December 2, 2004. It’s shortly
before 8am in Sumatra, Indonesia and the ground shifts dangerously. A
devastating 9.15 earthquake rips through the Indian Ocean 150km away causing
the seabed to rise by several meters. Thirty kilometers of water rise as
tsunamis to pound mercilessly across coastlines in thirteen countries in a
series of waves as high as ten meters in some areas. Over 230,000 people die
and millions are left without homes and livestock; most are found in Indonesia,
Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India (Environmental Justice Foundation,
2006, p. 3) .
It
could have been worse. In the aftermath a common thread started to appear for
researchers and scientists: without the mangrove forests millions may have
died. As it was, the areas that had healthy coastal ecosystems fared better
than those where shrimp farms, damaged mangrove forests, and harvested coral
beds were found (Environmental Justice Foundation, 2006, p. 8) .
Mangroves
are unique ecosystems. A properly balanced forest can handle “huge amounts of
organic matter…[and various] pollutants that are dumped into them” (Environmental Justice Foundation, 2006, p. 5) . They protect the
shoreline from erosion, high salinity levels, and carbon dioxide. The trees
themselves can “block or buffer wave action with their stems…[by] shield[ing]
the land from wind and trap[ing] sediment in their roots, maintaining a shallow
slope on the seabed that absorbs the energy of tidal surges (Environmental
Justice Foundation, 2006, p. 5) ”.
How does
it all work? A tsunami is an earthquake in the ocean that pushes the water up
and away from the epicenter in a series of waves. These waves hit the mangrove
forests where the roots break them up and push the water into smaller canals
and streams which lessens the force of the waves hitting the land. The
“width,…height, density and species composition” (Environmental Justice
Foundation, 2006, p. 26) of the mangroves do much to minimize the storm’s
ferocity, however, other factors such as coastal topography and the force of
the storm itself also changes how well the mangroves do in protecting
coastlines.
In the
aftermath of the storm, the various countries affected have pledged to do more
to protect their coast lines and while the “FAO are currently engaged in a
detailed technical assessment of mangroves and other coastal forests” (Environmental
Justice Foundation, 2006, p. 23) the various
ministries are working on their own plans. In Indonesia, plans for 600,000
hectares of depleted mangroves are scheduled to be reforested over the next 5
years. Likewise, in Malaysia, $25 million has been promised to replace 4,000
hectares and India has pledged $8 million (Environmental Justice Foundation, 2006, p. 24) .
But
it’s not just replanting that needs to be done. The FAO suggests that planting
without understanding where, when, and what
to plant may actually cause more harm than good as planting schemes are often
more expensive and harmful than assisting the natural growth that mangrove
forests can accomplish. They also warn that planting mangroves over the natural
“turtle nesting grounds and sea grass beds” can be damaging to those ecosystems
as well (Environmental Justice Foundation, 2006, p. 25) .
It is
in Sri Lanka and Indonesia that perhaps the best models for post-tsunami care
has been drawn up. The Sri Lankan “Ministry of Environment and Natural
Resources are looking at drawing up laws banning further destruction of
mangroves and coastal dunes, and introducing legislation that forces developers
to replant and build artificial reefs” (Environmental Justice Foundation, 2006, p. 25) . These laws, if
actually enforced, could do much to help minimize the effects of the next big
storm to hit the tiny island country.
In
Java, Indonesia, “villagers have planted 300,000 trees” over the past 5 years
all because Wetlands International lent them small sums of money as loans “to
buy and rear livestock such as chickens or ducks” (Environmental Justice Foundation, 2006, p. 25) . The incentive for
the villagers is that if they take the loan, which states that they must
replant mangrove trees, and those trees survive the required five years, their
loans will be forgiven. This type of microloan system may prove the best
incentive for these countries as it fixes two problems, reforestation and
assisting the villages with their economic concerns after the storm.
Overall,
the mangroves’ benefits as a protection against storm surge, habitat for fish nurseries,
fodder for animals, and wood far outweigh the cost of cutting them down to make
room for shrimp farms and tourist viewing sights. If the various organizations,
governments, and NGOs working toward mangrove restoration and rehabilitation
can convince the people of the importance of the forests, perhaps the next
storm will simply be an annoyance, and not a day of mourning.
References
Environmental Justice Foundation. (2006). Mangroves:
Nature's defense against tsunamis. London: EJF.
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