When mangroves disappear, animals and even the people here are in trouble

Pelicans, flamingos, monkeys and even hyenas are under threat in Senegal in West Africa, along with the livelihoods of the local people, as thick clusters of mangroves are disappearing.

And it seems that not even an ancestral spirit can save them.

The protected marine area (in French, Aire Marine Protegee, or AMP) of Joal in western Senegal is home to an incredibly rich biodiversity.

The hardy mangrove shrubs thrive in salty water, thick mud and hot, humid conditions that would kill most other plants.

Joal’s mangroves are being eroded by a combination of factors, including global warming, deforestation, public works, oyster and clam fishing, salination of the fresh water river, and drought.

All along the riverbed, great swathes of sandy dunes have appeared in place of the once cooling canopy of mangroves.

“The empty spaces are areas where the mangrove has disappeared,” says Abdoulaye Sagna, a manager at the Joal AMP.

Swamp sanctuary

Mangroves are not just tough survivors. Scientists now believe the swamps are hugely important to the well-being of the planet as a whole.

Senegal’s mangrove system supports a vast range of species and organisms.

Baobab trees and acacia shrubs grow in between the tangled roots, which are a habitat for molluscs, crabs and insects.

Animals such as monkeys and hyenas also live in the mangroves, and flamingos, pelicans, terns, herons and other types of birds nest in the trees.

“All these species are victims of the disappearance of the mangrove,” says Sagna.

Farmers cultivating oysters near the mangroves of Joal, Senegal.

The protected area may be vast but outside of the AMP, the mangrove is receding, according to Abdou Karim Sall, a member of Joal AMP’s organising committee.

But he insists that the establishment of the 170 sq km protected area has had a positive effect on safeguarding the local environment.

“There was nothing here, no mangroves, but from 2009 we started reforesting,” says Sall. “In villages not covered by the AMP, the mangrove is more degraded. We fear it will disappear in certain areas where entire hectares have been cut down.”

Despite the reforestation policy, Senegal is losing much of its mangroves, not least to those looking for firewood and construction materials.

“Senegal has lost 40% of its mangroves since the 1970s,” says ecologist Haidar El Ali, a former minister of the environment.

Receding mangroves

As the mangroves recede, it is becoming harder to find oysters and clams, which are among the mainstays of the local economy.

“Before, all you needed to do was go 10m into the river to find oysters and clams. But now, you have to go much further,” complains Marie-Madeleine Diouf, head of a group of seafood traders in Joal. “We can’t find the quantity we want and demand is increasing.”

Other than the abundant mollusc fishing, Joal – famous for being the birthplace of Senegal’s first president, Leopold Sedar Senghor – is also known for tourism and local handicrafts based on clam shells and sea snails found at the island of Fadiouth, which is linked to Joal by a bridge.

But that has attracted many unscrupulous outsiders, and not even a local spirit in the deeply superstitious society can keep them from exploiting the mangroves.

“Joal’s ancestral spirit, Mama Ngueth, the town’s protector, banned the cutting down of mangroves,” says Sall.

“Everyone respected that ban and belief in that spirit was a factor in the conservation of the mangroves. But now there are a lot of immigrants in Joal who couldn’t care less about this spirit, or the conservation of the mangroves.”

One solution has been to build an oyster farm in Joal to boost production. Yet another is to try to protect young molluscs.

Oyster farmer Leopold Ndong wields a knife to cut oysters from the intertwined mangrove roots to “plant” them in mud.

“These are spat, baby oysters… After a year they will be mature,” he says.

According to Diouf, the fight to preserve the mangroves is not a forlorn one and is worth the effort.

“We have to replant every day because people keep cutting down mangroves,” she says. “People will keep cutting, and we’ll keep replanting.” – AFP

Source : Star2.com