A guide for planners and managers - IUCN

106 MARINE AND COASTAL
PROTECTED AREAS
Photo by Erkki Siirila.
5.6 Restoration
Ecosystem restoration is an important objective of many MPAs. The MPA planners
should survey and identify the special habitats that have been degraded and that can
be repaired at reasonable cost and effort. These should be mapped, priorities assigned,
and strategies for rehabilitation created.
While all coastal resources that have been degraded cannot, in a practical
sense, be returned to full productivity, some of them can. Mangrove forests can be
replanted, coral reefs can be started toward gradual renewal and normal circulation
to wetlands can be restored.
If a wetland is covered with fill behind a concrete bulkhead, it would be
unrealistic to plan to restore it to its original condition; but if a wetland has been diked
for rice culture or aquaculture, it would be relatively easy to remove dikes, restore
circulation, and reconvert it to a nearly natural wetlands condition.
If a coral reef has been damaged by pollution, hurricanes, mining, natural
bleaching, or boat anchoring, it would be difficult, but not impossible to rehabilitate
it (Figure I-46). Such rehabilitation can be costly and the time of recovery very long,
but for certain reefs of high value for tourism, fish breeding, or shore protection, the
investment could yield a high payoff (Clark, 1988).
FIGURE I-46.
This coral colony from the western coast of St.Lucia was damaged by
land runoff during a tropical storm. The soil particles and an algal
bloom reduced sunlight penetration into the sea for days, resulting in
the loss of the symbiotic algae.
Hundreds of thousands
of hectares of mangrove have
been planted in restoration and
shore protection initiatives,
globally (Figure I-47). There
have been great successes and
disappointing failures but on
the whole the projects have
been successful. A clear message
has arisen from these
initiatives: Plantings should
not be wasted in environments
that would not naturally be
colonized by mangrove.
Community based restoration
projects may be far less
expensive than those done by
hired labour; for example, in a Philippines analysis, community-based mangrove
plantings cost about US $80/ha while contractor plantings cost more than US $400/ha.
Also, the new mangrove area is also better cared for when the community plants it
and has special rights to it.