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HONG CHING GOH: What is a mangrove forest?
Mangrove are the only forests found
on the edge of the sea in warm sub tropical and tropical
environments.
They can be easily recognized by the dense tangle
of [INAUDIBLE] roots that make the trees appear to be standing
on stilts above the water.
Mangrove are a valuable resource.
They are estimated to provide at least $1.6 billion
annually in [INAUDIBLE] services,
the multiple benefits that humankind
enjoys from ecosystems.
This value is in the realm of national GDP's such as that
of the Virgin Islands.
In recognition of the significance of mangrove,
the Ramsar Convention for conservation and sustainable
utilizations of mangrove was signed on the
February 2nd, 1971.
February 2nd has been declared World Wetlands Day.
A unique mix of marine and [INAUDIBLE] species
live in mangrove ecosystems, especially in Asian region.
The calm, sheltered waters among the mangroves' roots
provide breeding, feeding, and nursery grounds
for fish and anthropoids.
Herons, spoonbills, and even eagles
make their nests in the upper branches of mangrove trees.
Reptiles are plenty.
Mangrove play a very important role in soil formation
and shorelines protection.
Their unique above ground root structures
dampen watered currents.
They also reduce the impact of strong winds
and tidal wave that accompany tropical storms.
Mangrove are among the most carbon rich forests
in the Tropics, containing an average 1023 mega grams
carbon [INAUDIBLE], at least three times
that of the upper tropical forests.
Mangroves' wood is most commonly used
as a source of fuel for local communities,
and as the primary construction material for boats, houses,
and furniture.
In addition, mangrove [INAUDIBLE]
fisheries, the main source of livelihood
for many local communities.
Mangrove also contain great medicine
of value including [INAUDIBLE], bleeding and malaria,
to name a few.
Cannonball mangrove fruit, for instance,
is used to treat diarrhea.
In many parts of the world, mangrove also
bear great cultural significance for local communities,
such as the indigenous peoples of the Torres Strait
Islands, who have used Australia's mangrove for more
than 40,000 years.
Despite its importance, the rate of mangrove deforestation
is among the highest of any forest type.
And urbanization has been identified
as a significant threat to the survival
of these coastal flagship natural resources.
Urbanization refer to the concentrations
of human population into discrete areas.
Cities, leading to the transformations of land.
It is a global phenomenon that is intensifying especially
in low and median income countries.
Today, half of the world's populations
live within 60 kilometers of the sea,
and three quarters of all the largest cities
are located on the coast.
While cities foster economic, growth,
and offer the vast majority of employment opportunities,
urbanization also brings congestion and pollution.
It also escalates [INAUDIBLE] such as displacements
of native peoples and urban poverty.
The fundamental change it causes,
however, is the transformation of nature.
Globally, urban development is the major driver
of climate change, producing half of all greenhouse gas
emissions.
Luckily, land in coastal area is reclaimed
for property development, and mangrove forests
are transformed into open water fronts.
Malaysia is a median income country
located in Southeast Asia.
We have a total coastline of 4,675 kilometers.
In these coastal areas, mangrove forests
are found, which, at the end of 2006,
were estimated at 107,802 hectares in Peninsula Malaysia
alone.
Today, very few mangrove remain.
Over 18% of the mangrove were lost between 1975 and 2005,
primarily due to conversions of land for agriculture, shrimp
ponds, or open development.
Johor, Malaysia's southernmost state,
is home to more than a quarter of the total remaining
mangrove in Peninsula Malaysia.
Is also home to [INAUDIBLE] areas
of international importance for conserving biodiversity.
All three of these [INAUDIBLE] are located
within Iskandar Malaysia.
Established in 2006, Iskandar Malaysia
is a national special, economic region,
located in southern Johor, just across the straits
from Singapore.
It is modeled the Pearl River delta economic zone of China,
with the purpose to capitalize on its existing
synergies with Singapore.
The region has a land size that is
three times that of Singapore, and is administrated
by the Iskandar Regional Deferment Authority,
or [INAUDIBLE].
The indigenous group around [INAUDIBLE]
once practicing a nomadic lifestyle,
have settled down along the southern coast of Johor.
They live in coastal areas and river estuaries,
and like many other local people,
are dependent on mangrove for their livelihood.
Today, mangrove conservation in Johor is becoming critical.
With fast phase urbanization taking
place in Iskandar Malaysia, local and indigenous groups
dependent on mangrove face the truth
of losing their homes and source of livelihood.
Iskandar Malaysia aims to be a strong and sustainable
metropolis of international standing.
To support this vision, three mangrove management strategies
can, and should be pursued.
Strategy one.
Ecotourism as a mangrove environmental service.
An ecotourism project in Iskandar Malaysia
has been launched in 2013.
However, it was limited to a single village Kompang Sona
Melayu, at the Melayu River.
Meanwhile, a study on tourism potential of the [INAUDIBLE]
region was conducted in 2010, but the actual implementation
has not taken place.
It is promising that tourism, with education at its core,
can be ecologically and economically beneficial
to local villages.
However, this strategy and its benefits
must be shared by more communities
to include both the local and indigenous people
in the [INAUDIBLE] district, along [INAUDIBLE] River,
as well.
In addition, capacity building for tourism operations,
and the linkage between local businesses and tourism
networks at the state level must be established.
For this, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture
must take the lead in working with all relevant stakeholders.
Strategy two.
Technology for mangrove monitoring.
The applications of GRS and remote sensing
in mangrove management must be incorporated
in the existing manual monitoring
practices by the Johor forestry department.
These technologies are powerful at systematically
and periodically measuring the effectiveness
of ongoing management practices.
Subsequently, this provides a more defensible basis
for management actions towards conservation.
SPEAKER: Remote sensing is one of the latest technology,
I wouldn't say latest because it is there
in the market since 1970s, is the only practical way
to get rapid information about mangrove changes.
HONG CHING GOH: Strategy three.
Core management for mangrove governance.
The institutional structure for managing natural resources
in most developing countries, including Malaysia,
is based on a top down approach, and is very much development
driven.
In light of sustainable city's development objectives,
and the current state of mangrove destruction,
combination among interdependent governance structures
is the core of effective mangrove management.
As land is prescribed as state matter
under the federal constitution, the agencies
dealing with mangrove, such as the Department of Environment,
are merely technical advisers reviewing land development
proposals.
They have little power when it comes to land
development decision making.
It is recommended that these agencies be given more power,
and be directly involved in the decision making process.
Moreover, [INAUDIBLE] impact assessment requirement
must be strictly enforced.
At the local level, the Iskandar regional development authority
has initiated efforts to include local communities
in mangrove conservation projects.
However, the scope of participation
is confined to public [INAUDIBLE]
and the capacity building related
to resource consumption.
MADAM IVY WONG ABDULLAH: Within IRDA we've
got a social development division that works closely
with the communities to ensure that whatever economic
development that we bring to the region,
it needs to have the inclusion of the people.
For example, closely to mangrove communities is the [INAUDIBLE]
so we have been working closely with them
for the last few years to build the capacity of the community
in arranging visits by tourists to the surrounding mangroves.
So boat visits to the mangrove forest, and also to the kelong,
where the community is rearing mussels, green mussels,
and also some fishes.
So I think the sea bass and all that.
We're working with the people because there's
a platform that was created, Friends of Iskandar Ramsar,
to work with them in carrying out educational research
programs.
HONG CHING GOH: It is [INAUDIBLE]
that the level of participations amongst
local and indigenous communities be expanded,
and that they are not only given the rights to use
mangrove resources as granted by the authorities,
but also the rights to take part in managing
those resources together with government agencies.
For that, core management becomes a viable means
to bring all stakeholders together
despite their different interests.
Here, finding the right mix of stakeholders
to govern the resources becomes the key.
The Senai Pulai Forest Reserve, an area
in urgent need for protected area status,
provides a example of the need for a core management strategy.
At present, harvesting this on a 20 years rotation schedule,
is the major economic activities here.
The mangrove management plan is outlined
in the overall forestry management plan
but this will expire in 2015.
VINCENT K.K. CHOW: If it is talking
about the role of the forestry, I
think they're doing a very good job.
Although you see mangrove being cut,
but this is on rotation basis, small areas where
the concessionary will replant.
So the only fear is the original species maybe
wiped out because they're going to mono-cropping.
HONG CHING GOH: Therefore, the preparations
of a comprehensive management plan specifically
for mangrove forest is urgently needed
to indicate the permitted land uses,
the carrying capacity of those uses,
and the stakeholders that need to be involved
in the management process.
Apart from the tree shortages just described,
the potential for moral considerations
and religious values to play a unifying and revitalizing role
in mangrove conservation, and nature conservation in general,
must be further explored in development planning
and at the societal level.
In fact, a holistic approach to land
use development planning, known as the total planning doctrine,
was introduced in the mid-1990s by the federal government
of Malaysia.
It aims to integrate physical and social planning
with moral and spiritual values.
However, little evidence shows the implementations
of the approach in reality.
At the societal level, the dominant religious customs
have been still mainly confined to discrete practices, rather
than a way of life, which has the potential
to cultivate a direct connection between humans
and the environment.
WAN MOHD YUSOF WAN CHIK: [NON ENGLISH]
HONG CHING GOH: Urbanization is one
of the most complex and important
social economic phenomena of the 21st century.
It is forceful, irreversible, and constantly evolving.
It also represents a major change in the extraction
and consumptions of nature resources,
and the way that society interacts with nature.
Yet, if we only see cities as a problem,
we fail to recognize how cities offer improved quality of life,
and serve us the centers for culture.
The strategies recommended in this video
for mangrove governance in Iskandar Malaysia
incorporates a wide range of appreciations for mangrove.
This [INAUDIBLE] the quest for a meaningful practice
of sustainable urban development.
At the regional level the strong presence
of mangrove and indigenous people
presents an opportunity for Iskandar Malaysia
to be a unique living model of a developing countries that
substantially improve the metropolises by making
the relationship between nature, culture, and view environment
a synergized and symbiotic one.
At the national level, mangrove conservation
directly supports Malaysians' efforts
to reduce carbon emission in light of the global climate
change agenda.
So are there strategies likely to be
useful for other cities facing similar development driven
challenges?
Yes, they are.
These studies is an example of [INAUDIBLE]
learning by sharing lessons and ideas
through digital communication.
Similar to the case of Iskandar Malaysia, many emerging
cities in developing countries are rich in natural resources
and culture, and striving for economic development
has put tremendous pressure on these precious assets.
Meanwhile, transparency has been a key concern
in developing countries.
Yet little evidence reveals that transparency alone
can make a significant contribution
towards sustainabilities' goals.
Benefits sharing and capacity building,
as highlighted in the mangrove management strategies
in this video, are believed to be
the enabling factors for transparency
to achieve its effect.
However, the prioritizations of these strategies
require careful considerations of the past and present,
political and social cultural context of the city,
as well as the state and the ideologies
behind the region's economic development activity.
Bye bye.
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