Pacific Island Mangroves in a Changing Climate and Rising Sea

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28 Mangroves in a Changing Climate and Rising Sea framework to manage coastal activities is part of the requisite institutional capacity to sustainably manage activities in mangroves and other sensitive coastal ecosystems. However, this does not necessarily mean that current legal and management frameworks and political will are adequately preventing mangrove degradation. There is a need to assess the efficacy of national management frameworks at preventing mangrove degradation to determine if this is an area in need of attention. For instance, despite the existence of a permit program for coastal development activities, the wetlands management framework in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has not been preventing site-specific, island-wide, or cumulative losses of wetland functional performance or wetland area (Gilman, 1998, 1999a). And Palau’s state Public Land Authorities have been leasing and allowing the development of property containing mangroves (Republic of Palau Office of Environmental Response and Coordination, 2002). Only American Samoa has assessed the site-specific vulnerability of mangroves to sea level and climate change (Gilman et al., In Press). Information from the case studies and a review of National Communication Reports to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change reveal that none of the ten countries and territories have developed a plan for adaptation to mangrove or other coastal ecosystem responses to climate change effects. Technical assistance is needed to support conducting site-specific vulnerability assessments and to incorporate this information into land-use and master planning. Mangrove rehabilitation Capacity to rehabilitate mangroves (restore, enhance and create mangroves) will compliment other activities taken by people to adapt to mangrove responses to sea level and climate change. Restoring areas where mangrove habitat previously existed, enhancing degraded mangroves by removing stresses that caused their decline, and creating new mangrove habitat will help to offset anticipated reductions in mangrove area and increase resistance and resilience to climate change effects (Hansen and Biringer, 2003; Ellison, 2004). If successful mangrove rehabilitation has been achieved in the past, this indicates that it may be possible to replicate this success at other sites. However, failure to provide adequate training to coastal managers in the basics of successful mangrove rehabilitation leads to project failures or projects that only partially achieve stated goals (Lewis, 2005). There has been limited activity in the region in rehabilitation of mangroves, with small-scale successful projects only recorded from Kiribati, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and Tonga and two failed mangrove rehabilitation efforts in American Samoa and Papua New Guinea. The results of two additional rehabilitation efforts in Palau and Fiji are not known. This highlights the need for improved staff training, capacity building and information sharing.
Mangroves in a Changing Climate and Rising Sea Considerations for Developing a Coastal Site Planning and Adaptation Strategy In Brief • Management authorities, especially of small island countries and territories, are encouraged to assess site-specific mangrove vulnerability to climate change effects now and not wait for problems to become apparent when options for adaptation will be restricted. Managers can then incorporate the results of these vulnerability assessments into coastal land-use policies to provide adequate lead-time to minimize social disruption and cost, minimize losses of valued coastal habitats, and maximize available options. • Community-based approaches to managing natural resources, including managing mangrove and other coastal ecosystem responses to climate change effects, are appropriate in many areas of the Pacific Islands region. • The policy adopted to manage site-based shoreline response to rising sea level will be made as part a broader integrated coastal management planning analysis, which includes an assessment of the cumulative effects of coastal activities. This analysis requires balancing multiple and often conflicting objectives of sustaining the provision of ecological, economic, and cultural values; addressing priority threats to natural ecosystem functioning; maintaining ecological processes and biodiversity; achieving sustainable development; and fulfilling institutional, policy, and legal needs. • Site planning for some sections of shoreline containing mangroves that are not highly developed may allow for long-term managed retreat with relative sea level rise. Zoning rules for building setbacks can be used to reserve zones behind current mangroves for future mangrove habitat. However, for some sections of highly developed coastline adjacent to mangroves, results of site planning may justify the use of shoreline erosion control measures. As a result, the mangroves’ natural landward migration will be prevented and the mangrove fronting the development will eventually be lost. • Protected areas are one tool that can contribute to mitigating anticipated mangrove losses in response to climate change effects. Managers selecting sites and boundaries for individual protected areas, reviewing the effectiveness of existing protected areas, and designing protected area systems need to explicitly incorporate anticipated coastal ecosystem responses to climate change effects as well as the functional linkages between ecosystems. Networks of protected areas are needed to achieve ecological connectivity to permit the movement of species and exchange of genes. Protected areas established and managed through community-based approaches are more likely to be successful in most areas of the Pacific Islands region. • Reducing and eliminating non climate-related stresses that are affecting mangroves will increase mangrove resistance and resilience to sea level rise and other climate change effects. • Mangrove rehabilitation, the restoration of areas where mangroves previously existed, enhancing degraded mangroves by removing stresses that caused their decline, and creating new mangrove habitat will contribute to offsetting anticipated reductions in mangrove area and health, and increase resilience to climate change effects. Determining the stress or stresses that caused a mangrove to decline is necessary to identify the restoration or enhancement method to remove these stresses: planting mangroves may not be successful or necessary in many cases. • Local communities and leaders must recognize the long-term benefits of mangrove conservation if we are to reverse historical trends in loss of mangrove area. Outreach and education activities can help develop or augment a conservation ethic. 29
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Pacific Island Mangroves in a Changing Climate and Rising Sea

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