80% Of Myanmar's Mangroves Gone; Aquaculture And Charcoal Logging Taking The Rest

TANINTHARYI, Myanmar — Most of the waterways surrounding the islands of the Mergui archipelago in the Andaman Sea are lined with mangroves, and the one leading into the island of Kala from the east was no different. But as our speedboat rounded a corner, we came up against a large barge. Bulldozers roared in the distance. Up on the land, logged mangrove wood was stacked in piles. Some stumps of mangroves were still lodged in the parched soil. A red sign adjacent to the mangroves said, “no cutting,” but the “no” had fallen off.

A few years ago, a businessman named U San Maung obtained approximately 200 hectares (500 acres) of land in Kala. He bought much of the forest land from nearby villagers and razed the remaining mangrove forest. U San Maung had plans to develop it into an aquaculture facility to produce shrimp to be sold to Thailand, where seafood fetches a higher price than locally.

In January, a manager working in the facility said they hoped to be cultivating shrimp in 10 ponds by April or May of this year. However, their efforts are controversial: although aquaculture can reduce overfishing in the sea, villagers complain that it also impacts where they are able to fish, and the quality of the catch. The regional parliament is asking the national government to take action against new aquaculture projects in Tanintharyi.

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Already, this mangrove deforestation for aquaculture development is impacting villagers. A man in Masan Pa, who asked not to be identified by name for fear of retaliation from the aquaculture company, makes a living from catching crabs. He used to go into the mangrove area now under development for his daily catch, but says the company will no longer allow him in. (The company in question could not be reached for comment.) “We want to complain about this hardship because we have no place for crab fishing,” he says. “But we don’t have anyone to lead or organize us for the complaint.”

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https://news.mongabay.com/2019/05/controversial-aquaculture-projects-threaten-myanmars-remaining-mangroves/