A Strategy of Care for Malaysia’s Mangroves - Sabah · recent educational series trilogy: Clough, 2013, Ong & Gong, 2013 and Baba et al., 2013. Present Status: ... Being a Ramsar

A Strategy of Care for Malaysia’s Mangroves

A MANGROVE-CENTRIC VIEW OF WETLANDS FOR FUTURE SUSTAINABLE USE IN MALAYSIA

ONG, Jin Eong

The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME)

c/o Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus

Senbaru 1, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0129,

Japan.

<[email protected]>

“MANGROVE-CENTRIC”?

First, “wetlands” cover a huge range of habitats, so we have to concentrate on mangroves.

Second, this year’s World Wetlands Day theme: “Wetlands for Our Future: Sustainable Livelihood”, seems to place an anthropocentric focus on “livelihood”. However, it is very rare to find human communities (i.e. the real stakeholders) living within the mangroves.

So, this is about the future sustainable use of mangroves.

OUTLINE

1. INTRODUCTION

2. ECONOMICS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

3. IMPLICATIONS OF SUSTAINABLE USE

4. A STRATEGIC MANGROVE CARE PLAN

5. WALKING THE TALK

1. INTRODUCTION

Mangrove Primer:International Society for Mangrove Ecosystem’s (ISME) recent educational series trilogy: Clough, 2013,

Ong & Gong, 2013 and Baba et al., 2013.

Present Status:

World: 152,361 km2

Malaysia: 7,097 km2

(Spalding et al. 2010)

Half of our mangroves lost in past 50 years.

Time-Series on Mangrove Area(Haywood et al.,2001)

Loss of Mangrove: Merbok

y = -1.10x + 2235.24

R2 = 0.92

0

20

40

60

80

100

1950 1970 1990 2010

Year

Ma

ng

rov

e A

rea

(km

2)

2. THE ECONOMICS OF MANGROVES

On the one hand, mangroves are a “market failure” (i.e. its goods and services have hardly any market value). Even our world famous MatangMangrove is a market failure!

On the other hand, mangroves are rare so mangroves derive great value from its “rarity” (like diamonds).

So, there is more reason than just market failure for governments to provide equity/ protection.

2. POLICY & GOVERNANCE ON MANGROVES

For the past few decades our Federal Government has repeatedly called for a stop to the destruction of our

mangroves, yet mangroves continue to be decimated. It is now clear that the Federal policy is to provide equity/protection for all our mangroves,

BUT . . .

The main problem is that land matters come underState jurisdiction and many States are delinquent.

So, we need to pressure these States.

3. IMPLICATIONS OF SUSTAINABLE USE

To be SUSTAINABLE:

• Conservation for posterity of the

mangroves take precedent over human

use of mangrove goods and services.

• REPLACEMENT use is NOT AN OPTION.

• So this presentation is about Caring to

ensure posterity with prosperity only

as a bonus.

ABSOLUTELY NO REPLACEMENT USE

OIL PALM IN MANGROVES

The very rich and powerful Oil Palm Lobby has stated that they do not use mangroves for oil palm plantations.

Rather than debate the veracity of this, we will instead make sure they stick to their words and do NOT REPLACE ANY MORE MANGROVES WITH OIL PALMS.

This issue is particularly relevant for Sabah and Sarawak

“. . . It is worrying that we keep increasing the hectarage of oil palm plantations instead of finding alternative and more productive means of using our land. By any measure, oil palm production has stagnated but we keep on clearing forests for more plantations, perpetuating the colonial economic logic that depended on the availability of land and cheap labour. Nothing entrepreneurial, innovative or technological here.”

. . . Nungsari Radhi (Economist, Prokhas Sdn. Bhd.)

p. 64, The Edge # 1125, 29 Aug. – 4 Sept. 2016

Mangrove for rayon: Kinabatangan

ANY SUSTAINABLE MANGROVE USES?

ECO-TOURISM:

A favorite with decision makers.

Being a Ramsar or UNESCO Sites draw in the tourist$.

Knowing the carrying capacity of each and every ecotourism activity is vital to sustainability.

CARBON SEQUESTRATION:

Blue Carbon trading is benign to the ecosystem, since no harvesting is involved.

Carrying Capacity?From: www.sustainablescale.org

BLUE CARBON (Carbon Trading)

Carbon Trading started with the Kyoto Protocol which only traded with harvested carbon. REDD carbon and Blue (i.e. marine) carbonwere modifications that allowed for trading in non-harvested carbon.

We know more about carbon in the mangrove ecosystem than almost all other ecosystems.

Mangrove remains untouched under this scheme so Sustainable Use in the perfect sense.

1.5

48

56

5

(GPP=65)

(NPP=17)

5

Unit: t C ha -1 y-1

?

BLUE CARBON ACCOUNTING

We have allometric regressions for Total Biomass (including below-ground biomass):

Log biomass total = 2.253 logGBH – 1.943

Log biomass below-ground = 2.611 logGBH – 3.454

Ong, J.E., Gong, W.K. & Wong, C.H. (2004). Allometryand partitioning of the mangrove, Rhizophoraapiculata. Forest Ecology and Management 188: 395-408.

4. OURS TO CARE

Given that our mangroves are destined for conservation for our future generations, what would be the best course of action for our present generation to take to ensure posterity with some measure of prosperity (from the servicesmangroves provide)?

OURS TO CARE

4. A STRATEGIC CARING PLAN

• An inventory and conservation ranking

of mangroves in each State.

• Conversion of important/special sites to

International and National status.

• Rehabilitate and monitor the health of

the above sites.

• Undertake the science needed to carry

out all the above tasks.

• Involve all stakeholders

MANGROVE CONSERVATION SITES

• Mangrove National Parks: None in Malaysia

• UNESCO Natural Heritage Site: Langkawi (Kilim) Global Geo-forest Park ?

• UNESCO Biosphere Reserves: Tasik Chini (2009) and Crocker Range (2014)

• Ramsar Sites: 5 of 6 in Malaysia are mangroves: 3 in Johor, Kinabatangan & Kuching Wetlands National Park + Tasek Bera

• Virgin Jungle Reserves: Pulau Kecil (Matang) & Sepilok (Sandakan)

Ramsar Site: Lake Skalar, Montenegro

Ramsar Site: Jeju Island, S. Korea

UNESCO (MAB) Biosphere Reserves

“Biosphere reserves are sites established by

countries and recognized under UNESCO's Man

and Biosphere Programme Man to promote

sustainable development based on local community

efforts and sound science.

As places that seek to reconcile conservation of

biological and cultural diversity and economic and

social development through partnerships between

people and nature, they are ideal to test and

demonstrate innovative approaches to sustainable

development from local to international scales.”

SOME OTHER MANGROVE CARING ISSUES(HEALTH/MANAGEMENT)

How do we monitor the “Health” of our mangroves?

• What about the “Rehabilitation” of our degraded mangroves?

• Mangrove Arboreta?

• If we use our mangroves, do we know its “Carrying Capacity”?

• Mangrove Long-Term Ecological ResearchSites (LTERS)?

MONITORING ECOSYSTEM HEALTH?

Keystone Species?

Indicator Species?

Science OR Act of God?

MANGROVE REHABILITATION

Why Rehabilitation and not Restoration?

Not only is “restoration” a physical impossibility

(no two moments in time are ever the same) but it gives managers/decision makers the false idea that they can restore ecosystems that are destroyed or degraded. The best anyone can do is to “rehabilitate”.

# “Restoration” after Indian Ocean tsunami?

# ISME – SFD Ongoing Rehabilitation Project

# Mangrove Arboretum for education?

MANGROVE ARBORETUM

Arboreta are basically botanic gardens just fortrees.

Ideally, a Mangrove Arboretum requires special conditions (like an environment with a full range of tidal inundation and salinities) so that maximum biodiversity can be achieved.

Questions: Do we want to introduce alien speciesor just local ones or mainly to save endangered species?

Alien species can become invasive species!

“IUCN Near threatened” Sonneratia griffithii

(from the Merbok, Kedah)

INVOLVING STAKEHOLDERS (CARE-GIVERS)?

WHO ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS ?

• The State Governments (Forestry Departments)

• The Federal Government (Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, in particular)

• Mangrove Communities (including e.g. Fishers)

• Environmental Non-Government Organizations

• Ministry of Tourism (and tourist agencies)

• Mangrove Scientists/Researchers

WHERE IS THE SCIENCE ?

A quarter of a century ago, Ong & Gong (1991) suggested that the Merbok Mangroves (where

Universiti Sains Malaysia had a very active mangrove research programme) be made an LTERS (Long-Term Ecological Research Site).

My assessment is that the Sabah Forestry Department is now the best placed in Malaysia to pursue this LTERS goal (to provide the science).

Will the Sabah Forestry Department accept this challenge?

WHERE IS THE SCIENCE ?

5. LET’S WALK THE TALK

1. Environmental NGOs request the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE) to urgently revive the Malaysian National Mangrove Committee.

2. Urge MNRE to request each State Government to draw up a Strategic Mangrove Care Plan.

3. And, to provide the underpinning science, the Sabah Forestry Department (being the best placed in Malaysia to pursue this) is requested to take up the challenge to establish our first Mangrove LTER Site.

Thank you and have a very good day

An Economist’s View on the Oil Palm Industry

“ . . . We need to move away from the colonial legacy of plantation economics to something better, not just from the returns to factors of production but more fundamentally, from the perspective of the relationship between the factors of production, their share of returns and the ownership of these factors. This can only be achieved if we free ourselves from the constraints that preserve the existing economic relationship. . . .