Thamasak Yeemin
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ramkhamhaeng University, Huamark, Bangkok 10240, THAILAND
This paper provides information of degraded coral communities in Thai waters and possible rehabilitation methods. The data from over two decades of coral studies in Thailand clearly shows that there were several severe natural and anthropogenic disturbances on coral communities, e.g. strong typhoons, heavy sedimentation, nutrient enrichment, dynamite fishing, boat anchoring, boat grounding, diving, etc. Rehabilitation methods of deteriorated coral communities were based on objectives, timescales of recovery and conditions of degraded coral communities. Larval supply, settlement and recruitment of planulae, regeneration of damaged corals, fragmentation and consolidation of substrata were very important factors in the planning of rehabilitation programmes. Methods of coral community rehabilitation included coral transplantation and translocation, reattachment of coral fragments, providing artificial substrata, coral cultivation, prevention measures, and mitigation of damaged coral reefs. Certain methods of coral community rehabilitation are considerably expensive and generally would be applied only in protected areas for eco-tourism.
Thamasak Yeemin1 and Suraphol Chunabundit2
1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ramkhamhaeng University, Huamark, Bangkok 10240, THAILAND
2 Aquatic Resources Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, THAILAND
Fragmentation is a significant process of asexual reproduction in many scleractinian corals, especially branching corals. Fragments of scleractinian corals in a non-reefal coral community at Khang Khao Island, Inner Gulf of Thailand were surveyed. Fragments of branching Acropora and Goniopora,, massive Porites lutea and faviid corals were frequently observed. Intensive grazing activities of Diadema setosum and many coral borers accelerated the fragmentation process, and many fragments of massive corals were observed to be partially dead and buried. However, many fragments were also suitable for reattachment. A special underwater cement, "water proof plug", was used for reattaching coral fragments on hard substrata. A pilot study revealed that the type and size of coral fragments, and habitat types were important factors determining the success of reattaching coral fragments. The method used in the present study may be applied in certain areas in order to rehabilitate coral communities and facilitate coral reef development.
R.R. Lewis III, P. Clark, W.K. Fehring, H.S. Greening, R. Johansson and R.T. Paul
Lewis Environmental Services, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, Tampa, FL, US 336220005, U.S.A.
The Tampa Bay ecosystem includes 967 km2 of primarily unvegetated estuarine waters with an average depth of 3.5m , 72 km2 of emergent coastal wetlands, and a 5700 km2 watershed occupying a total area of 6739 km2. Approximately 10% of the 967 km2. of open water area (101 km2) have shallow (<2m) shelves vegetated with seagrasses. The watershed supports a population (ca. 1995) of 2 million within the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Bradenton and surrounding suburban communities.
The estuary has been a major seaport for over 100 years. Currently the port is rated as the tenth largest in the United States in overall tonnage (52 million tons/year). The largest exports are phosphate rock and fertiliser products, while the largest imports are petroleum and coal. The main channel connecting the port to the Gulf of Mexico is 71km long and is maintained at a depth of 13m. An additional 49km of side channels serve a variety of terminals and are maintained at depths ranging from 1013m. Channel depths are maintained by periodic dredging using contained and openwater disposal of dredged material.
Historical modifications of the estuary to facilitate coastal development, including port construction, have resulted in the excavation or filling of 44% of the emergent coastal wetlands (i.e. tidal marshes and mangrove forests, originally estimated as covering 108km2). Similar activities, combined with domestic and industrial effluent disposal in the estuary had resulted in the disappearance of 81% of the seagrass meadows (original coverage estimated at 310 km2) by 1980. Associated with the loss of these habitats were similar levels of declines in recreational and commercial fish and shellfish harvests, and populations of threatened and endangered wildlife species.
Beginning three decades ago, local environmental regulatory agencies and citizen sponsored nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) began an informal integrated coastal management (ICM) process originating from expressed concerns from citizens about degraded water quality and coastal habitats. This led to an upgrade of domestic sewage treatment for most of the estuary to advanced sewage treatment (i.e. nutrient removal) and successful coastal habitat rehabilitation projects. More than 14km2 of seagrass meadows have naturally recovered as a result of these efforts. More formal ICM began in 1984 and continues today as a series of citizen initiated coordination and management committees under the auspices of the local regional planning council.
Alfredo Quarto
Mangrove Action Project, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue N., Suite 321, Seattle, WA 98103, U.S.A.
In order to ensure effective local community involvement in coastal resource management, certain factors are an imperative to include in any organisational planning. First, there must be a recognition of inherent differences in philosophy which often separate so-called "modern" and "traditional" approaches. Most "modern" systems are more technically based, while the traditional systems often have both a social and spiritual base. Traditional systems have often evolved on the very lands being considered for sustainable management. These basic differences in philosophical approaches often cause well-intended modern programmes to fall far short of their objectives, while frustrating all parties involved in the effort. Often, traditional knowledge and expertise is undervalued, or misunderstood, by those governmental or non-governmental organisations attempting to implement sustainable resource management programmes involving local communities. A more integrated approach would blend the "traditional" and the "modern", highlighting the merits of both. In fact, a recommended approach to local resource management is for governments to provide the legal and the administrative framework to support traditional management systems. Such provision engenders community support, trust, and involvement from the beginning.
Built-in flexibility is an essential aspect of traditional resource management systems. The traditional system is not static, but is actually adaptable to changing conditions. Linking such adaptability with any synthesized modern approach is critical. However, defining roles for traditional resource monitors is important This will ensure that sustainable practices are in place, and that the local community members themselves safeguard against wasteful, or threatening practices.
One serious problem affecting traditional communities is the loss of interest among the young people of the community in carrying on the traditions. Also, many are tempted by the popular glitter and frills that modern technology may offer. The promise of quick riches and elite standing in the community has tempted many community members wishing to advance their status. Identifying, or rekindling, a faltering traditional leadership is often the initial challenge to any community organising efforts. In order to catalyze interest in a sustainable management programme, awareness-raising and learning activities must be included from the beginning in such a programme. Again, such educational outreach should include local community knowledge and participation. Also, such programmes could provide an invaluable opportunity to document the traditional wisdom that still survives.
True, traditional resource management systems have been weakened by modern developments. However, these traditional systems are still functional, and can be tied into a modern approach to help ensure the success of such programmes. Governmental recognition, support, and protection of existing traditional systems is vital, however. In fact, without effective constraints -- via legislation and enforcement -- against such enterprises as the shrimp aquaculture and trawling industries, programmes aimed at sustainable coastal resource management are undermined. Such efforts become themselves unsustainable -- mere meaningless exercises in frustration. And, without effective protection of local community land-use rights in place, local interest in these kinds of programmes will wane.
E. Koopmanschap1, W. Vullings1, M.E.F. Van Mensvoort1, Le Quang Tri2 and Vo Quang Minh2
1 Department of Soil Science and Geology, Wageningen Agricultural University, P.O. Box 37, 6700 AA Wegeningen, THE NETHERLANDS
2 Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Can Tho University, Can Tho, VIETNAM
The mangrove forests of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam have suffered severe decline over the past 50 years caused by human exploitation, a consequence of population pressure, lack of job opportunities and fast expanding aquaculture. The aquaculture activities (shrimp farms) have resulted in an unsustainable system with polluted surface water and disease outbreaks. Shrimp farms are now often abandoned again and reforestation is an option.
In Vinh Loi district, Bac Lieu Province, a study area was selected in which a detailed land use inventory of the mangrove and aquaculture zones was carried out by means of SPOT satellite imagery and field surveys. For the aquaculture area, differences in reflection were caused by differences in pond depth and sediment load. The district only had a narrow fringe of Avicennia marina along the shoreline. After processing the image, the visible full colour contrast of the mangrove area probably only referred to the height and density of the tree stands.
The data of Vinh Loi were also compared to a neighbouring area in Soc Trang province, which also appears on the same image. This part has stands of Rhizophora apiculata. It was possible to match the spectra of Avicennia and Rhizophora species. Most striking was the recognition that the stand of mangroves is very narrow, especially when compared to the situation on 1953 air photos. It also appeared that the coast has accreted over a distance of 750 to 2000m in less than 50 years.
Vo Quang Minh1, Vo-Tong Anh1, M. Tromp2, Pham thi tanh Hoa1, Nguyen thi hong Diep1 and Doan Van Tho1
1 Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Can Tho University, Can Tho, VIETNAM
2 Department of Soil Science and Geology, Wageningen Agricultural University, P.O. Box 37, 6700 AA Wageningen, THE NETHERLANDS
The Mekong Delta's mangrove forest resources have been seriously depleted in the last decades. Many of the depleting activities are uncontrolled. This means that an accurate account of losses is difficult to obtain from field observation. There is an urgent need for the monitoring of this resource in order to come to appropriate management measures. The Geographic Information System (GIS) is an effective tool for these monitoring activities.
This research describes the change in mangrove forest cover in the Mekong Delta over the past 5 years (1990-1995). It discriminates mangroves on fast accreting coasts and those on slow accreting coasts. The mangrove forests are an important economic resource, and the importance of the forests for the ecological balance in the delta as a nursing site for fish and other aquatic animals, and as a protection belt against coastal erosion is widely recognised. Recent information indicates that combined mangrove-shrimp land use systems are more productive than pure shrimp systems and that such combined systems have largely escaped the recent shrimp disease catastrophe of 1994/95. It is therefore of utmost importance to know more accurately how much forest has been removed from the delta in the last decade. The results showed that in 1990, the total mangrove forest was 208,143 ha, which was depleted to 114,536 ha in 1992, and 83,385 ha in 1995. Most of the depleted mangrove forest areas have been replaced by shrimp farming, or other cropping systems. The provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu and Tra Vinh have the largest areas of depleted mangrove forests.
Alasdair Edwards and Susan Clark
Centre for Tropical Coastal Management Studies, Department of Marine Sciences and Coastal Management, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UNITED KINGDOM
The primary objectives of coral transplantation are to improve reef "quality" in terms of live coral cover, biodiversity, and topographic complexity. Stated reasons for transplanting corals have been: 1) to accelerate reef recovery after ship groundings, 2) to replace corals killed by sewage, thermal effluents or other pollutants, 3) to save coral communities or locally rare species threatened by pollution or land reclamation, 4) to accelerate recovery of reefs after damage by Crown-of-thorns starfish, 5) to aid recovery of reefs following dynamite fishing, and 6) to enhance attractiveness of reefs in tourism areas. Whether coral transplantation is likely to be effective from a biological standpoint depends on the water quality, exposure and degree of substrate consolidation of the receiving area. Whether it is necessary (apart from cases related to reason 3 above), depends primarily on whether the receiving area is recruitment limited.
The potential benefits and dis-benefits of coral transplantation are examined in the light of the results of research on both coral transplantation and recruitment in the Maldives. Given these findings we suggest that in general, unless receiving areas are recruitment limited, natural recovery processes are likely to be sufficient in the medium to long term and that transplantation should be viewed as the tool of last resort. We argue that there has been too much focus on transplanting fast-growing branching corals, which naturally recruit well but tend to survive transplantation relatively poorly, to create short-term increases in live coral cover, at the expense of slow-growing massive corals, which survive transplantation well but recruit slowly. In those cases where transplantation is justified, we advocate that a reversed stance which focuses on early addition of slowly recruiting massive species to the recovering community, rather than a short-term and often short-lived increase in coral cover, is more appropriate.
Sonjai Havanond1 and Gordon Maxwell2
1 Mangrove and Swamp Forest Research and Development Sub-Division, Forest Research Office, Royal Forest Department, Bangkok 10900, THAILAND
2 Environmental Studies, School of Science and Technology, The Open University of Hong Kong, c/o Environmental Science Suite, 1B, 15 Grampian Road, Kowloon City, HONG KONG
Excessive anoxic conditions in mangrove mud present challenges to restoration and rehabilitation programmes in both "normal" and degraded mangrove environments. Mud anoxia can be as challenging as hypersaline situations in mangrove rehabilitation schemes. Excess anoxia can be especially significant in the early phases of replantation in degraded mangrove or former mangrove areas. Such anoxic mud can markedly reduce absorptive root formation and post establishment growth in post-nursary planted mangrove seedlings. Strategies to nullify negative redox (anoxic) mud / substratum conditions are urgently needed in coastal rehabilitation schemes involving mangrove species.
In this paper we examine the potential of mud lobster populations in the reduction of negative mud anoxia. The positive and negative aspects of mud lobster activity is examined in the context of coastal mangrove rehabilitation and restoration schemes, especially as they may apply to degraded coastal environments.
Siri Tookvinas, Prasert Munsiri and Kwanruethai Thanomkiat
Department of Fisheries, Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand 10900
Seventeen factors were determined for the purpose of coastal zone planning for marine shrimp culture, utilising a satellite map TM 5 (1:50,000) from 1996, and from field surveys. This was applied in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman coast areas. The degree of compatibility or suitability of land for shrimp culture was set on a scale of 1 to 4, and analysed scientifically using faction analysis. Results revealed that 32,231.2 ha and 20,200 ha of land were suitable for marine shrimp culture in the eastern, and central parts of Thailand, respectively, while in southern Thailand, 51,872.8ha and 13,439.2ha of land were found to be suitable in the eastern and western parts, respectively.
Hilconida P. Calumpong
Silliman University Marine Laboratory, Dumaguete City 6200 PHILIPPINES
The Center of Excellence in Coastal Resource Management (COE-CRM) was established at Silliman University (SU) in Dumaguete City, central Philippines in September 1995 with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide continued leadership in CRM. One of its objectives is to strengthen SU’s institutional and staff capacities with regard to instruction and research through the construction of a new Marine Laboratory, providing funds for masteral and doctoral scholarships and for research.
Research priorities were set based on a needs assessment and evaluation of past CRM projects - development and refinement of concepts on community-based and landscape approaches to CRM;
M. Mikhail Lee L. Maxino
College of Law, Silliman University, Dumaguete City, 6200 PHILIPPINES
Successful community-based management systems have several pre-requisites. First, government institutions are needed to provide coastal communities with appropriate management and enforcement measures, including technical support, regulations and economic incentives. Second, a clear legislative framework that empowers communities with rights and obligations, allocates rights to a certain resource to specific groups of individuals, and clarifies corresponding obligations. Third, communities should have the necessary skills and organizational machinery to adopt sound management principles and enforce rules and regulations.
The case study of the municipality of Enrique Villanueva in the island-province of Siquijor, Philippines illustrates the political and personal dynamics which constitute an institutional weakness occurring in most parts of the country and the world. This weakness consists of at least three basic characteristics and responses of government institutions – first, administrative jurisdictions are typically limited and sectoral; and bureaucracies are naturally protective of their respective turfs. Secondly, government institutions hardly collaborate because cooperation entails agreement on overall goals which rarely happens. Thirdly, standard operating procedures or SOPs, which invariably determine the conduct and behaviour or government institutions tend to rely on conservatism and precedents, rather than introduce needed changes.
Present government undertakings appear too focused on jurisdictional relationships among coordinate agencies. It is a fact that government agencies tend to be over-protective and zealous over their respective areas of responsibility. Such over-zealousness has resulted many times in turf wars, administrative delays and inaction, political horse-trading, graft and corruption.
More often than not, institutional weaknesses resulting in poor law implementation and enforcement are addressed by clarifying and strengthening jurisdictional mandates. The fundamental assumption that jurisdictional problems are solved by clearly delineating and strengthening jurisdictional mandates needs to be re-examined. A paradigm shift should take place – one that fits the peculiar Filipino milieu and culture. The paradigm shift involves the replacement of individual, separate jurisdictions with collegial, joint and collaborating jurisdictional mandate, similar to the Protected Area Management Board or PAMB, under Republic Act no. 7586, otherwise known as the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) law.
The PAMB concept is a form of co-management whereby the national and local governments, as well as the affected community are integrated into the program design and implementation. Communal control should be emphasized. Thus, under the PAMB set-up, the municipal waters, for instance, will no longer be under the sole, and exclusive dominion of the concerned LGU. Rather, other NGAs and stakeholders will share communal responsibility, control and administration. A set-up similar to the PAMB will certainly minimize, if not eliminate over-zealousness, myopic planning, bureaucratic incompetence, turf wars, political horse-trading, graft and corruption.
Craig Johnson
London School of Economics, UK
This paper examines patterns of development in Thailand's coastal fishing industry. Particular attention goes to multiple-use conflicts between large- and small-scale fisheries and among small-scale fisheries themselves. Findings from ongoing research in Phangnga Bay support the assertion that small-scale fisheries are under pressure from two significant sources: land encroachment and over-exploitation of Thailand's coastal fishing zones. At the root of the problem are a number of factors: poor enforcement of existing fisheries regulations, bureaucratic centralization and powerful up- and down-stream industries that encourage destructive fishing practices. Quotas and territorial zones, which are receiving favour from Thailand's Department of Fisheries (DOF), are analyzed critically. Recommendations and concluding remarks are provided at the end of the paper.