Assessment and management of mangrove ecosystems in developing countries

There is limited information available on the status of and threats to mangroves in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region. In the recent years, there has been a significant increase in scientific and volunteer surveys. However, this information is usually not well integrated with information on human activities that have the potential to contribute to the degradation of these ecosystems. A project "Coastal Habitats at Risk" is being developed jointly by the United Nations University (UNU) and the World Resources Institute, and in partnership with UNESCO and the International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME), in an effort to ameliorate this situation through standardized assessment of anthropogenic threats to mangroves in East and Southeast Asia. The geographic focus of the project includes Brunei, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Threats from pollution, over-harvesting, aquaculture development, boating/shipping, flooding/freshwater input, siltation and other coastal development are examined with this map-based analysis. The study particularly emphasizes information regarding the human element of these ecosystems, with an eye towards community-based management and action. A geographic information system (GIS)-based tool will be developed to examine different coastal development and management scenarios and their implications for mangrove health, diversity and value. The results will serve as an indication of the threats to these ecosystems, not as an actual measure of degradation. This information generation can be seen as a first step toward assessing global needs for the world's mangrove ecosystems that to date remain largely unassessed. The analysis is intended to recommend policies, participatory approaches and management strategies to promote integrated coastal ecosystem approaches. It will help fill an information void through much-needed policy guidance on management and priority setting.