TDA-IME Project Final Report June, 2013 SECTION 4 Priority Areas for Future Interventions Based on the preceding literature review, plus findings of the Causal Chain Analysis and country field visits, several priorities can be identified for transboundary management to maintain, or restore the integrity of the region’s mangrove ecosystems and reduce further mangrove forest loss: 1. Halting any further loss of the region’s remaining natural/semi-natural mangrove 69 forests. 2. Improving the areal estimates of mangrove forests and including qualitative assessment of ecosystem health based on common, regionally agreed criteria (e.g. vulnerability index). 3. Expanding and improving the restoration/rehabilitation of degraded mangrove ecosystems. 4. Communicating the values of mangrove ecosystems to policy-makers and general society more effectively. 5. Sharing and replicating/up-scaling successful models of mangrove management and sustainable use involving local communities (e.g. co-management, stewardship). 6. Sharing and replicating/up-scaling successful livelihood enhancement opportunities, to reduce poverty among traditional coastal communities and make them less dependent on mangrove resources (e.g. mangrove eco-tourism projects). 7. Assessing the vulnerability of mangrove ecosystems to climate change on a local to regional scale as part of a region-wide mangrove ecosystem monitoring program. 8. Researching mangrove-related issues of transboundary importance: a. Valuation of mangrove goods and services; b. Mangrove-fisheries ecological linkages and their economic value; c. Migration and coastal habitat dependency of endangered aquatic species (dolphins, dugongs and sea turtles); d. Phenotypic and genetic differences between mangrove species populations and how species interconnectivity can support ecosystem resilience; e. Techniques to achieve long-term, cost-effective mangrove rehabilitation; f. Implications of sea-level rise and global warming/climate change on mangrove structure and function (e.g. on mangrove root growth and reproductive phenology). Restoring/Rehabilitating Mangroves Introduction Since the 2004 tsunami, mangrove restoration has become a priority for national governments in their quest to provide security against sea storms and other natural hazards. Governments, scientists, international and national organizations, local NGOs, CBOs and coastal communities have shown great interest in mangrove-related activities for this and other reasons, including biodiversity conservation and livelihood support. Thus, international funding agencies and bilateral donors, as well as government agencies, have provided considerable financial support for numerous mangrove projects. These have been quite diverse in terms of their objectives, including inter alia mangrove conservation, restoration, creation of mangrove bio-shields, and mangrove education and recreation. Similarly, the
Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis of Indochina Mangrove Ecosystems
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