Rehabilitating mangroves in the West Coast of Aceh

Almost 70 percent of Aceh’s population live along the coast or close to the coast, suggesting a strong livelihood dependence on coastal and marine resource use. Rehabilitating mangrove forest along the coast of Aceh in the aftermath of the tsunami would therefore appear to be a natural reaction especially when considering that there is some evidence that mangrove forests have demonstrated an ability to provide some protection from the impact of tsunami, as nature's protection for the coastal regions from the large waves. As highlighted by various media, one demonstrable example was the case of the Island of Simeuleu on the West coast of Aceh which was close to the epicentre of the Dec 26 tsunami. The death toll on this particular island was significantly lower than elsewhere simply because the intact mangroves surrounding the island acted to buffer much of the force of the wave. Such observations brought an overwhelming response from the government in the region to encourage coastal communities to re-plant and rehabilitate mangroves forests along exposed coastlines. The Government of Indonesia has set a five year planting target for mangrove cover of 164 840 ha (BAPPENAS, 2005) in the tsunami devastated Aceh, supported by various international donor agencies and NGOs. While many applaud the greening agenda, concern has been expressed that issues related to the replanting strategies, which includes workforce training and supervision, maintenance of seedlings, and increased public awareness about coastal land use are not being adequately addressed (Smith, 2006). Furthermore there is a need for better understanding of the relationship between these ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. Understanding the use pattern, will enable relevant authorities to develop specific coastal management policies related to the sustainable use of the mangrove rehabilitated areas. Mangroves dominate undisturbed natural shorelines of many parts of Aceh. In general, channels within tropical mangrove forests are known to support communities of phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish, however quantifying the utilization of mangroves by fishes remains elusive (Faunce and Serafy, 2006). Nevertheless the ecosystem services provided by mangrove forests is directly linked to community livelihood and, as mangrove forests are know to play a special role as nursery habitat for juveniles of fish whose adults occupy coral reefs, sea grass beds and the pelagic zone (Kathiresam and Bingham, 2001), this includes providing direct benefits for the fishing community. Ecosystem benefits also extend offshore. Mangroves trap sediments and provide a suitable environment for the processing of nutrients from river systems, important services for the maintenance of suitable water quality for sea grass beds and coral reefs growing offshore (UNEP-WCMC, 2006). Mangroves trees are an important source of wood which local people use to construct their houses and fishing equipment.

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