Sri Lanka may soon become the first nation in the world to successfully protect and regrow its mangrove forests – good news for sustainable fisheries that thrive on vibrant fish stock.
The Sri Lanka Mangrove Conservation Project – a tandem effort spearheaded by the likes of U.S.-based NGO Seacology, Sri Lanka-based NGO Sudeesa (formerly known as the Small Fishers Federation of Lanka) and the government of Sri Lanka – looks to fortify all 21,782 acres of the country’s mangrove population over the course of five years, to the tune of USD 3.4 million (EUR 2.9 million).
By instituting protections on Sri Lanka’s mangroves, the project’s creators believe that coastal biodiversity will be restored to the 9,600 acres damaged by disused industrial shrimp farms and other commercial endeavors.
“As industrial shrimp farming declines in Sri Lanka, healthy mangrove forests will replace formerly degraded areas, and will harbor a diversity of species that will contribute to sustainable fisheries,” Karen Peterson, Seacology’s Sri Lanka program manager, told SeafoodSource.com.
Mangrove forests are known to defend against adverse weather events; they also act as nurseries for reef fish. Coral reef in the vicinity of mangrove forests tend to be healthier and possess greater diversity and number of fish stock, Peterson noted, making the tropical trees “key to the overall sustainability of fisheries.”
The project will provide alternative job training and microloans to 15,000 impoverished women living among the 1,500 communities adjacent to Sri Lanka’s mangrove forests. “In exchange for receiving these microloans to start up small businesses, all 1,500 communities will be responsible for protecting an average of 21 acres of mangrove forest,” Seacology explained in a release.
