ANDAMAN ISLANDS, Kadakachang Village - July 2004
Restoration and conservation of mangroves
Click photo to enlarge
Seacology Tsunami Fund Update in the Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are located in the Indian Ocean about 750 miles off the eastern coast of India. Seacology will assist the Coastal Poor Development Action Network (COPDANET) in building a Mangrove Biological Garden and Resource Center in the village of Kadakachang near the Andaman capital of Port Blair. The center's main function will be for education, training and public awareness of mangrove conservation issues to island community members, especially school children. In addition to setting aside a total of 550 acres of mangrove forest as a no take zone, the villagers will undergo training provided by COPDANET and the Department of Environment and Forest to raise 30,000 mangrove seedlings and to restore approximately 123 acres of this mangrove forest reserve.*
UPDATE January 2005 - According to project coordinator Dr. Felix Sugirtharaj, the planned center will no longer utilize an existing Department of Forests interpretation center due to the harassment of local community members by forest officers, and the potential for conflicts of interest surrounding the center. Instead, with the assistance of 2001 Seacology Prize recipient Anuradha Wickramasinghe, a nearby site was selected and purchased for the new Andaman Island center and biological garden. "Dr. Felix" reports that a recent survey identified 19 mangrove species on the island. Though heavy rains have delayed the start of construction on the new center, he projects that the building will be completed by June 2005.
UPDATE July 2005 - Seacology's newest field representative for the Indian Ocean, Hoslo Jiwa, visited the project site and met with project coordinator Dr. Felix Sugirtharaj of COPDANET in May 2005. The construction of the mangrove centre was delayed due to problems with the building's contractor as well as a shortage of building materials and the Electricity Board's moratorium on new electrical applications, both a result of prioritizing post-tsunami rebuilding. Construction is expected to resume at the end of the monsoon season with Mr. Jiwa's assistance and careful monitoring.
UPDATE August 2005 - The Mangrove Resource Center is mostly completed and will be opened in August or September 2005. The mangrove nursery under the center is also progressing with many seedlings being raised.
UPDATE January 2006 - Construction of the mangrove centre was completed in late 2005. Plans for 2006 include finding local funds to help COPDANET build a retaining wall and fencing for the mangrove center. Also, due to a severe shortage in mangrove seedling supplies in the area, COPDANET will be applying for local funding to purchase mangrove seeds and plants to continue their restoration efforts.
UPDATE June 2006 - COPDANET is finding the long-term effects of the 2004 tsunami more devastating than expected. Due to the vast changes in salinity levels in soil, seawater levels, silt density in the coastal area, or possibly other reasons scientists cannot yet discern, mangrove forests along the Andaman coast are withering and dying. It is estimated that there are more than 20,000 hectares of dying mangrove forests in South and North Andaman Islands combined. In spite of this event, COPDANET continues mangrove and environmental education seminars at the Mangrove Center and at local villages and schools.
UPDATE January 2007 - Members of the Seacology expedition to the Andamans visited the center in late October 2006. Construction and repairs to the center were complete and the building is in good condition. COPDANET’s plans for 2007 include continuing their tsunami relief efforts and their environmental education programs.
UPDATE June 2007 - A boat was purchased to help transport mangrove seedlings as a last part of the project. They are asking for additional funding to construct a boat cover and seating and purchase a motor.
*Support for asterisked projects is provided fully or in part by the
Nu
Skin Enterprises Force for Good Foundation
