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Sunday, December 25, 2016

Keep MAP growing with your help


Dear Friend of the Mangroves, 12/24/16

Yes, it’s the end of the year, and of course this is an appeal for your generous support for Mangrove Action Project! Since its inception in March 1992 (almost 25 years ago!), MAP has been actively engaged in conserving and restoring the mangroves and people who depend on these unique and vitally important coastal ecosystems.  With projects in Asia, Latin America and Africa, in collaboration with our local partners throughout the Global South, MAP has been building capacity of communities to protect and conserve these highly valued “roots of the sea” – the mangrove wetlands.  Via our ongoing programs, we are striving to ensure that mangroves will remain to benefit the lives of future generations.
In 2016, MAP continued to promote the vital role that mangroves play in carbon sequestration and long-term carbon storage; as coastal buffers against hurricanes, storm surges and tsunamis; and as critical nurseries for a cornucopia of marine life that depend on the mangroves.

MAP furthered its Community-Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR) program in Thailand and Central America. Working closely with local organizations and communities, MAP’s CBEMR program aims to slow the rate of mangrove deforestation, improve biodiversity and provide ecological security by providing coastal communities with a series of practical and localized education and training workshops. Early next year MAP will be bringing CBEMR training to Burma, and there is growing interest in CBEMR in several other countries in W. Africa and Latin America.

MAP’s Marvelous Mangroves Curriculum continues its focus on mangrove environmental education for primary school children. This program aims to educate future generations of mangrove stewards and decision makers about the critical importance of mangrove habitats. MAP’s Education Director Martin Keeley has thus far introduced the Curriculum into Cayman Islands, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Colombia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Australia. Martin recently took the Curriculum to Suriname, with further plans to bring this to Guadalupe, Haiti, India and Kenya in 2017.

The Question Your Shrimp (QYS) Public Awareness/ Markets Campaign is still a vital part of MAP’s global campaign. A leading cause of mangrove deforestation still stems from the shrimp farm industry. With this in mind, the QYS project attempts to reduce mangrove loss by reducing demand in the northern hemisphere for farmed tropical shrimp. 

Networking remains an important function of MAP, and our world-renowned biweekly electronic MAP News has now been publishing mangrove-related news for over 20 years. Over the years many environmental NGOs and mangrove ecologists have commended MAP for its newsletter’s informative and thought provoking content. MAP News continues to act as a key vehicle for MAP’s networking and advocacy work to defend the world’s mangroves. 

AND, of course, we must mention MAP’s 2017 Children’s Mangrove Art Calendar is in its 16th year of production! This year’s calendar is one of our most beautiful editions, and we are again offering the calendar as a gift for those donating $35 or more to MAP. Or, you can also purchase a calendar for $14, including postage. Please send checks to MAP, 606 Maynard Ave. S Ste. 102, Seattle, WA 98104, USA, or go online to MAP’s website to use PayPal to donate to MAP by credit card. 

PLEASE DONATE TO MAP NOW before year’s end! 



Again, thanks so much for your support for MAP!


For the Mangroves and the Mangrove Communities!


Alfredo Quarto, 
Co-Director/ Co-Founder
Mangrove Action Project



MAP Calendar 2017

PLEASE ORDER YOUR 2017 MAP CHILDRENS MANGROVE ART CALENDAR NOW! www.mangroveactionproject/org

Friday, December 23, 2016

MAP News Issue 406, Dec 24, 2016

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The MAP News
406th Edition                               December 24, 2016

FEATURE STORY
 
MAPGreeting
Keep MAP growing with your generous help

Dear Friend of the Mangroves

Yes, it’s the end of the year, and of course this is an appeal for your generous support for Mangrove Action Project! Since its inception in March 1992 (almost 25 years ago!), MAP has been actively engaged in conserving and restoring the mangroves and people who depend on these unique and vitally important coastal ecosystems.  With projects in Asia, Latin America and Africa, in collaboration with our local partners throughout the Global South, MAP has been building capacity of communities to protect and conserve these highly valued “roots of the sea” – the mangrove wetlands.  Via our ongoing programs, we are striving to ensure that mangroves will remain to benefit the lives of future generations. I invite you to read more about our most recent successes and to learn about the challenges still facing our planet. We’re proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish with YOU. Thank You and Happy 2017! READ MORE
 
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AFRICA

Africa must lead if Trump rescinds US climate change commitments

SOUTH AFRICA - Scott Pruitt, United States president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the US Environmental Protection Agency, publicly questions the existence of climate change. He, and presumably Trump, opposes President Barack Obama’s environmental initiatives to limit greenhouse gases that cause global warming. US withdrawal from these agreements would imperil Africa. It is the region least responsible, most vulnerable and least able to afford the cost of adapting to global climate change. Southern Africa is already suffering the effects of global warming rates that are twice as high as the global average. If Trump forsakes US support for the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, endorsed by 193 members of the United Nations, as well as Obama’s bilateral climate agreement with China, the resultant rise in global warming and extreme weather events will wreak havoc throughout Africa. READ MORE 

ASIA

Bloomberg reports tainted Chinese shrimp reaching US tables
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CHINA - A new Bloomberg Businessweek investigation has shed light on a process that is allowing Chinese shrimp producers to sneak antibiotic-tainted products into the United States via transshipment. Through the use of forged records and lax oversight in China, the United States, and third-party, pass-through countries, Chinese companies have managed to import tens of millions of dollars of shrimp into the United States, the article claims. The article details the business workings of a large Chinese company that typifies the process being used to bring Chinese shrimp into the U.S. under the guise of being a product of Malaysia. Through a lawsuit filed in Texas against its U.S. subsidiary American Fisheries, China’s Shanghai Fisheries was found to have shipped shrimp labeled as “Product of Malaysia” that tested positive for an antibiotic that was banned in the U.S. U.S. authorities then discovered that the shrimp was actually from China, not Malaysia. In April, following several similar discoveries, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an import alert allowing its district offices to detain and test shrimp and prawn imports from peninsular Malaysia. READ MORE 

Deficiencies in the audit of Kuliarchar Shrimp Farm conducted by Bureau Veritas
BANGLADESH - In June 2016, a shrimp farm in Bangladesh was audited to determine its compliance to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Shrimp Standard. Nijera Kori sent a team to monitor the audit, which was conducted by Bureau Veritas -- Nijera Kori’s presence is mentioned in the draft report submitted by the auditors to ASC. Khushi Kabir, Coordinator with Nijera Kori says “Our criticism of the ASC Shrimp Standard is well documented. However, our principle concerns at this stage are not the deficiencies in the ASC Shrimp Standard, but the manner in which audits (to determine compliance to the standard) are being conducted.” The following are excerpts from Nijera Kori's report on the audit conducted at the shrimp farm with comments added after Bureau Veritas's draft report was published by ASC. READ MORE 

Symposium tackles mangroves for coastal defense
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PHILIPPINES - The importance of mangroves as primary defense against the effects of typhoons and storm surges was emphasized yesterday during the symposium dubbed as Mangrove for Climate – Adaptive and Resilient Communities, attended by at least 200 participants in the Visayas. The symposium aims to encourage the planting of mangroves and get the participation of the different sectors. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Isabelo Montejo, in his speech, said when Super Typhoon Yolanda hit the country in 2013, it was very clear that there was a lack of natural barriers in the coastline like mangroves.“The communities were hugely devastated by storm surges sending five-meter high, tsunami-like waves. Many families were left homeless, sending thousands of people in complete disarray as evacuation centers were severely damaged,” Montejo said. READ MORE 

AMERICAS

Mangrove Restoration: Letting Mother Nature Do The Work
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USA - The ecological importance of coastal mangrove forests is common knowledge today. The trees’ gnarled roots , submerged in saltwater for part of the day, make ideal underwater perches for barnacles, oysters, crabs and other marine organisms. These, in turn, make a plentiful feast for juvenile fish, as well as birds, reptiles and an abundance of other wildlife both above and below the water’s surface.However, this is a relatively new notion. “Mangroves prior to 1970 were generally considered to be mosquito-infested swamps that nobody needed really to worry about, and if you wanted to destroy them, that was okay,” says Robin Lewis, an ichthyologist-turned-wetland scientist who now restores mangroves around the world.  Unfortunately, a better understanding of mangroves’ importance hasn’t stopped their destruction. Nearly 14,000 square miles of mangrove forests were destroyed between 1980 and 2005, according to the United Nations, and the losses continue today. READ MORE 

Environmental Leaders Receive Champions of the Earth Award - UN's Top Environmental Prize
MEXICO - The President of Rwanda, Australian eco-innovator, Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy, Indian organizer of world's largest beach clean-up, Honduran indigenous activist Berta Cáceres, and veteran Mexican biologist all lauded as Champions of the Earth Award - UN's Top Environmental Prize. Six inspirational environmental leaders representing government, research and grassroots action received today the United Nations' highest environmental accolade, the Champions of the Earth award, during a global conference on biological diversity in Cancún, Mexico. The annual award recognizes outstanding figures from the public and private sectors and from civil society whose actions have had a significant positive impact on the environment. READ MORE

EUROPE

LONDON PICKET Of BRITISH MINERS Of DEVASTATIVE PHULBARI COAL PROJECT
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U.K. - Bangladeshi protesters from Phulbari were joined by transnational climate activists in a picket of directors of Global Coal Management (GCM) Resources Plc, an AIM-listed British mining company who want to build a massive open cast coal mine by forcibly displacing 130,000 people in Phulbari, Bangladesh. During the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday 15 December in London a large group of protesters holding colourful banners and placards with powerful messages occupied the entrance of Aeronautical Society , an elite venue near Hyde Park Corner, where the AGM of GCM Resources was held.Anti-coal protesters outside and inside the AGM called to shut down GCM Resources because the company does not have a valid license for business with Bangladesh but they are selling shares in London and committing abuse and human rights violation of farmers and local businessmen in Phulbari. READ MORE 

WORLD

A Call for Global Day of Protest for the Sundarbans January 7, 2017
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Scrap Rampal Power Plant, Save the World’s Largest Mangrove Forest- The Sundarbans
BANGLADESH - The largest single tract mangrove forest, extraordinarily rich in biodiversity, a Ramsar Site, the UNESCO-declared World Heritage site is now in grave danger of losing its unique biodiversity and extra-ordinary eco-system for the planned coal fired power plant along with many other commercial projects in and around the forest. The Sundarbans, to preserve its outstanding universal value, now demand global public action for its survival. Let us raise our voice together on January 7 2017 in different parts of the world to save the Sundarbans and to make a step forward to save our mother earth from projects of mass destruction. We look forward to your participation and hope that our common struggle would further bind us together, and contribute to a stronger global movement for upholding public interest. READ MORE 

 
Help Coastal Communities Restore Their Mangroves
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WORLDWIDE - Without the mangrove trees that used to protect them, Khun Nit and her grandchildren cannot sleep soundly because they’re frightened by the roar of the waves. Sometimes the waves reach the roof of their house. Khun Nit has lived on the coast her entire life, but she and her family can’t move any further inland. There is nowhere else to move. Villagers like Khun Nit and her grandchildren need support and training to protect and restore their mangroves so they can keep their home. You can give women like Khun Nit the skills and knowledge needed to become a local conservation expert, spreading awareness about the importance of mangroves, and empower her to train other women to do the same. LEARN MORE
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LAST WORD
Hi Alfredo -
 
I want to Thank You on behalf of the entire Bio4climate Team for your participation in our Restoring Oceans Conference on November 18th to 20th. Your presentation, coming at the close of the formal conference, was a powerful send-off.
 
Bio4climate's mission is to shift our relationship to our life-support systems and to planet earth itself, so that eco-restoration, not endless growth, becomes the primary lens through which people view the world. The work of the Mangrove Action Project, and your passion, demonstrated the necessity for this shift very well.
 
Thank you for joining us in this work.
 
All the best,
 
Paula
 
 
Paula Phipps
617-441-3162
paula.phipps@bio4climate.org
 
 
And thanks for the calendar!

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VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Miranda
Mira Maude Chouinard, MAP’s Latin America Assistant Project Coordinator, is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a degree in environmental science and of Humber College with a certificate in international program management. She worked for Falls Brook Centre and coordinated a community resilience and mangrove restoration project in Honduras, in cooperation with local NGOs and the multinational DOLE Food Company. As they encountered issues with the traditional planting method, she discovered MAP and the CBEMR method and was relieved to have found a successful long-term mangrove restoration method. She is fluent in French, English and Spanish. mira.chouinard@gmail.com 
Marvellous Mangroves: Myths and Legends is Now Available!
Marvellous-Mangroves-Myths-and-Legends-Promo
MAP Education Director Martin Keeley’s most recent book is Marvellous Mangroves: Myths and Legends, a compilation of stories from “Mangrove Peoples”—those who live on shorelines where mangroves thrive—from around the world. READ MORE


MAP Calendar 2017
MAP is happy to announce that we are now accepting orders for our 2017 Children's Mangrove Art Calendar . This is our 16th annual edition of Children's Mangrove Art, and this Calendar is celebrating MAP's 25th Anniversary! Please order your calendars now, and help us celebrate a quarter century of MAP's work to Save the Mangroves!"

The world's largest mangrove forest is in danger from a massive coal plant.
UNESCO can put pressure on India and Bangladesh to protect the forest, but they need to see that people around the world are speaking out. Click here to add your voice.


Our new short documentary, Reducing the Risk of Disaster through Nature-Based Solutions : Mangroves
EPIC-Film 2

Tell Red Lobster its "Endless shrimp" deal is damaging and unfair to the workers SIGN THE PETITION
 
Mangroves: Guidebook to Malaysia – available for download here
 
Mangrove rehabilitation in Asia – Local Action and cross-border Transfer of Knowledge for the Conservation of Climate, Forests and Biodiversity VIEW VIDEOS HERE

Volunteer Opportunities with Mangrove Action Project CLICK HERE
 
STOP PLANTING MANGROVES ON SEAGRASS BEDS _ A CALL TO ACTION
Want to learn more about mangroves?mangrove-action-project-presentation-1-1024.jpg?cb=1424228039
Our short presentation will give you a better understanding of the issues we are working to solve. WATCH PRESENTATION
What is CBEMR? Easy to follow fact sheet – CLICK HERE

SHARE MAP'S VISION 
CLICK HERE to watch short introductory video. Together we can work "at the roots of the sea".
Join us in saving our beautiful country!
We hope you have been following the ongoing battle in Bimini, Bahamas.
We are in need of your help more than ever Click here
 
Exclusive Interview with Alfredo Quarto, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Mangrove Action Project - See more
Save the Sundarbans from Rampal power plant – View Sample Letter to Minister
Sign the Petition
 
Question Your Shrimp- Don't Buy or Sell Imported Tropical Shrimp! Sign the Petition

Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum

Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum in Bangladesh - WATCH VIDEO
MARVELLOUS MANGROVES IN BRAZIL
En Portuges

MAP%20Curriculum%20Video
Marvellous Mangroves – A Curriculum-Based Teachers Guide.


FOR MORE ON MAPs AWARD WINNING CHINA MANGROVE CURRICULUM VISIT
Education in the Mangroves - China
VIMEO SHOW
VISIT OUR "MM" WEBPAGE

Check out our presentation for more details on Marvellous Mangroves

“Education In The Mangroves" can now be seen on the  PhotoPhilanthropy website here!

Read this 10 page history of the development of MAP’s educational curriculum VIEW DOCUMENT
 
Article in Canada's Green Teacher Magazine - Read More

FREE MAP Mangrove e-cards CLICK HERE
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MAP’s e-Cards offer you a unique way to spread the word about MAP’s good works, while sharing beautiful photographs of the mangroves

Donate to MAP via Paypal
Giving could never be easier
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It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result. —Mahatma Gandhi

Green Planet Fundraising Assists MAP – LEARN MORE

MANGROVE ISSUES 
View MAP’s uploaded Videos at MAPmangrover’sChannel

The importance of restoring mangroves in an effective, long-term manner. Mangrove CBEMR video - VIEW
Question Your Shrimp Consumer/Markets Campaign!  WATCH VIDEO

Mangrove Restoration in Asia – Watch Short Video

Mosaic of Life 
READ A MOSAIC OF LIFE Peek into the underwater world of mangroves, "womb of the sea." By Liz Cunningham Photos By Wes Matweyew and Liz Cunningham

 

"Question Your Shrimp" Campaign

Learn more about the affects of the shrimp industry on mangroves by visiting our blog
Editor’s Note: Mangrove Action Project’s Executive Director, Alfredo Quarto was interviewed about shrimp by Green Acre Radio’s Martha Baskin
LISTEN TO INTERVIEW

Information sheds clear light on shrimp-mangrove connection
Question Your Shrimp
SEE DETAILS MANGROVE/SHRIMP

Join MAP on Facebook

Sign the Consumer's Pledge to avoid imported shrimp

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Note to Our Readers:
We strive to keep active links in our newsletter. However, due to circumstances beyond our control,
occasionally links to stories may become broken. If you find a link to a story is not functioning, please cut and paste the headline into your browser search bar. In most cases you should be able to locate the original story.



Help Mangrove Action Project through your recycled E-Waste.  List of Accepted E-waste Items:
Injet Cartidges, Cell Phones, Pagers, GPS, Radar Detectors, Mobile Hot Spots, Calculators, eBook Readers, iPods/MP3 players, Digital/Video Cameras/Camcorders, PDAs, iPads/Tablets/Laptops, Video Game Consoles, Handheld Video Games
Visit the Mangrove Action Project recycle website Click on the recycle button then click on the Download Shipping Label, and follow the instructions.

 
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Click here to view past newsletters
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Scrap Rampal Power Plant, Save the World’s Largest Mangrove Forest- The Sundarbans

A Call for Global Day of Protest for the Sundarbans

January 7, 2017

The Sundarbans- the largest single tract mangrove forest, extraordinarily rich in biodiversity, a Ramsar Site, the UNESCO-declared World Heritage site is now in grave danger of losing its unique biodiversity and extra-ordinary eco-system for the planned coal fired power plant along with many other commercial projects in and around the forest. The Sundarbans, to preserve its outstanding universal value, now demand global public action for its survival.

The joint project of PDB (Bangladesh) and NTPC (India) for 1320 MW Rampal coal-fired power plant has become a deadly threat for the survival of Sundarban. In addition, it is inviting a range of national and international vested interest groups to grab forest and set up hundreds of commercial projects in and around the Sundarbans that clearly issued its death warrant. This has not only put the livelihood of at least 3.5 million people at risk, it has made the lives of around 50 million coastal people vulnerable to natural disasters as the Sundarbans have also been a huge natural safe guard against frequent cyclone, storm and other natural disasters in the country.

We hope you are aware of our 5 years long peoples movement for the cancellation of this Rampal Power plant, many friends from around the world have already expressed their solidarity for the campaign to save Sundarbans. Now it is urgent to consolidate public opinion around the world to make the resistance global. A grand rally on November 26th, 2016, in Central Shaheed Minar, Dhaka organized by the National Committee and attended by more than 15 thousand people from different parts of the country, has made a call to everybody in this planet to observe a Global Day of Protest on January 7, 2017 to raise collective voice to save the Sundarbans. We believe the observance of a global day would strengthen our unity, uphold our common spirit, and take our struggle to a new level to protect the mother-nature from the disastrous profit hungry projects. We believe that the global solidarity would also open up the opportunity to create worldwide awareness for environment and ecology-friendly power generations and sustainable development that put people and environment before corporate profit.

We hope that our fellow activists, environmental groups, political parties around the world would join our cause by expressing solidarity and taking up various forms of activities and action programs on that day. In this respect, we would like to appeal you to consider either of the following:
  • Staging demonstrations/human chain and sending written appeals to the embassies of Bangladesh and India.
  • Cycle rally, boat rally, theatre, songs, cartoons, masks.
  • Appeal to United Nation.
  • Campaigning to International Press/Media
  • Sending us your protest/solidarity video messages.
We welcome any other effort or ideas from your part.

Let us raise our voice together on January 7 2017 in different parts of the world to save the Sundarbans and to make a step forward to save our mother earth from projects of mass destruction. We look forward to your participation and hope that our common struggle would further bind us together, and contribute to a stronger global movement for upholding public interest.

National Committee to Protect Oil-Gas-Mineral Resources Power and Port, Bangladesh
December 2, 2016. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Email: www.ncbd.org

Deficiencies in the audit of Kuliarchar Shrimp Farm conducted by Bureau Veritas

By Khushi Kabir
Coordinator - Nijera Kori

In June 2016, a shrimp farm in Bangladesh was audited to determine its compliance to the ASC Shrimp Standard. Nijera Kori sent a team to monitor the audit, which was conducted by Bureau Veritas -- our presence is mentioned in the draft report (referenced below) submitted by the auditors to ASC.

Our criticism of the ASC Shrimp Standard is well documented. However, our principle concerns at this stage are not the deficiencies in the ASC Shrimp Standard, but the manner in which audits (to determine compliance to the standard) are being conducted. The following are excerpts from Nijera Kori's report on the audit conducted at the shrimp farm with comments added after Bureau Veritas's draft report was published by ASC.

1) The party that initiated the certification process, Kuliarchar Sea Foods Cox's Bazar Ltd., ("the applicants"), own a shrimp processing plant. This business purchases shrimp from many farms in the locality; they also import unprocessed shrimp from Myanmar. The company processes the shrimp and exports it. The applicants do not own or run the farm that was audited; "Kuliarchar Shrimp Farm" is neither a brand name, nor a legal entity. The land in the area is administered by a local cooperative society, whose members own (individually or jointly) tracts of land in the area. The farm in question has been leased by its owners (till 2017) to a third-party, and NOT to the applicants. The lessee is not a farmer. The lessee is not the applicant. The lessee was not present during the audit of the farm which he had leased.

a) The applicants readily clarified that they do not own or run any farms but claimed to be in possession of an agreement pertaining to the farm being audited. The terms of this agreement and its contracting parties are not known to us. The applicants REFUSED to show us a copy of this agreement.

b) Members of the cooperative who OWN the land (whom we interviewed) were unaware of any lease agreement involving the applicants. More than one such interview is on record.

c) One of the members said (on record) that the lessee is, allegedly, a local shrimp trader who deals regularly with the applicants.

d) The report states: "Verified organization's farm contract with Badarkhali Shamobai Krishi Po Upaniwesh Samiti, signed on 27.12.2014."

What organisation is this? Who are the parties that have entered into this contract with the named cooperative society? Who runs the farm? How can the applicants enter into a farming contract with the cooperative society without the knowledge of the owners of the farm?

The auditors did not think it necessary to clarify these matters; they make no mention of these discrepancies in their report.

Assessing various indicators under Principle 3 and 4 require the auditors to be certain about the legal identities of the farm, its owners and the people who work on it. A number of aspects of third-party certification (e.g., chain of custody, workers's rights) are meaningless without clear identification of ownership, legal rights and responsibilities.

If they were unsure how to proceed, they could have filed a Variance Request with the ASC. They did not. Instead, they bumbled their way through the audit -- their confusion is amply clear from their remarks on indicators under Principles 3 and 4. A contract is said to be in order, elsewhere the same contract is noted as incomplete; workers have a copy of the contract, then they don't have copy but that too is OK. Workers are alternately referred to as being on contract or employees of a "farm owner" or an "organisation."

One can understand that a professional auditor, pressed for time, will be terse with comments and will re-use old material. However a degree of precision is expected and guaranteed -- especially on legal and technical matters. This audit report is a shambles; its errors begin on the first page.

As such, the applicants are shrimp processors who source produce from a wide variety of farms. This raises a natural concern regarding trans-shipment, especially since a legal chain of custody cannot be established or enforced in this case.

e) The audit report attests that "it is not easy for introducing product from outside the unit of certification." Our concern is NOT that shrimps will be added to the produce INSIDE the farm (the unit of certification) or during transportation. The real concern is that transshipment will occur inside the processing plant, which is conveniently outside the unit of certification. This is not the fault of the auditors, since the ASC Shrimp Standard exempts processing plants (even those on site) from inspections.

Nevertheless, this statement in the audit report, among others, confirmed our suspicions (during the audit) that the auditors were trying to tick boxes without due diligence. The auditors made no attempt to inquire as to how the applicants would resolve CoC through the value chain in a manner that would enable them legally to use the ASC logo. These inquiries serve to help the client by informing them of their responsibilities.

Let us be clear -- Nijera Kori could not investigate the matter of the contracts any further during the audit because the owners of the farm did not possess any contracts; the applicants refused to show us their copy of the contract; the lessee was not present during the audit; and the auditors couldn't care less.

2) None of the locals (who live beside or near the farm and were interviewed by us) were aware of the p-SIA (stated on record). None of them had ever met the applicants or their representatives or heard about a meeting conducted by the applicants. Indeed, it took us a while to connect the dots and locate the owners of the farm because nobody in the local community had ever heard of the applicants.

Under pressure, the applicants admitted that local stakeholders were not consulted but couldn't explain how they wrote a report about a p-SIA that was never conducted. The auditors glossed over the attempted fraud during the audit. Distressingly, the audit report records that the auditors "verified the minutes of meeting conducted with local community on dates 7th March and 8th June respectively." This statement in the report must be evaluated in hindsight -- the auditors were aware that the applicants had not interacted with the local community and that the p-SIA report was largely fabricated. Yet, they chose to accept, as genuine, the records of meetings held BEFORE the audit. Why?

We were not given a copy of the fraudulent p-SIA report or the B-EIA despite the requirement in the ASC Shrimp Standard that these reports be made available to stakeholders.

The audit report further states that the auditors "verified the record of comminication of p-SIA to local community and stakeholders. Also verified the records of training conducted for the concerned person to make them aware about the p-SIA. Approved and Closed."

This capricious stamp of approval on a critical indicator of the ASC standard is unacceptable. Should the auditors can be accused of innocently propagating the initial fraud by the applicants or should they be accused of being complicit parties? Your inquiries will determine if your auditors are naively credulous or poorly trained, or incompetent or actively fraudulent.

3) A local (who cannot be identified for obvious reasons) said that money was paid to those who "helped" with the farm getting certified. It was implied that members of our team would also be compensated if we "helped." This allegation cannot be proved, but we have reasons to believe it is true.

4) We discussed all these (and other) matters with the auditors. The audit report shows that our concerns were ignored. There were no efforts on their part to gain inputs from local stakeholders either. Their euphemism for their unprofessional abhorrence of field-work finds a place in their audit report: desktop review. They were happy to sit at a desk and be shown whatever paperwork the guidelines required them to see; this without understanding what they were supposed to glean from the paperwork. The non-compliance remarks in the report are part of a mindless tick-the-box auditing process during the course of which each non-compliance can be (and is) rectified with a tick in another box.

This list, above, is not a full account of the problems we observed with the auditing process. It is excerpted from a report prepared by Nijera Kori. The report is part of a larger investigation of ASC-certified shrimp farms around the world.

The incompetent farce (it cannot be called an audit) staged in Bangladesh throws into doubt all recommendations for certification given by the same team to other farms. We were shocked by their incompetence during the "audit"; far more terrifying is the squalid cover-up attempted in their draft-report. We recommend immediate suspension of certificates awarded to all farms audited by them, pending independent reviews by another CAB accredited to ASI.

If the ASC's audit guidelines are to blame (as, indeed, they may well be) then all further certification should be suspended till these are rectified by the ASC's TAG.

Nijera Kori and her partner organisations will continue to monitor the work of ASC's auditors and publish findings. However, it is for the ASC to act upon this information.

REFERENCES:
1) The draft audit report [http://www.asc-aqua.org/upload/2_201612002_Kuliarchar%20Shrimp%20Farm_Kuliarchar%20Shrimp%20Farm_DRAFT.pdf]
2) The ASC Shrimp Standard [http://www.asc-aqua.org/upload/ASC%20Shrimp%20Standard_v1.0.pdf]
3) About Nijera Kori [http://nijerakori.org/]

Thursday, December 8, 2016

MAP News Issue 405 - December 10, 2016

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The MAP News
405th Edition                               December 10, 2016

FEATURE STORY

Rampal power plant voted down yet project continues
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BANGLADESH - Demand of saving the world’s largest mangrove forest and a world heritage site, the Sundarbans, from Rampal power plant has dominated the mass vote arranged by green activists. After weeks of casting votes that began on October 30 and in participation of over 10,000 voters, the result of the mass vote was published at Dhaka University today. Prof Anu Muhammad, member secretary of National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports announced the result at Aparajeyo Bangla premises. A majority 90.48 percent of the 10,111 votes cast went against the Rampal power plant. A remaining 8.51 percent voted for the plant that the government says is “for the development of the country”. “Rampal power plant is a curse. There will be no way to stop the pollution once it kicks off,” said Prof Dr Badrul Imam of Dhaka University’s geology department at the programme. Bangladesh government is going ahead with Rampal power plant in collaboration with India against mass protests and serious environment concerns that moved even the Unesco. Meanwhile, the national committee, which is spearheading the save Sundarbans movement, is preparing to launch massive protest programs in Dhaka at November-end to push their agenda. READ MORE

Help Coastal Communities Restore Their Mangroves
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WORLDWIDE - Without the mangrove trees that used to protect them, Khun Nit and her grandchildren cannot sleep soundly because they’re frightened by the roar of the waves. Sometimes the waves reach the roof of their house. Khun Nit has lived on the coast her entire life, but she and her family can’t move any further inland. There is nowhere else to move. Villagers like Khun Nit and her grandchildren need support and training to protect and restore their mangroves so they can keep their home. You can give women like Khun Nit the skills and knowledge needed to become a local conservation expert, spreading awareness about the importance of mangroves, and empower her to train other women to do the same. LEARN MORE


AFRICA

Nigerian farmers, fishermen sue Shell in UK over pollution
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NIGERIA - Emere Godwin Bebe Okpabi, leader of Nigeria's Ogale people, unpacked four bottles of water from his homeland and lined them up on a table to show why his subjects are suing Royal Dutch Shell in a London court. The Nigerian water is contaminated with oil and cancer-causing compounds such as benzene. It's what his people drink every day. Britain's High Court will begin hearing lawsuits on Tuesday filed by the Ogale and Bille people alleging that decades of oil spills have fouled the water and destroyed the lives of thousands of fishermen and farmers in the Niger River Delta, where a Shell subsidiary has operated since the 1950s. They brought their fight to Shell's home base because they say the Nigerian courts are too corrupt. "Let the shareholders of Shell who are residents of the advanced world, like Britain, let them see a representative of a kingdom that is being destroyed for them to have money," he told The Associated Press on the eve the hearing. "That's blood money." London law firm Leigh Day is handling the cases after it won a landmark agreement from Shell to pay $83.5 million in compensation to the Bodo community for damage caused by oil spills in 2008 and 2009. Shell originally offered $50,000 before the Bodo took their case to the same U.K. court. READ MORE

As oil palm expands, African nations agree to protect forests
Congo - Central and West African countries have promised to protect their tropical forests from being cut down to make way for palm oil crops, in a declaration signed by governments representing more than 70 percent of Africa's tropical forests. Palm oil, one of the world's most widely used vegetable oils, is a fast-growing business and a major cause of tropical deforestation worldwide. The seven countries that signed the declaration in Marrakesh, where international climate talks are taking place, want to expand into the $50 billion global palm oil market. The countries, however, also are home to about 13 percent of the world's remaining tropical forest, particularly in the Congo Basin region. Those are at risk as the palm oil market expands, toward an estimated $88 billion a year by 2022, according to the World Economic Forum. "It's really exciting and important that these countries which are about to expand into the market have learned from the path that (Malaysia and Indonesia) took," Dominic Waughray, head of public-private partnerships at the World Economic Forum, said in a telephone interview. READ MORE

ASIA

'Poverty alleviation' shrimp farms destroy mangrove forest, grab indigenous land
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MALAYSIA - A government-led shrimp farming project meant to tackle extreme poverty in northern Sabah, Malaysian, won local support in 2010 by promising job opportunities for impoverished indigenous communities. Six years on, mangrove forests local people depend on for food, materials and income are closed off and being cleared - but the jobs have yet to materialize. The first time that Olon Somoi heard about the shrimp farm was at the opening ceremony, on a day like any other in April 2013. She remembers feeling surprised and doubtful, as she attended the ceremony in the neighbouring village of Kuyuh. She felt even more hesitant when government officials handed out job application forms, but she could understand why other people in her village were eager to sign up. "We all need jobs", she thought. "Especially the youths." And yet she couldn't stop thinking that something wasn't right. READ MORE

Nai Nang’s honey will “BEE” in the best hotels of Thailand!
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THAILAND - Four years ago the community of Nai Nang in Krabi province, Thailand, started producing honey partly made from the mangroves flowers surrounding the village, but the most challenging part was how to market it. Most of the income and jobs around Nai Nang village are based on palm oil, rubber and fishing. The people asked themselves, “How can we make an income besides farming and fishing?” That’s when the idea of honey bees came along as several community members had already set-out bee boxes which had been colonized by the wild bee, Apis cerana. This is not only good for the environment, but also a great source of income and excellent for mangrove pollination. Mangroves are vital to this project, and MAP has provided technical support helping out with mangrove planting, drainage of the area allowing natural mangrove reproduction. But most importantly, teaching and educating the community so they can take care of the mangrove and continue with the restoration and conservation of this ecosystem. The mangrove is as vital to community as the community to the mangrove. READ MORE

Indonesia just made a huge move to protect the climate
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INDONESIA - A new decision from the government of Indonesia could be a major boon for both public health and the global climate. President Joko Widodo announced a moratorium on all activities that could damage the nation’s peat-filled wetlands, a move that could help prevent wildfires and billions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the next few decades. The action represents “the kind of leadership that the world needs right now,” Erik Solheim, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, said in a statement. Indonesia is known for its tropical peatlands — bogs filled with carbon-rich, partly decomposed organic matter, or peat. Recently, though, Indonesia’s peatlands have been faced with growing threats from human activity, mainly agriculture. To make room for farmland, people in the region have taken to draining and drying the bogs, sometimes starting fires to aid them in clearing the land. READ MORE

Fisheries body wants authorities to destroy illegal trawlers
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MALAYSIA - The Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) wants authorities to destroy illegal trawlers in Malaysian waters to protect the rice bowl of local fishermen. LKIM chairman Datuk Seri Dr Irmohizam Ibrahim said his department was pushing the idea to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM) to be implemented. “I would like to suggest to the government to destroy boats and vessels of foreign fishermen so that it is a lesson and shows the seriousness of our government in protecting our resources,” he told Malay Mail Online in an interview. Irmohizam explained that most “pirates” were invading Malaysian waters especially in the East Coast which were eating into the profits of local fishermen. “The invasion of foreign fisherman in our waters especially in the East Coast raises concern mainly fishermen from Vietnam because the local fishermen are often troubled by them while fishing. READ MORE

Mangrove growth adds to green cover
INDIA - Non-cultivation of paddy fields along river banks and the growth of mangroves is helping increase Goa's forest cover. In its latest biennial assessment, forest survey of India (FSI) has reported a 5% increase in the state's forest cover. "The reason for increase in forest cover (in Goa) is mainly due to increase in mangrove areas," according to the FSI's, 'state of forest' report 2015. Pollution and fallow conditions of paddy fields cause their eutrophication, which helps growth of mangroves. This loss in agricultural area is a gain to the forest cover. Despite the general perception of state's shrinking forest cover due to rapid development, FSI's assessment indicates that the state's total forest cover of 2,219 sq km (59.94%), as per the previous assessment, has increased to 2,240 sq km (60.08%). READ MORE

Kerala is finally realising the need to preserve its mangroves
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INDIA - There are hardly any mangroves left in Kerala, but now there is a realisation that preserving what is left and regenerating more will help combat climate change by sequestering carbon and buffering the effects of sea level rise For a state that has 44 rivers and a wide network of estuaries and backwaters with tidal action, Kerala has a relatively small area under mangroves – just 25 sq km at present, down from 700 sq km in 1957. The mangrove patches that still survive are distributed across many coastal districts. The mangroves in Kerala are unique in the sense that more than half are under private ownership, making conservation difficult. Mangrove conservation faces a double whammy, since private owners are not motivated enough to hold on to the unique vegetation, as it does not provide a direct and immediate economic benefit. For the state government, administering patches over which they have not control is difficult. READ MORE

Replanting mangroves in Kachchh saves coast, people, world
INDIA - Hassan Bhai stretches his sinewy, sun-tanned, fisherman’s arm’s across a large swath of the Gulf of Kachchh and proudly shows the mangrove plantation that people from his village, Luni, nurture. Dots of green bob up and down the waterline in high tide over a stretch seven kilometres along the coast. Hassan says the fishers love the mangroves, as fish grow, spawn and breed in them. They also protect the coast from storm surges, especially cyclones. An industry giant, the Gautam Adani group, that owns a port, power plant and a special economic zone in the nearby coastal town of Mundra, bankrolls mangrove regeneration — even though the move follows destruction of huge tracts. Hassan often finds himself hiring villagers on daily wages to plant mangroves, chasing away Kharai camels, a Kachchhi breed that graze on mangroves, and arguing with Rabari nomadic pastoralists who bring them. There is a buzz about mangroves in Kachchh amidst regeneration efforts and conflicts of interest. Still the buzz hides the real magic of mangroves in a warming globe. Mangroves are nature’s best carbon sinks. They soak up and store excess carbon dioxide that blankets and warms up the globe. READ MORE

AMERICAS

Marvellous Mangroves: Myths and Legends is Now Available!
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MAP Education Director Martin Keeley’s most recent book is Marvellous Mangroves: Myths and Legends, a compilation of stories from “Mangrove Peoples”—those who live on shorelines where mangroves thrive—from around the world. Those peoples range from Brazil’s northern states of Parà and Bahia, where the orisha Nanã personifies God as an old lady dressed in purple and white. Other cultures include the Sundarbans people, where Bonobibi is known as the goddess of the tiger as well as the mangrove forests, as well as communities across the Caribbean and West Indies, Australia, China, and Vietnam. With wonderfully evocative illustrations by Daniella Christian, the book is designed both to entertain and enlighten, and includes valuable information for classroom use. READ MORE



Everglades mangroves might hold billion-dollar fix for climate change
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USA - The price of fighting climate change in South Florida has so far focused largely on the billions needed to install pumps, raise roads and retrofit the sprawling infrastructure that keeps the region above sea level. But South Florida might already have a valuable weapon that for ages has been sucking up carbon and keeping the planet cool: mangrove wetlands in the Everglades. To figure out just how valuable, scientists crunched some numbers to assign a price tag to Everglades National Park’s mangroves. It turned out way bigger than anyone thought. “It was kind of an alarming thing, like oh my gosh, who knew?” said Evelyn Gaiser, a wetland ecologist who has overseen Everglades research at Florida International University for nearly a decade. For about 360,000 acres of mangrove wetlands, the cash value totaled between $2 billion and $3.4 billion, or nearly seven times the amount Miami Beach plans to spend on new pumps to keep its streets dry. READ MORE

LAST WORD

Dear Friends

This year marked the tenth anniversary of Phulbari outburst, where three people were shot dead and two hundred injured in a demonstration of 80,000 people in 2006 for opposing plans by a London-based AIM-listed mining company, Global Coal Management Resources (GCM).

Formerly known as Asia Energy, the company wants to build a massive open cast coal mine in Phulbari, Bangladesh. The project threatens to destroy the homes, lands, and water sources of as many as 220,000 people, and forcibly evict an estimated 130,000 people.

If implemented, it would destroy 14,600 hectares of highly cultivable land and would leave devastative impact on the world’s largest mangrove forests and UNESCO heritage site, the Sunderbans. READ MORE
 
 

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Action Alerts:

Marvellous Mangroves: Myths and Legends is Now Available!
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MAP Education Director Martin Keeley’s most recent book is Marvellous Mangroves: Myths and Legends, a compilation of stories from “Mangrove Peoples”—those who live on shorelines where mangroves thrive—from around the world. READ MORE

VOTE The Nagenahiru Project on Solar Power for Night Fishing in Sri Lanka is selected as a finalist by the Water, Air and Food Foundation in Denmak. VOTE HERE

MAP Calendar 2017
MAP is happy to announce that we are now accepting orders for our 2017 Children's Mangrove Art Calendar . This is our 16th annual edition of Children's Mangrove Art, and this Calendar is celebrating MAP's 25th Anniversary! Please order your calendars now, and help us celebrate a quarter century of MAP's work to Save the Mangroves!"

The world's largest mangrove forest is in danger from a massive coal plant.
UNESCO can put pressure on India and Bangladesh to protect the forest, but they need to see that people around the world are speaking out. Click here to add your voice.


Our new short documentary, Reducing the Risk of Disaster through Nature-Based Solutions : Mangroves
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Tell Red Lobster its "Endless shrimp" deal is damaging and unfair to the workers SIGN THE PETITION
 
Mangroves: Guidebook to Malaysia – available for download here
 
Mangrove rehabilitation in Asia – Local Action and cross-border Transfer of Knowledge for the Conservation of Climate, Forests and Biodiversity VIEW VIDEOS HERE

Volunteer Opportunities with Mangrove Action Project CLICK HERE
 
STOP PLANTING MANGROVES ON SEAGRASS BEDS _ A CALL TO ACTION
Want to learn more about mangroves?mangrove-action-project-presentation-1-1024.jpg?cb=1424228039
Our short presentation will give you a better understanding of the issues we are working to solve. WATCH PRESENTATION
What is CBEMR? Easy to follow fact sheet – CLICK HERE

SHARE MAP'S VISION 
CLICK HERE to watch short introductory video. Together we can work "at the roots of the sea".
Join us in saving our beautiful country!
We hope you have been following the ongoing battle in Bimini, Bahamas.
We are in need of your help more than ever Click here
 
Exclusive Interview with Alfredo Quarto, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Mangrove Action Project - See more
Save the Sundarbans from Rampal power plant – View Sample Letter to Minister
Sign the Petition
 
Question Your Shrimp- Don't Buy or Sell Imported Tropical Shrimp! Sign the Petition

Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum

Marvellous Mangroves Curriculum in Bangladesh - WATCH VIDEO
MARVELLOUS MANGROVES IN BRAZIL
En Portuges

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Marvellous Mangroves – A Curriculum-Based Teachers Guide.


FOR MORE ON MAPs AWARD WINNING CHINA MANGROVE CURRICULUM VISIT
Education in the Mangroves - China
VIMEO SHOW
VISIT OUR "MM" WEBPAGE

Check out our presentation for more details on Marvellous Mangroves

“Education In The Mangroves" can now be seen on the  PhotoPhilanthropy website here!

Read this 10 page history of the development of MAP’s educational curriculum VIEW DOCUMENT
 
Article in Canada's Green Teacher Magazine - Read More

FREE MAP Mangrove e-cards CLICK HERE
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MAP’s e-Cards offer you a unique way to spread the word about MAP’s good works, while sharing beautiful photographs of the mangroves

Donate to MAP via Paypal
Giving could never be easier
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It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result. —Mahatma Gandhi

Green Planet Fundraising Assists MAP – LEARN MORE

MANGROVE ISSUES 
View MAP’s uploaded Videos at MAPmangrover’sChannel

The importance of restoring mangroves in an effective, long-term manner. Mangrove CBEMR video - VIEW
Question Your Shrimp Consumer/Markets Campaign!  WATCH VIDEO

Mangrove Restoration in Asia – Watch Short Video

Mosaic of Life 
READ A MOSAIC OF LIFE Peek into the underwater world of mangroves, "womb of the sea." By Liz Cunningham Photos By Wes Matweyew and Liz Cunningham
 

"Question Your Shrimp" Campaign

Learn more about the affects of the shrimp industry on mangroves by visiting our blog
Editor’s Note: Mangrove Action Project’s Executive Director, Alfredo Quarto was interviewed about shrimp by Green Acre Radio’s Martha Baskin
LISTEN TO INTERVIEW

Information sheds clear light on shrimp-mangrove connection
Question Your Shrimp
SEE DETAILS MANGROVE/SHRIMP

Join MAP on Facebook

Sign the Consumer's Pledge to avoid imported shrimp

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Injet Cartidges, Cell Phones, Pagers, GPS, Radar Detectors, Mobile Hot Spots, Calculators, eBook Readers, iPods/MP3 players, Digital/Video Cameras/Camcorders, PDAs, iPads/Tablets/Laptops, Video Game Consoles, Handheld Video Games
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MAP News Issue 593, March 9, 2024

MAP News Issue #593 - March 9, 2024 Nigeria has Commenced Large-Scale Mangrove Restoraion in Ogoniland Eastern Niger Delta NIGERIA - The...