Save the Mangrove in Suriname
Donations are needed to raise 10 million euros
The entire coastal area of Suriname, all inhabitants on the coast and all agricultural activities on the coast are at risk.
Due to climate change and coastal erosion, the salty seawater will flood the land for the next 100 years and make living and farming impossible.
Unless we start saving and managing the mangrove now.
To be able to save and manage the mangrove in Suriname properly, a one-time investment of 10 million euros is needed and annually 1 million euros is needed.
This money is needed for the construction, installation and management of open wooden sheet piling and the cultivation, planting and management of young mangrove trees.
The open wooden sheet piles break the waves and allow the plants to grow.
The Association MAFOSUR
Donate to:
Association Mangrove Forum Suriname (MAFOSUR)
Account number 2002202621 (EUR)
Account number 2002202648 (USD)
Account number 2002202664 (SRD)
GODO bank
Suriname
Read all about Mafosur on the website: mafosur.org.
Mangrove management is in good hands at the new MAFOSUR association.
In close cooperation with the government, the association has already started planting activities.
However, the association needs members. For support and volunteer work for the Trees Plan.
Photograph of volunteers planting mangrove trees
Personal letter from Prof. dr. Naipal
Prof Naipal has been committed to saving and managing the mangrove in Suriname for many years.
Read here his personal letter to you
Video Surinamese Mangrove
Presentations about the Mangrove
Download presentation 1 here
Download presentation 2 here
Mangrove Education Center (MECC)
The Mangrove Education Center was set up in Coronie a few years ago.
Many people have put a lot of energy into that.
Lesson modules have been made, an exhibition with a diorama, and a scale model of the ecosystem.
Unfortunately, the center is dilapidated.
Department of Nature Management is a branch of the National Forest Service (LBB) and now manages the MECC.
The center needs 50,000 euros to regain its educational function.
Please contact Discover Suriname if you would like to help the center with a donation or investment.
Read about the UNDP project here
Photograph of a diorama in the education center
10 Facts about the Mangrove
Sources of the facts: The World Wildlife Fund and Prof. dr. Naipal, founder of the MAFOSUR association.
Fact 1: The Mangrove is the most natural and sustainable coastal protection for Suriname
Mangroves are trees or shrubs that occur in the tropics and sub-tropics on the transition from land to sea.
Mangroves can be found along a large part of the 386 km long Surinamese coast.
They provide protection against erosion by stabilizing the sediment with their roots.
Mangrove trees are very easy to plant and therefore a damaged mangrove can be saved and restored with good management.
Fact 2: Mangroves protect a coastline from storms
Mangrove roots can reduce the height of storm waves by up to 66%.
Fact 3: Good mangrove management prevents major flooding in the city of Paramaribo
If we do nothing now, within 70 years the water will be more than a meter high in the streets of Paramaribo.
However, we can prevent this by saving and managing the mangrove now.
Fact 4: Good mangrove management sustains coastal agriculture
If we restore the mangrove now, we will prevent the salt water from reaching the agricultural lands just behind the coast.
The mangrove will help the coast to grow again.
Fact 5: A mangrove forest is very good for fish stocks and fishing
A forest of roots and branches underwater creates a safe nursery for many small fish and shrimp.
A mangrove, therefore, ensures a wonderful recovery of the fish stock and is also a driver for sustainable fishing.
More than 300 species of fish live part or all of their lives in the mangroves
Fact 6: A mangrove is insensitive to climate change
Even though the temperature rises, the weather becomes more extreme and the water rises, a mangrove forest can withstand this.
This is in contrast to, for example, structures such as dikes.
Fact 7: Ecotourism around the mangrove provides income for the local community
Many small businesses depend on the Parwa (or black mangrove); from fruit processors, coconut and honey producers to fishermen, boat owners,
crab catchers, local tourism companies, etc.
Fact 8: Mangroves purify the water
A mangrove forest purifies the water because, among other things, it slows down the speed of the water and it gives all kinds of organisms in the water the opportunity to clean the water.
This greatly increases the water quality.
Fact 9: Mangroves provide enormous biodiversity
More than 200 species of shorebirds live in and around mangroves such as the scarlet ibis, flamingo, little blue heron and mangrove heron.
At least 30 mammal species live in the mangroves such as the krabu dagu and the manatee. Several species of crabs live part or all of their lives in the mangroves in Suriname.
About 11 species of shrimp live part or all of their lives in the mangroves in Suriname.
Fact 10: Repairing the mangrove is cheaper than repairing the damage
Suppose the city of Paramaribo has to be moved, or that 200,000 people have to go elsewhere.
The cost of that special operation is much higher than the 10 million euros it costs to save the mangrove in Suriname.
Mangrove Recovery in Guyana by Dutch Company (2021)
The Dutch company SBM Offshore has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) in Guyana under which the company will fund a Mangrove Restoration Project along a section of the east coast of Demerara, in Guyana The project will cost over US$332,000.
Read more about this project here .
The Netherlands helps Indonesia with Mangrove recovery (2015)
In 2015, the Indonesian and Dutch governments launched an extensive public-private partnership to improve the security of the north coast of Java. The aim is to counter the rapid erosion of this coast and realize a stable delta through unique integration of mangrove restoration, small-scale infrastructure and sustainable land use.
Read more about the projects here
In North Java, 30 million people live with the threat of flooding from severe coastal erosion. 3000 villages are located in this flood-prone area. The situation is largely the result of the felling of mangrove forests for aquaculture, infrastructure and groundwater extraction. In some places, more than 3 km of the coastline has already been eroded, as a result of which entire villages have disappeared. Because the income of many residents depends on the mangroves, many people can no longer provide for their livelihood. The agriculture and aquaculture sectors, the main economic drivers in Indonesia, are suffering heavy losses.
Read about the Eco Shape pilot here
Calculation of Carbon (CO2) Consumption of Mangroves
In total, the world's mangroves sequester about 24 million metric tons of carbon in soil per year. A mangrove forest on the Pacific island of Kosrae, in Micronesia, can store as much carbon annually as a tropical rain forest in Panama.
Mangroves are among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics, containing on average 1,023 t carbon per hectare2 in existing forests, most of which is stored in soils >30 cm deep. The average carbon storage value per hectare is much higher in mangroves than in other forests.
So, helping to save the mangrove in Suriname is also helping to save the future of your children.
Read more here
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