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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