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Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand

Japanese  law  of  promoting  specified  non-profit activities.  Revised  at  the  Eighth  General  Assembly  in  2012,  the  Statutes  of  ISME  stipulate  that  ‘the  Society  shall  collect,  evaluate and  disseminate  information  on  mangrove  ecosystems’,  and  ‘shall  promote  international  cooperation’.  ISME  has  been  carrying  out  its  activities at  the  global  level  through  application  of  knowledge  to  particular  situations;  training  and  education;  and  exchange  of  necessary  information.  Activities  of  the  society  have  been supported  through  collaborations,  and  links  with  other  organizations,  universities,  research  institutes  and  local  communities.  Currently,  the membership  of  ISME  includes  40  institutions  and  over  1,150  individuals  from  92  countries. With  more  than  20  years  of  experience in  project  management  and  implementation  in  20  countries,  ISME  has  developed  the  following expertise:   Rehabilitation  of  mangroves  under  different  site  conditions  and  climatic  regimes  with  the  involvement  of  local  authorities  and  communities  Conducting  research,  training  and  eco- tours  in  support  of  conservation,  and  sustainable  management  and  utilization  of  mangrove  ecosystems   Publication  of  books  for  education,  and  materials  for  enhancing  public  awareness  on  the  socio-economic  and  environmental  importance  of  mangroves In  this  paper,  three  of  our  on-going  projects  are  described  with  comparisons  made  based  on  performance  indicators  and  the  involvement  of  community  participation.  They  are  the  mangrove  rehabilitation  project  in  Tarawa,  Kiribati;  the  mangrove  plantation  project  in  Gujarat,  India;  and  the  project  on  rehabilitation  of  degraded  mangroves  in  Sabah, Malaysia.  2.  Project  in  Tarawa,  Kiribati  Kiribati  is  one  of  several  island  countries  in  the  Pacific  facing  the  serious  threat  of  sea-levelrise.  Since  2004,  ISME  has  been  implementinga  mangrove  rehabilitation  project  in  Tarawa,  Kiribati.  The  objective  of  this  project  is  to  introduce  techniques  of  planting  mangroves  to  the  local   communit ies  and  to  plant  mangroves  together  with  school  children  for  environmental  education  purpose.  The  project  is  financed  by  Cosmos  Oil  Co.,  Ltd.,  Japan  with  strong  support  from  Ministry  of  Environment  Lands  and  Agriculture  Development  and  Ministry  of  Education,  Youth  and  Sports  of  Kiribati. With  more  than  10  years  of  experience inplanting  mangroves  on  atolls  and  coral  islands  of  Tonga,  Kiribati  and  Tuvalu  in  the  Pacific,  ISME  has  successfully  developed  a  unique  silvicultural  technique  for  establishing  mangroves  along  the  shores  of  sheltered  lagoons  of  the  islands.  At  Kiribati,  site  conditions  are  extremely  harsh  because  of  salt  spray,  low  rainfall  and  absence  of  surface  water.  Kiribati  has  no  rivers,  the  soil  is mainly white  coral  sand  which  is  nutrient  poor  and  salt  accumulates  in  the  soil  during  prolonged  dry  season.  The  technique  involves  close-group planting  of  propagules  of  Rhizophora  stylosa  between  mean  water  level  andmean  high  water level.  In  successful  sites,  e.g.  Ananau  Causeway of  Tarawa,  survival  can  be  90%  a  year  after  planting  and  over  50%  after  3  years.  Height  and  diameter  of  seedlings  can  reach  1.2 m  and 1.8  cm  after  3  years,  respectively.  Propagules  of  R.  stylosa  are  group-planted  (three  per  group)  at  close  spacing  of  25  x  25  cm  or  50  x 50  cm.  An  iron  bar  is  often  needed  to  create  planting  holes  in  the  white  coral  sand.  Proceedings  of  the  International  Conference  on  Climate  Change,  Biodiversity  and  Ecosystem  Services  for  the 197 Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs):  Policy  and  Practice  27-29  June  2016,  Cha-am,  Phetchaburi,  Thailand


Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
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