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20.03.2019 - UNESCO Office in Hanoi

Safeguarding mangroves in the Greater Mekong Region

@UNESCO Hanoi

In mid-March 2019, UNESCO and experts from the Mekong sub-region met in Hanoi to discuss possibilities and joint actions for more efficient mangrove management, conservation and restoration in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Mangrove forests are coastal ecosystems that are crucial for the livelihoods of many people around the world. The benefits which healthy mangroves provide for local communities are widely recognized, be it as a buffer against extreme weather events, stabilizing coastlines through reduced erosion or as nursery grounds for a multitude of species.

Nevertheless, mangrove forests are disappearing worldwide. In some regions of the Asia-Pacific, more than 80 % of their area has already been lost over the course of the last 30 years. Remaining mangroves face ever increasing threats such as overharvesting, pollution and climate change. In recent decades, the development of new tourist infrastructures and aquaculture facilities have also been major drivers of mangrove forest loss, especially around the Greater Mekong Region.

Organized by UNESCO, a group of mangrove experts from the Mekong sub-region came together in Vietnam to foster the exchange of expertise and discuss about the needs and possibilities for future mangroves preservation initiatives in coastal biosphere reserves. They visited the remaining mangrove areas in Phu Long Commune, Cat Ba Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Reserve, to understand the status quo of mangroves in northern Vietnam. Additionally, the group discussed with local experts such as the staff of the Cat Ba MAB Reserve and the Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project about local challenges and their potential solutions.

Prof. Dr. Bilquees Gul, Director of the Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization at the University of Karachi (Pakistan), concluded after the event that she very much liked “the opportunity to spend time with UNESCO staff and other experts during the trip, to share ideas, to learn from them [and to experience] the energy that this workshop created”.

One of the questions Dr. Quyen Van Nguyen from Vietnam’s National Committee for the MAB Programme and Center for Environmental Research and Education, Faculty of Biology, at the Hanoi National University of Education saw himself faced with was: “How could we improve conservation and the sustainable use of mangroves, while simultaneously enhancing the livelihoods of local people? In this regard, he added that “participants shared, learned, discussed and proposed interesting ideas such as establishing a network of sister biosphere reserves”.

After the workshop, Dr. Toe Aung, Assistant Director of the Mangrove Conservation Unit in the Forest Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation of Myanmar, spoke of the situation in his country: “Having learnt from what has been done for mangroves in the Mekong sub-region, Myanmar should take further actions to conserve its remaining mangroves in the Myeik Archipelago and restore and rehabilitate its degraded ecosystem. There is an urgent need for internationally-backed actions in order to boost national interest on the issue and invite investments which can truly combat the challenges that mangrove ecosystems in Myanmar face.

Participants agreed that innovative solutions are needed not only to halt the loss of mangroves but also to restore what was lost. Going forward, discussions will be continued via the creation of a regional Mangrove Forum which will facilitate the sharing of best management practices and conservation measures in the Greater Mekong Region. Close transboundary cooperation between coastal biosphere reserves with mangroves in the sub-region is seen as a key factor for continued good management and governance policies.

For more information, please contact Ms. Tran Lan Huong, National Professional Officer for Natural Science, UNESCO Ha Noi at l.tran@unesco.org.




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