Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Planning ...

5.0 Developing Adaptation Measuresof seeds and hypocotyls to recolonize other sites thatare degraded.These protected areas are monitored by Tikina Waicommunity members who observe mangrove andsea grass conditions (subsections 3.2.1 and 3.8.2)and report back to a natural resource managementcommittee. An adjacent dive shop, Scuba Bula, assistsWWF divers in monitoring seawater temperatures atthe offshore marine protected areas and reports backon reef health, fish abundance and temperature trendsusing coral reef monitoring methods (subsection3.8.1). These activities provide information on thearea’s resistance and resilience to resource usage andpossible impacts of sea level rise and other climaterelatedchanges.5.1.4 Rehabilitate degraded mangrovesRehabilitation of degraded mangrove areas will likelybe one of the most effective strategies for buildingresilience, particularly where sections of an otherwisehealthy system are degraded. Mangroves that aredegraded are more likely to show impacts from climatechange effects than mangroves that are healthy (McKeeet al., 2007). Healthy mangroves promote higherlevels of sediment accretion and land building, whiledegradation of mangroves can cause coastal erosion.Dense seedlings also enhance sediment accretion(Huxham et al., 2010; Kumara et al., 2010).Impacted or degraded mangrove locations within aparticular forest area can be identified through rapidassessment (subsection 3.2.1), GIS evidence of forestdecline (subsection 3.3) and compilation of localcommunity knowledge (subsection 3.9).replanting as part of a larger cooperative program tohelp fishing people sell catch and purchase fishingequipment (Quarto, 1999). The project recognized theknowledge of the local fishers and the lack of economicopportunities. Within two months of replantingmangroves, the villagers began noticing an increase intheir near-shore fish catch and the appearance of fishspecies that had previously been rare. This exampleshows that, in a rehabilitation project, it is necessaryto engage the support of the local community that hastraditional use of the mangrove area and to engage thesupport of other interested stakeholders.A further successful example comes from the UpperGulf of Thailand where, following coastal erosion,the Thai government approved a national mangrovemanagement plan in 1987 that included funding of amangrove rehabilitation project (Winterwerp et al.,2005). Beneficial effects of rehabilitation includedan increase of sediment capture and stabilization, anincrease of habitat for species such as crabs and coastalfisheries, an increase of resting and feeding habitatfor migratory and local birds and increased resilienceto sea level rise and climate change. This furtherdemonstrates the “win-win” or “no regrets” potential ofmangrove rehabilitation. 8Although there is increasingly good Internet coverageof mangrove replanting activities, such as theMangrove Action Project (2006) guide, there havebeen unsuccessful projects where most or all seedlingshave died (reviewed by Lewis, 2005). To promotesuccess, a number of considerations are outlined in thefollowing subsections, using examples from the WWFpilots (Sima, 2010). Successful replanting involves asequence of potential activities shown in Figure 52.There is a wealth of experience in mangrovereforestation, restoration and replanting in manycountries (Agaloos, 1994; Hong, 1994; Chan, 1996;Biswas et al., 2009) that can be used to help enhanceadaptive capacity. One successful example is acommunity forest at Yadfon in Thailand, where acommittee of 10 to 20 people guided mangrove8 An excellent example of community-based coastal restorationis the Green Coast project: http://www.wetlands.org/Default.aspx?TabId=436&language=en-US92 | Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Planning for Mangrove Systems