MANGROVE FORESTS - THE FORGOTTEN AND ABUSED "FRONTIER"

By Melati Mohd Ariff

KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 (Bernama) -- Global warming and depleting water resources are not the only ones posing threat to life on earth.

The loss of wetlands not only has disrupted the ecological balance but also
effectively removed the safety barriers that humankind have failed to appreciate
all this while.

The Asian Wetland Symposium held in 2005 in India to assess the damage
caused by the December 26, 2004 tsunami noted "certain wetlands played a role in
reducing the tsunami impact, especially in locations close to the epicenter,
including mangrove swamps that broke the impact of waves and absorbed some of
the energy and this protected areas further inland."

Tragically, today the mangrove forests are the world's most threatened
tropical ecosystems.

According to United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), about
20 per cent of the world's mangrove forests have disappeared since 1980.

FIRST STRONGHOLD

And the sad part is Malaysia is no exception!

"It is a case of money over everything else," lamented I.S. Shanmugaraj,
head of the environmental education division of the Malaysian Nature Society
(MNS) in an interview with Bernama recently.

Born and bred in Kuala Selangor, he clearly voiced his grave concern over
the state of the mangrove forests in the country despite the current efforts to
replant them.

"The catastrophic tsunami has come and gone, but as always we never
learn despite the calamity being a dreadful human tragedy.

"The mangrove forests, particularly those in the coastal areas are
very important to us. They are our first layer of defense against coastal
erosion, against tsunami. They are our strongholds. What will happen if they
are gone?

"You need roughly about 400 metres of mangroves of about 20 to 25 metres
high to stop the tsunami waves. The root system of the mangrove trees
will break the impact of the waves and the undercurrent.

"Some of the mangroves have also evolved where they can, if you go to Redang
or Langkawi or Kuala Sungai Sepang Besar, you can also find them surviving when
there are more sand than mud. But despite all these, we are still clearing our
mangrove forests," said a clearly disappointed Shanmugaraj.

He said Malaysia had about 570,000 hectares of mangrove cover in year 2000
and currently the size has dwindled to about 70,000 hectares with large areas
being cut and cleared in the name of development.

Peninsular Malaysia, he added has about 17 per cent of the country's total
mangrove forests and large areas are concentrated in the west coast,
particularly in Selangor and Perak.

OTHER RELEVANCE OF MANGROVES

Shanmugaraj speaks with such profound conviction because he grew
up amongst the mangrove forests.

His birthplace of Kuala Selangor, located about 60 kilometers north of Kuala
Lumpur is famous for the Kuala Selangor Natural Park (KSNP), a significant
conservation area for coastal and riverine mangroves.

The mangroves found in KSNP consist mainly of the Bruguiera species mixed
with some Rhizophora namely Bakau Kurap, Bakau Minyak and Api-Api.

According to Shanmugaraj, the mangrove areas are a nursery for marine life
and serves as a stop over point for migratory birds.

Lying adjacent to the mangrove forest is another crucial ecosystem, namely
the mudflats.

"In Kuala Selangor the area right up from Sungai Besar, Sabak Bernam, there
are huge mudflats, a natural breeding ground for cockles.

"Besides mudskippers or widely known as ikan belacak, mudflats are also a
rich ecosystem for invertebrates including crabs and prawns," he said.

Shanmugaraj who is also a qualified environmental educator spoke on
the importance of mangroves in trapping whatever being thrown upstream.

"The main function of mangrove is not trapping rubbish but more of
eliminating sediments and toxins," he explained, adding that the mangrove trees
are hardy plants as well.

CONTINUED ABUSE

According to Shanmugaraj, Peninsular Malaysia has been losing its
mangrove forest over the last twenty years due to illegal activities.

He explained other than sustainable mangrove logging done at the Matang
Forest Reserve in Perak, most of the mangrove forests are being over exploited
for wood-based industries, particularly for charcoal production and also for
aquaculture activities.

As a result of the unscrupulous and excessive clearings, the mangrove belt
is getting thin both on the west and east coast of Peninsular.

A lot of mangrove forests are being cleared to make way for prawn aqua
culture in Perak, Selangor, Terengganu and Kedah even after the tsunami, said
Shanmugaraj.

"By opening prawn aqua culture, you are destroying the mangroves because
chemical used in the farms will make the soil acidic for the mangrove trees to
survive.

"Some of the prawn breeding ventures were either abandoned or have failed.
In some areas, you hardly can see mangrove trees growing around that aqua
culture area. So these are the things we sometimes forget and only realise when
the ecosystem has been destroyed," he said.

Even at KSNP's boundary, Shanmugaraj said a large tract of mangrove forest
has been cleared to make way for prawn aqua culture to cater for the export
market.

MANGROVE AWARENESS

Shanmugaraj acknowledged the efforts taken by the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment (MNRE) in replanting mangroves under the National
Mangrove Replanting Programme after the tsunami.

The exercise covered the whole of Malaysia and even the Forest Research
Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) has been enlisted to find new ways to plant the
mangrove trees in places that are hard to grow.

Shanmugaraj told Bernama, several non-governmental organisations including
MNS are also actively involved in rolling out educational programmes for local
communities and children, stressing on the importance of mangroves.

"We get funding from MNRE through the Forestry Department. It is a yearly
funding to educate people on the importance of mangroves and MNS currently has
two centers for these ongoing educational programmes," he said, adding that the
two centers, one at KSNP and at the other MNS Eco Care Project, in Kerteh.

As for MNS Eco Care Project in Kerteh, the project involves three villages,
namely Kampung Gelugor, Kampung Telaga Papan and Kampung Tengah as they are
located in the mangrove belt along Sungai Kerteh.

With funds from the Optimal Group of Companies (a 10-year commitment up to
2020), MNS will be setting up an education center at a site of about a hectare,
formerly a mangrove forest area near Kampung Gelugor, to be gazetted by the
state government as the "Nature Education Centre".

According to Shanmugaraj, the Kerteh Centre will become a focus point in
educating on the importance of biodiversity including the mangroves.

SOME FAILURES

Nevertheless, there were some mangrove replanting programmes at several
places hit by the 2004 tsunami that did not work out due to the strong currents
that washed away the mangrove saplings.

"MNS worked on a place in the Kuala Muda area in Kedah, that was badly hit
by the tsunami. We brought school children and planted over 2,000 saplings but
all were wiped out because of the strong current. The place has now turned into
a mudflat.

"It will take a few more years for the mangrove trees to grow back
naturally," said Shanmugaraj who has been with MNS for the last 16 years.

Over the years he has witnessed the destruction of the mangrove forests.

"It is sad to see our forests disappearing especially the mangrove
forests and beaches. Whatever people throw upstream is all ending up on the
public beach. It is even difficult to go for a swim in these beaches. One good
example is Port Dickson.

"We are actually destroying our own future. I don't know whether the future
generation can still swim in clear, crystal water or can they see corals
anymore?

"Even now when we bring the urban kids for our environment programmes and
they see the mangrove trees, the crabs, the prawns and the fish. Some of them
are seeing them for the first time in their natural habitat," he added.
-- BERNAMA