TDA-IME Project Final Report June, 2013 Methodology The initial macro-level analysis of the main issues affecting mangroves in Indochina identified a number of key findings from recent studies; these provided the framework for the TDA process that was then followed: 1) Mangrove ecosystem conditions will change in response to the direct and 22 indirect effects of climate change. 2) The policy challenge is to ensure the continued provision of mangrove forest goods and services, including carbon sinks. 3) Sustainable mangrove ecosystem management is integral to reducing the vulnerability of mangrove forests to climate change. The current failure to understand and address the integrity of the ecosystems limits the adaptive capacity of the forests. 4) Uncertainties about the magnitude, rate and even direction of climate change impacts on the ground. 5) Conflicts over the goals of adaptation – the need to balance social, economic and ecological goals. 6) Conflicts about means, even if countries could agree on goals. Three workshops were convened by the TDA-IME Project, in June and September, 2012, and February, 2013. Each workshop was attended by national mangrove experts from Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, plus a number of other participants from Thailand. A Hong Kong-based project adviser also attended the workshops, while a mangrove expert from Myanmar was invited to the 2nd and 3rd workshops. The 3rd workshop also included invited participants from other regional programs and organizations: BOBLME/FAO, MFF/IUCN, PEMSEA and SEAFDEC, in order to achieve the project’s additional aims of providing a platform for environmental dialogue and of promoting knowledge-based regional cooperation. During the 3rd workshop a near-final causal chain analysis was prepared for the three main issues identified at the 2nd workshop: mangrove conversion; mangrove habitat degradation; and science and knowledge management gaps about mangroves. These issues were integrated into the TDA-IME Project draft Final Report, which was circulated for comment among all the workshop participants and STAC members. The consultant team leader also visited Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam to gather first-hand information and opinions from other mangrove projects and experts concerning the current and potential approaches to safeguard the ecological integrity of mangrove ecosystems, and thereby realize their adaptive capacity to climate change. A 4th and final workshop was convened in Bangkok 25-26 March, 2013 to enable the STAC members, plus other experts and regional organizations, to peer-review the draft Final Report and make further recommendations to improve it. Draft conclusions and recommendations from the project were also discussed and peer-reviewed at the 4th workshop. The revised draft report was reviewed further by the STAC in April, 2013 and again at the STAC’s final project meeting on 27th May, 2013.
Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis of Indochina Mangrove Ecosystems
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