Thi Nai Lagoon is a “breeding-ground” for various kinds of aquatic species and has been benefiting thousands of local residents living around it.
Yet, its ecosystem has deteriorated. The sub-project “Mangrove forestation at Thi Nai Lagoon” will aid not only the ecosystem restoration but the capacity building for climate change adaptation.
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Mangrove forest at Thi Nai Lagoon. Photo Van Luu
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Badly damaged ecosystem
Thi Nai Lagoon is categorized as a tropical salt-marsh (or brackish marsh). It covers an area of 5,060 hectares. This is the confluence of two big rivers – Ha Thanh and Con – before they enter the East Sea via Quy Nhon estuarine. Thi Nai Lagoon has a vast tidal flat. Its ecosystem, thus, has favorable conditions to become rich and diverse.
The lagoon is actually a breeding-ground for various kinds of aquatic species, including about 120 species of fish, 15 species of shrimps and dozens of other valuable aquatic species.
Among them, at Con Chim mangrove forest only (in Phuoc Son commune, Tuy Phuoc sub-urban district), there are tens of precious species of birds and marine lives such as storks, black night herons, swallows; fish, shrimps, oysters, shellfish, mussels.
Notably, Thi Nai used to have about 1,000 hectares of mangrove forest and 200 hectares of sea grass, guaranteeing growth of aquacultural resources and maintaining stability of the marsh ecosystem.
With such rich and diversified aquacultural resources, Thi Nai Lagoon has been benefiting hundred thousands of local households living around it for hundreds of years.
Yet, in recent years, its ecosystem has been badly damaged because of many reasons, particularly the mangrove deforestation for shrimp farming, over-exploitation of the seafood resources with bad practice of electric shock, careless and uncontrolled waste and sewage disposals from the local households and plants to Thi Nai Lagoon. Its ecosystem has been more and more deteriorating.
Researches show that natural exploitation output of the aquaculture from Thi Nai remarkably decreases in comparison to the past 10 previous years. Shrimp output declines 65 percent, fish output has a down of 47 percent, sea crabs – crabs 25 percent, mollusk 67 percent.
At the same time, nearly all the mangrove forest is at risk of “extinction”. Only a sparse population of mangroves and avicennia marinas exists along shrimp farms’ shores. The total area of the aquacultural farming at Thi Nai Lagoon is twice higher than permitted sustainability index.
The biological excessiveness causes more severe pollution to water at the lagoon. Vulnerability of the local residents to the climate change has been alarmingly increased.
Solution
After surveying the real situation of the Thi Nai Lagoon’s ecosystem, the sub-project “Mangrove forestation at Thi Nai Lagoon” with community-based approach has been implemented. It aims at restoring the mangrove forest, providing breeding – ground for aquatic species in the forest and the surrounding areas, raising income of the local fishermen. The mangrove forest will be a “green lung” of Quy Nhon city and neighboring localities.
Dinh Van Tien, Deputy Director of Binh Dinh Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said that the sub-project’s duration is 3 years (2009-2012). At first, it is implemented at two wards of Nhon Binh and Dong Da, Quy Nhon city.
Beneficiaries at the first stage include 178 households of aquatic farming and 23 households of aquacultural exploitation, who are poor because of the loss caused by aquatic animal diseases or the serious decline of the aquacultural resources at Thi Nai Lagoon.
The sub-project mainly aims at restoring and developing the mangrove forest ecosystem, protecting the aquacultural resources, protecting environment, minimizing natural disaster losses, enhancing the adaptation to the climate change.
In the future, the mangrove forest is expected to partly protect houses, building works from storms, floods, reducing negative effects of the climate change, particularly the sea level rise.
According to Tien, for sake of efficient implementation of the sub-project, the Project Management Board (PMB) has coordinated with local governments in assigning tasks of caring and protecting the mangrove forest at Thi Nai Lagoon to the community representatives.
In order to mobilize the community participation, the PMB defines clearly rights and responsibilities of the community, households and individual stakeholders; signing contracts with confirmation of the local governments.
The relevant stakeholders are required to follow technical processes (detailed in the contracts). In return, they are allowed to benefit all of the products from the mangrove forest (both above and under the surface) but don’t harm the breeding and the growth of the planted trees. They are equipped with sentry boxes, small patrol-boats, flash-lights, bamboo fences. They are also provided finance to cover the operation costs.
The PMB has coordinated with the local governments and authorities to carry out some activities such as sapling cultivation (mainly sonneratia alba and avecennia alba) to provide breeding trees for the mangrove forest at Thi Nai Lagoon; organizing training courses on afforesting, caring and protecting the mangrove forest for sub-project relevant stakeholders. At present, 10 hectares of mangrove forest at Thi Nai Lagoon has been grown and cared.
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