Suriname fends against sea level rise

Environmental activists in Suriname are far proceeded to plant mangroves along the Atlantic coast in places where they have been removed and where the sea penetrates. So they want to protect the country from sea level rise. They see this as salvation more than the dyke, which the Ministry of Public Works intends to build along the coast from east to west. It already begins in district Coronie where erosion takes place. Behind the mud dyke environmentalists are now planting mangrove. They want to prove the government that mangrove forests are the best shore defense against sea level rise and hope that the dyke appears to have been built in vain.

Mangrove forests occur from 30 degrees north latitude to 30 degrees south latitude on both sides of the equator. They are adapted to the marine environment of the muddy shores of the countries where they occur. Brackish and fresh water swamps occur in those forests. Not only mangroves serve as coastline protection, but they are also particularly important as breeding and feeding grounds for marine fauna. During the winters of the north, they serve as important feeding ground for migratory shore birds. Mangrove forests are habitats for shrimps, crabs, tigers, monkeys and many invertebrates such as bees, ants and snails. It adds value to small-scale industrial fishing along the coast and mangrove honey and can also serve as resource for ecotourism, education and science.

Haydi J. Stein Berrenstein Conservation Biologist / Wetland Specialist Mangrove will be graduated soon on mangroves. She spends much time in the woods looking for scientific data. "For many people mangrove swamp forests are unpleasant places, known for their many mosquitoes, bees and the unpleasant smell of hydrogen sulfide and methane in the mud, with the smell of rotten eggs. But their special roots protect the coastline from erosion. Mangrove forests also absorb the harsh sea breeze, by which the hinterland is protected. It is an "integrated masterpiece" that nature has put together".

Characteristics of mangrove

The mangrove forest of Suriname is one of the most important and least degraded in the world. This forest occurs along the whole coast, in river channels and estuaries and brackish water of the coastal area. It forms a natural border with the Atlantic Ocean by holding sludge - primarily derived from the Amazon River and Oronico and transported by the Guyana Stream – between their roots. So they create a valuable habitat and stabilize the shoreline builds. "Sludge is not main land", explains Professor Sieuwnath Naipal. He is a lecturer Infrastructure at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname. "It moves with the flow of water - although with a lower speed - and exercises such as a brake on the flow, allowing the force of the water to decrease and thus less shoreline erosion. The mangrove finds therefore room to grow. With the passage of time, the ground undergoes a maturation process, hardens and will belong to the solid ground." The university tries to encouraging this characteristic of mangrove by planting mangroves where they were removed.

Vulnerable to sea level rise

The planting of mangroves is one of the measures proposed in the Climate Action Plan of the ministry of L:abour, Technological development and Environment. According to a World Bank study in 2007, Suriname is one of the top ten countries most vulnerable to sea level rise. The country is especially vulnerable because of its low-lying coastal area where most economic activities are carried out. Merely of the population are living there and fertile agricultural land occur there. "The expectation is that if the government takes no action coastal erosion will increase, the coastline will be damaged, habitats will be lost, floods will come and the infrastructure and houses on the coastline will be destroyed," says professor Naipal. He plans to plant mangrove together with his students behind the dyke that the government is building in the district Coronie. For this project U.S. $ 1.4 million is available from an environmental fund called the Suriname Conservation Foundation (SCF).

Foundation impresses on natural coastal protection

Henk Brandon, SCF Strategic Partnership Development Officer is convinced that mangrove is the best coastal protection. "We believe that not protecting the coast with mangroves means that many large breeding sites will disappear, allowing shrimps which are caught off the coast to also disappear. The birds from North America will also stay away. Suriname lies on their route and they prefer to over winter in this country. French Guiana has a rocky coastline and Guyana has built a seawall and removed largely of its mangrove. If the breeding grounds disappear, the birds must move to Venezuela or the east coast of Brazil."

University experiments with mangrove plants

To see what happens when mangroves is planted partners has experimented with two thousand five hundred mangrove plants which were planted in different ways and in different soil types: soft mud, hard mud, clay, potting soil, with and without anchoring. They examine how these plants behave. "In six months time it showed that some plants meet certain criteria, so their survival at sea is great," says Professor Naipal. He is the executor of the mangrove planting project on behalf of the University. The experiment is successful and partners are now ready for a pilot project, in which the company Phyto-Tech NV will provide five hundred thousand parwa plants of the kind Avicenia germinansis. After delivery, students will pant them into a nursery for plants and if they meet the criteria, they will be planted along the coast. "If it is successful other places along the coast where the mangroves are removed will be next, "says Naipal. According to him planting of mangroves is both an adaptation as a mitigation measure. The growing mangroves absorb CO2 and are the best defense against shore sea level rise.