for mangrove extent and biodiversity, greatly exceed previous estimates. The research, led by Associate Professor Edward Webb and Mr Jose Don De Alban from the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS Faculty of Science, was published online in the journal Environmental Research Letters..."
Source/publisher: "Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-05
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Title: Cyclone shield: Breathing new life into Myanmar's mangroves | earthrise
Description: "Since 1978, 1 million hectares of mangroves have been cut down in Myanmar. In the Ayerwaddy Delta in the south, mangrove forests have been significantly depleted - often cut down to make way for shrimp and rice farming, as well as charcoal production and collecting palm oil. Worldwide, 35 percent of the world's mangroves are now lost. Only 16 percent of the original cover is left in the vulnerable Delta Region where the mangroves are being destroyed at rates three to five times higher than global deforestation. "At the moment, mangrove conditions are severely degraded," says Win Meung, a seasoned ecologist who heads a mangrove regeneration project in Myanmar. "In the coastal areas, 60 percent of the villagers don't have a permanent job and try to find their money in the mangrove areas. They cut the trees and within one hour they can get the money [they need] for their livelihood." Mangroves play a vital role in the fight against climate change and extreme weather events such as cyclones. They help mitigate carbon emissions, as well as protect vulnerable coastal communities from extreme weather, while strengthening seafood stocks up to 50 percent. While Meung and many locals have tried taking matters into their own hands, planting over 400,000 seedlings by hand to try and repopulate the mangrove population, the activity has taken 3 years and there is a lot more yet to be done before another cyclone hits..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-23
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Title: Surfers ride the wave of ocean action in Myanmar blue forest
Summary: "Ocean lovers are often left out of the bigger environmental discussions and so struggle to see how they can do their part to stop climate change. But one organization, Sustainable Surf, is...
Description: "Ocean lovers are often left out of the bigger environmental discussions and so struggle to see how they can do their part to stop climate change. But one organization, Sustainable Surf, is committed to changing all that by directly engaging the global surfing community to save and restore threatened mangrove forest ecosystems. Mangroves are five times more effective at sequestering carbon emissions than land-based trees. “Many people, including most ocean-minded individuals, inherently understand the real value of restoring coastal ecosystems as a way to protect our oceans, and ourselves. But they need an easier and more engaging pathway to get involved, and that’s why we’re launching project SeaTrees,” said Michael Stewart, co-founder of Sustainable Surf. The ocean-health innovation lab uses surf culture to sell a sustainable lifestyle to an audience all around the world. With SeaTrees, it will provide an online portal to surfers worldwide to calculate and offset their carbon footprint, then become ‘carbon positive’ by funding new mangrove trees. “The goal is to plant one million trees on behalf of the global surfing community in 2019,” said Stewart, who plans to ride the same wave that advertisers have used for years to sell products using surf culture, celebrities and events, but to promote conservation rather than consumption. “Every corporation in the world that you can think of … They all use the imagery of surf and surf culture and coastal ecosystems to sell their products,” he said..."
Source/publisher: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-07
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Title: Episode 3: Mangroves Rakhine (video)
Description: ''Communication for Sustainable Livelihoods and Food Security in Myanmar...''
Khin Thuzar Nwe, Ma Ei Kay Zin Tun, U Soe Ni Latt, Dr. Maung Maung Kyi, U Aung Min, U Maung Phyu, U Aung Aung Naing
Date of publication: 2017-04-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-30
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Local URL:
more
Title: Ecological Mangrove Restoration Workshop Series
Description: "Since the December 2004 tsunami, there has been a mounting call for re-establishing protective greenbelts along coastlines. Although the jury is still out on the extent to which mangroves mediate tsunami damage, mangrove forests are proven effective barriers against tropical storms and strong wave action. How effective depends on a number of factors, such as, the density, width, height, and complexity of the mangrove forest, as well as the bathymetry of the coastline and other oceanographic factors. What is more clearly understood is that mangroves provide many benefits to coastal populations in terms of economic goods and ecological services, such as, fisheries production, medicinal use, wastewater treatment, provision of building materials, bird and mammal habitat, eco-tourism value, etc. Mangrove forests are valuable ecosystems which are currently extremely undervalued and they require long-term protection and conservation. Much of the post-tsunami effort to restore coastal greenbelts involved simple planting of mangrove seedlings and propagules. Already, there have been numerous failures due to planting of inappropriate species, in inappropriate locations, but in general failure occurs due to a lack of understanding of the restoration site itself. What was its history? What mangroves grew there? Where did they grow? What were their hydrological requirements? How deep was the substrate in which they grew? What were the fresh water inputs to the area? Where did exchange of tidal and sea water take place? Contrary to popular belief mangroves require some freshwater to grow well, and they are submerged only around 33% of the time. Planting mangroves along an exposed coastline, in too deep water without fresh water input is a recipe for failure..."
Alfredo Quarto
Source/publisher: Mangrove Action Project (MAP)
Date of publication: 2007-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-06
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 1.91 MB
more
Title: Mangrove Conservation & Restoration
Description: Working alongside mangrove ecologists, local NGOs, and communities, MAP promotes the ‘ecological – hydrological’ mangrove restoration (EMR) methodology, an economical and efficient way to mangrove restoration that follows basic natural processes. This well-considered model directly engages local community participation, and has proven extremely successful. Reaching far beyond mere hand planting of one species, as is sadly typical of mangrove restoration projects, EMR greatly increases the effective restoration of biodiversity to ecosystem-wide degraded mangrove forests. Natural restoration and/or manual planting of mangroves utilizing the EMR model is an important tool for international relief organizations to implement in order to restore mangroves in a cost effective manner to counter increased storm surges and rising seas MAP has actively rehabilitated mangroves in Thailand and Indonesia, as part of post-tsunami recovery, while being involved in consulting on shoreline and mangrove restoration projects elsewhere. MAP completed EMR training workshops in Cambodia, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and plans additional workshops where there is interest. . MAP also facilitates an EMR e-group with over 130 members worldwide sharing information and experience on more effective ways to rehabilitate mangroves. Through all of its work, MAP also raises awareness among those participating as to the importance of mangrove forests, whether participants are policy makers, local citizens, or NGOs..."
Source/publisher: Mangrove Action Project (MAP)
Date of publication: 2011-12-01
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-06
[field_licence]
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
more