| MANGROVE REHABILITATION FOR COASTLINE PROTECTION: SOME CONSIDERATIONS |
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| Tan Kim Hooi | |
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Centre
for Coastal and Marine Environment, |
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| The recent Indian Ocean tsunami disaster showed how mangrove forests and other coastal vegetation can reduce the impact of tsunamis. Mangroves, together with sea grasses and coral reefs, act as hydrodynamic barriers which dissipate wave energy and action, and therefore minimize the loss of lives and property. Coastal areas where the mangroves had disappeared or were heavily degraded were the worst hit. Politicians have since joined environmentalist and mangrove experts in calling for the protection and rehabilitation of mangroves. The critical questions for mangrove replanting to protect the coastline are what, where and how to replant mangrove species. Without much thought, many have planted Rhizophora apiculata and R. mucronata at coastlines facing strong wave energy and action, and other extreme environmental conditions such as high salinity and poor soil conditions. In fact, previous attempts to replant these two species in Malaysia's heavily eroded coastline have failed miserably. There is an urgent need to reassess the replanting of mangroves for coastline protection, as mangrove replanting is costly. This poster highlights why people still prefer R. apiculata and R.mucronata which I refer to as "living in the shadow of Matang's success" , the need to use suitable pioneer mangrove species which can tolerate high salinity and different types of soil conditions, and other options available for the coastline protection of Malaysia. | |
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