 A new report released today by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) reveals that the conversion of mangrove habitat into shrimp farms, tourist resorts, agricultural and urban land over the past decades, as well as destruction of coral reefs, contributed significantly to the catastrophic loss of human lives and settlements during the 2004 tsunami.
EJF is calling on governments to ensure restoration and provide far greater protection for mangroves and other coastal habitats damaged both by the tsunami and, far more significantly, by chronic human misuse.
The report’s findings include:
- Where mangroves had been destroyed, often illegally, the tsunami waves were able to penetrate far inland, destroying homes, inundating farmland and washing away people and livelihoods. In India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, areas with dense coastal vegetation and healthy coral reefs were markedly less damaged than areas without.
- Despite the destruction of thousands of hectares of mangroves, coastal forest, and coral reefs by the tsunami, it is important to note that human activities prior to the tsunami inflicted far greater and more serious damage than could be wrought by any natural event, even one of the enormity of 26th December 2004.
- All of the countries that were hit hardest by the tsunami – Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand – have experienced recent net losses of mangrove cover. Between 1980 and 2000, the total area of mangroves in these four countries was reduced by 28%, from over 5 million to 3.6 million hectares.
- Thailand, Indonesia and India are among the world’s top producers and exporters of farmed shrimp, but this has come at a significant environmental cost. In Thailand, mangrove cover virtually halved between 1975 and 1993, from 312,000 ha to 168,000 ha. Shrimp farming is estimated to be responsible for 50-65% of this loss since 1975. In Indonesia, 269,000 ha of the country’s mangroves were converted into shrimp ponds between 1960 and 1990.
- Mangrove forests are among the most threatened habitats in the world today, with rates of loss exceeding those of rainforests and coral reefs. The development of shrimp aquaculture poses the gravest threat to the world’s remaining mangroves, and one estimate has attributed 38% of recent mangrove loss to the industry.
" Conserving and replanting coastal mangrove areas is vital if coastal communities are to recover and be protected from future similar events”, says EJF Director, Steve Trent. “Although the occurrence of another natural disaster of the scale of the Boxing Day tsunami is very unlikely in the near future, other threats such as cyclones, hurricanes and increased sea levels will potentially ravage coastlines across the Indian Ocean on a far more regular basis. Mangroves form a life-saving shield against all storm events”. Mangroves are far more than just a ‘bio-shield’. Despite being regarded for many years as ‘wastelands’, ripe for conversion to shrimp ponds, agriculture and tourist resorts, it is now known that mangroves provide coastal communities with many services and utilizable products, and perform vital ecosystem functions. The shrimp aquaculture industry also suffered serious losses when the tsunami struck, and reconstruction efforts have been ongoing over the past year. It is vital, however, that shrimp farms are not restored to their previously unsustainable state. “ An opportunity exists to redress past mistakes and invest in aquaculture practices that are environmentally, socially and economically viable, sustainable in the long-term, and truly beneficial for the impoverished and vulnerable coastal communities that have suffered most from the tsunamis impact”, says EJF Campaigner, Louis Buckley. Notes for editors: - A number of factors are thought to influence the protective effect of mangrove forests against tsunamis: wave energy and height, bathymetry (the topography of the ocean floor), and coastline topography, which all dictate the scale of the tsunami; and also characteristics of the mangrove forest itself – crucially its width, and to a lesser extent, its height, density and species composition. It is important to note that narrow mangrove strips can have limited positive effects, and can even be negative when they are swept away, causing extensive damage to life and property.
- Vegetated sand dunes, seagrass beds and healthy coral reefs all performed a similar protective function in certain areas.
- In shielding coastlines from the tsunami, coastal habitats took much of the blow. Mangroves and other littoral forests were in places broken and uprooted, and coral reefs spectacularly overturned; but in many cases initial fears of serious ecological damage have been proved untrue.
- The marine fisheries and aquaculture sector bore the brunt of the tsunami, with the material losses of fisherfolk across the Indian Ocean estimated at US$520 million. In Aceh, Indonesia, 20,000 hectares of aquaculture ponds were damaged or destroyed (there were 47,000 hectares prior to the tsunami). In India and Thailand, farmed shrimp production during the first six months of 2005 dropped dropped by 5% and 27%, respectively, compared with the equivalent period in 2004.
- Worldwide, shrimp farming has grown at an annual average of over 18% since 1970, and is the single most valuable internationally traded seafood product worldwide, valued at an estimated $50-60 billion at the point of retail. Shrimp aquaculture production is driven by increasing demand from consumers in Europe, North America and Japan, but is almost totally restricted to developing countries, and is especially concentrated in Asia (more than 80%).
- Most of the damage to mangroves from shrimp farming is caused by direct conversion of mangrove land to shrimp ponds. Inorganic or organic pollution produced by shrimp farms can also lead to or exacerbate mangrove degradation.
- Other human activities that are contributing to the loss and degradation of mangrove habitat include over-harvesting for fuelwood and timber production; land clearing for agriculture and coastal development; mining; pollution; and damming of rivers, which alters water salinity.
- Mangrove ecosystems are important nursery areas and habitats for commercially valuable shrimp, prawn, shellfish, and fish species. Globally, nearly two thirds of all fish harvested depend on the health of wetlands, such as mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs for various stages in their life cycle. Mangroves also provide many harvestable benefits for local people, including wood for fuel, furniture and construction, and a source of charcoal, tannin, paper, dyes and chemicals, thatch, honey and incense.
- According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of the United Nations Environment Programme: “Intact tropical mangroves, coastal ecosystems that are nurseries for fish, natural pollution filters and coastal defenses, are worth around $1,000 a hectare. Cleared for shrimp farms, the value falls to around $200 a hectare.”
- Forty percent of global mangrove cover is in Asia, with the remainder growing along the tropical coasts of Africa and America. However, Asia has also experienced the highest loss of mangroves over the past decade, which has been primarily attributed to the development of aquaculture and tourism infrastructure.
- Mangrove forests are made up of a diverse group of salt-tolerant trees and other plant species that are found along sheltered tropical and subtropical shores and estuaries.
The Environmental Justice Foundation is an international NGO based in London, UK. For further information visit www.ejfoundation.org.
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