Mangroves
The Coastal
Forests

Mangroves the Coastal Forests
Greenpeace International

Mangroves are the saltwater equivalents of the rain forests. Forming a unique and irreplaceable ecosystem that hosts an incredible biodiversity, mangroves are recognised as being one of the world's most productive types of ecosystem. Rising from salt waters in coasts, estuaries and deltas, the aerial roots of their trees form a tangled web that is home to a wide range of animal species (including fish, molluscs and crustaceans), many of which play an important role in our food chain. Mangroves are vital breeding and rearing areas for many of these species, refuges for fish and other forms of marine life during their early stages of development . Additionally, they protect the coasts from erosion, and have provided local populations with a wide range of resources for centuries.

Today, thousands of kilometers away, on the tables of consumers in Europe, Japan, and the United States, lis the origin of the main problem confronting the mangroves: the consumption of tropical shrimp (also known as prawns) farmed in vast ponds by the shrimp aquaculture industy --consumption that has over the past years has caused the transformaiton of tens of thousands of hectares of mangroves into shrimp ponds.

Mangroves, a Different Forest

Mangrove forests are the most unique in the world; they grow along riverine estuaries and the protected coasts of the equatorial, tropical and subtropical, coastal regions, adapted to the flow of the tides. With each high water, [???sus copas apenan asoman del agua / their glasses cause sorrow show of the water???] and only during low tide their respiratory roots, that catch atmospheric oxygen and they transmit it to buried roots, are visible. This adaptation allows them to survive in conditions without oxygen and with high salt concentrations. Their leaves, adapted to the shortage of fresh water, are able to eliminate the excess of salt.

[???El manglar se caracteriza por no presentar una estructura mixta: / The mangrove is characterized not to present/display a mixed structure:???] the half-framed labyrinth of branches and roots are in fact usually one ordered forest mass that grows in bands according to its different degrees of resistance to the periodic floods of the tides, and therefore, to the salt.

There are many types of mangroves: coastal mangroves that grow without the contributions of fresh water from the interior and that can reach several kilometers in width; mangroves at the mouth of rivers, mainly in the deltas, that can be very extensive; and reef mangroves of reef, that grow on coral reefs that rise above the sea level. But all of them have something in common: they are very special "salty forests " fragile and endangered.

Distribution

Mangroves are distributed mainly along tropical, equatorial coasts. The optimal development of these

salty forests occur around the equator in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. In Latin America, the most exuberant mangroves are found in Ecuador, especially along in the North coast of Emeraldas province.

[???Los árboles de la primera línea corresponden a especies pioneras, /The trees of the first line correspond to pioneering species,???] that establish in retained marine mud, which allows for the development of trees of greater stature. In Southeast Asia, [???vegetación pionera/pioneering vegetation???] is composed of trees of the Sonneratia variety, whose roots form tubular protuberances that emerge from the water and catch the oxygen [???que va a parar a las raíces sumergidas. that is going to stop to the submerged roots.???] Behind, appears the Rhizophora variety, one of the most important species of mangroves, that forms great [???pivotantes / pivotal???] roots from the trunk and the branches. These roots form an entangled network that traps new sediments.

[???Tras /After or Behind??] the Rhizophora variety, [??se encuentra la banda de la Brugueira,/is found the band of the Brugueira,??] less resistant to floods than the previous species, that emits undulating roots that jut out of the water.

In the interior extensions of the mangroves of coastal western Africa, behind the bands formed by Sonneratia, Rhizophpora and Ceriops varieties, [???, aparece el matorral bajo formado por el género Avicennia, / appear the under formed scrub of the Avicennia variety???,] whose thin respiratory roots prefer sandy grounds.

In Latin America, the tropical coasts display similar species: along the Pacific coasts of Colombia, where the canopy of the mangrove trees reach between 40 and 50 meters in height, like those of the Sangriana Park (Colombia), appear representatives of the Rhizophora, Avicennia varieties. Common species along the coasts of the Pacific are red mangroves (Rhizophora mangrove), next to Rhizophora harrisonii, R. racemosa. and R.samoensis, accompanied by black or [???uguareo / grey???] mangrove (Avicennia gresminans), comedero Mangle or piñuelo (Pellicera rhizophorae), jeli' Mangle (Conocarpus erectus), next to species, To tonzudii, Racemosa Laguncularia or Moor megistosperma, that appears in the matting with influence salt mine.

Along the Atlantic coasts also appear representatives of the Avicenniaceae Families, Combretaceae, Ceasalpiniaceae, Pelliceriaceae and Rhizhophorae.

The lands that are behind the mangroves also experience periodic flooding with the high tides, forming marshy and brackish zones. In Asia, palms of the Nipa variety are encountered here.

Twenty arboreal species form the basic structure of the mangroves. On them live a great variety

variety of fauna: epiphytes like the Bromelias, more than a hundred types of of fungi; and under them, live up to 70 aquatic plants.

The Fauna of Mangroves

Mangroves are refuge to an incredibly diverse variety of life, from species of migratory birds, to reptiles and a huge assortment of marine creatures. They are mainly areas of mating, rearing and feeding for many fish, moluscs and a range of other forms of wild life.

[???La singularidad de este hábitat condiciona la de sus habitantes que, por un lado, se mueven bien entre el medio terrestre y marino y, por otro, se aprovechan de la humedad y protección de los manglares frente al sol ardiente.

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The singularity of this habitat conditions the one of its inhabitants who, on the one hand, move well between terrestrial and marine means and, on the other hand, the humidity and protection take advantage of mangroves in front of the ardent sun.???]

Their more singular inhabitants are the " dancers of the mud ", fish of the Periophtalmus sorts and

Boliophtalmus, able to live in the sea and earth. Their muscular front fins allow them to move in firm earth. There is a species that even can climb to the trees to flee from it navigates discharge.

Many crustaceans distribute themselves throughout manglar according to their tolerance to the ascent of the tide, like the stroke of the mud and the crabs sappers. The prawns and shrimps are abundant in these waters. The roots of mangle red Colombian (Rhizophora spp) are a good one exponent: among them they inhabit sponges, balanus, snails like those of the Littanaine species spp. and Muricenthos radix, two or three species of ostras, the trepador crab (Goniupsis gaudichaudi), etc. In pools and the floor of manglar they abound " jaibas " (Callinects arcuatus and C. Toxoides) and the blue crab (Cardiosoma spp.).

Numerous species of fish live in brackish waters, like tarpones and the fish of three tails. On all of them herons feed themselves, cormoranes, pigargos, eagles and martime fishermen.

When low the tide, some mammals approach the beach to eat, like the pecari' or pig savage and the macacos crab sellers. In the glasses of the trees, others primates, the na'sicos, they feed on the leaves of the Sonneratia.

In the ramaje of mangle, the iguanas, papagayos, and doves find shelter next to spatulas, ibis, and other long-legged ones, which they return to the glasses every night, where have their dormideros.

In the National Mangrove Reserve of Futian (China), 84 species can be located of microfauna bento'nica. In tropical mangroves located in the estuary of Gazi, Kenya, there have been identified 128 species of fish teleosts. and in mangroves of the Maracaibo lake, in Venezuela, 72 species of birds have been seen, that represent a 32% of all the species known in these areas.

Uses of Mangroves

From times immemorial times, local communities have extracted needed resources from the mangroves. The following are some examples of the benefits obtained from Ecuador's mangroves (see box).

Obtained Benefits of the Ecuadorian Mangroves

Energya and Fuel:

Construction:

Fishing:

Agriculture:

Paper:

Food, Drink and Medicines:

Homes:

Textiles:

In these zones, aside from agricultural activities, cattle and fishing of subsistence, they are had dice, and is continued giving, traditional forms of acuicultura, mainly in countries like India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Threats to Mangroves

Mangroves are disappearing at a increasing rate because of the abuse of their resources.

Mangroves of the western coast of Africa has been turned into rice fields, whereas others have been decimated by woodcutters and carpenters, with the aim of providing raw material for the industry wastebasket, the manufacture of tannins and coal of firewood, for dyes, and it stops conservantes for the fishing networks.

In Arabia, of mangroves valuable wood for the construction and the dense wood are extracted of African handle Rhizophora mangle.

It is considered that in 1980 there were 17 million hectares to manglar in the tropical coasts of the world. According to the FAO, 50% of these forests already they have disappeared. The causes of this destruction multiple and is varied (saline, extractions for carpenters, wastebaskets, carboneo, infrastructures, construction, and a long list of others) but, at the moment, the greater threat stops these ecosystems constitute the installation of the industry shrimp fisher, who raises in these zones tropical prawns that soon will be exported to the rich countries.

The cutting of extensive areas of manglar for the development of the acuicultura, and specially stops to install the swimming pools of young of prawns, is the first great impact of this industry. They already have disappeared more of a million hectares of manglar of the world because of this activity. Of they, 765,000 Have. in the last years. With the disappearance of these zones, the ecosystems sailors lose their balance and diminishes the amount and diversity of fish, since their areas of young and alevinaje is destrui'das. In the affected zones, with the physical destruction of these ecosystems, problems do not do more than to begin: for the young of great amounts of tropical prawn

food, fertilizers, plaguicidas use enormous amounts of chemical products (antibiotics.), that gives rise to a toxic broth that contaminates the local resources hydric, producing even its eutrofizacio'n and hipernitrificacio'n. The use of foreign species is another one problem of great dimensions that would be agravated with the introduction of organisms manipulated genetically. On the other hand, the high fresh water extraction that needs these swimming pools produce the ground salinization, water-bearing and fields of culture, and a greater subsidencia of coastal lands.

Many areas of industrial young of these species are abandoned after few years, devastated by the diseases and contaminated. The coastal ecosystems that a day were fertile they become enormous barren extensions. The investment of the industry of the shrimp it moves then to new territories.

The social damage is not less important. The local population, that is moved or expelled from his earth by this industry, lose in addition the access to their resources. In Asia and Latin America, situation of social displeased fort has given and continues giving rise protests against the invasion of this industrialized acuicultura.

Once destroyed mangroves and other coastal ecosystems, the areas of the coast become unstable: the coastal communities are exposed to devastating stormy fronts that are produced the loss of thousands of human lives in countries like Bangladesh and India. The erosion coast intensifies, increasing a sedimentation that damages reefs of chorale and the grass sailors, and destroy crucial habitats for the survival of many creatures, raising by nutritional chain from molusco to the manati'. Without forgetting the human communities that day they lived in these rich zones, and that are lost their territories and their way of life.

During last the fifteen years, the acuicultura of the tropical prawn has extended quickly in order to cover the demands of the main consumers of the call " pink gold ", mainly of Japan, the U.S.A. and, more and more, the European Union. Spain is the country of the UE that more prawn tropical it matters.

At the moment, the industry of the tropical prawn invoice to the year 900,000 tons, equivalent to 18% of the global value of the exports coming from pesqueri'as. tropical prawn of acuicultura consumed in the rich countries comes from the countries on the way to development: Thailand, Ecuador, Indonesia, China, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Honduras... Today this industry has settled already in fifty countries of Latin America and Asia with the support of governments and of the subventions of organizations like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, even the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Thailand is the greater producer of tropical shrimp in the world. Its production has grown in a 400%. The volume of destined fish to food animal has been increased in 25% in the last decade. This country is lost 67% of his mangroves.

Ecuador invoices to 100,000 tons of tropical prawn (two thirds of the production of Latin America). In three decades, this country are lost 42,000 hectares to manglar, and 44,000 hectares of ground have been salinizado. Today, in exchange for more than 80 million of dollars to the year, have disappeared more of 20% to manglar coastal and after the decree governmental which in 1994 it established a moratorium in the expansion of this industry, they continue occupying areas of manglar with swimming pools for the young of the tropical prawn.

India exported in 1994-1995 prawns by value of 700 million dollars. In the region of Andrha Pradesh 40% of the surface before covered by mangle have disappeared. In Orissa and Tami Nadu have disappeared 26%. In 1997, his Supreme Court it ordered to paralyze the extension of the acuicultura.

In Bangladesh, the intensive acuicultura has caused the exodus of 40% of the population in the coast of Satkhira.

Honduras, the productive Gulf of Fonseca is lost until today 50% of its surface of to mangroves. The mobilizations of the farmers are constant.

The Darker Side of Tropical Shrimping

  1. The new facilities actually suppose a privatization of the coastal zones and they make difficult the access of the traditional fishermen to his zones of fishing. The farmers they are expelled from his earth, often with the approval of the authorities. They even can to see itself forced to work for the companies installed in its earth.

  2. Since mangroves is areas of larvario development for numerous species of fishing, its destruction entails a fishing loss of biodiversity and resources. Frequently, the old fishermen are themselves forced to work collecting prawn larvae, used like " seed ", using arts of very fine mesh, that esquilman great amount of organisms aquatic.

  3. To equal surface, the operation on small scale of manglar can allow the subsistence of a number of people much greater than the one of jobs created by the young of prawn, in a proportion 10:1. The social costs of the activity can be up to four times greater than the private benefits that they generate.

  4. Territories of culture and courses are salinizan and contaminated and reservorios of water. It is generated a highest contamination by the rest of foods, excrements and antibiotics. By the dirt

  5. Of waters and HD of culture, often they appear diseases that propagate vertiginously and they ruin whole harvests. Some of these virus are potentially dangerous for the wild fauna of the producing countries, receiving and manufacturadores.

Greenpeace Demands

A global and indefinite moratorium on any expansion of shrimp/prawn aquacultura until it is demonstrated that it is an ecologically sound and socially equitable practice.

The governments, in collaboration with the FAO, must assure that the coastal communities that the coastal zones and the artisan fishing depend on not they see affected of he forms adverse by the development of the acuiculture.

Prohibit the development and use of non-native species, or the development of genetic engineering, and to guarantee that the development of the acuiculture protects mangroves, sensitive wetlands, and other coastal areas.

The promoters of the intensive aquiculture must accept the responsibility to demonstrate that their proposed projects do not have a significant impact on environment or the local biodiversity.

The consuming countries must reject tropical shrimp/prawns that comes from destroyed mangorve areas.

Not to consume tropical shrimp/prawns if you do not know its origin or how it was produced.

What You Can Do...

To request to commerce and great surfaces that the products that commercialize go properly labeled.

To demand to the companies that commercialize these frozen products, fresh or precooked, that specifies the place of origin and method of production.

To write to the ministries of environment, agriculture fishes and feeding, and commerce, demanding that does not admit the entrance in the product country for whose obtaining they are had destroyed coastal ecosystems in developing countries and one has moved to local population.