[Coral-List] Mangroves as stabilising plants

Duncan MacRae solutions at cozm.co.uk
Mon Mar 20 12:48:24 EST 2006


I'm not sure if either of you guys have been to Selingan recently, but there 
seems to be some major sediment movements going on (that all look relatively 
recent). The spit to the west of the island seems to be growing, whilst the 
other beaches are being eroded significantly - seemingly due to the off 
shore breakwater that already exists!. I realise this is causing issues for 
the buildings on the island, but the turtles are adapting fine. Sooo 
medalling here already seems to have caused problems.

To put it bluntly I do not agree with the idea to establish a mangrove stand 
on the island for two main reasons:

1. there are no mangroves on the island currently because the situation is 
NOT a suitable habitat  - for numerous reasons
2. the islands sediments are dynamic and any attempt to stabilise them will 
no doubt fail in the long term or lead to further problems in the prevailing 
direction of littoral drift - with the possibility of mangroves and their 
associated nutrients/sediments ending up on the reefs

It would be a far better idea in the long run to remove the threatened 
buildings (dilapidated dive store, staff quarters etc) and make them 
temporary structures made out of local materials such as those on stilts 
constructed for the Govt. fishing project near by. These can then be 
moved/reconstructed as required.

I hope more folk out there can add to this discussion.

Best,

Duncan

Duncan R. MacRae

Director
Coastal Zone Management (UK)
Integrated Conservation Solutions

Blythe Cottage
22 Rosemundy
St. Agnes
Cornwall
TR5 0UD

Tel: ++ (0)1872 552 219
Mobile: ++(0)7958 230 076
E-mail: solutions at cozm.co.uk
Website: www.cozm.co.uk

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Todd Barber" <reefball at reefball.com>
To: "Nicolas J. Pilcher" <pilcher at tm.net.my>; 
<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2006 1:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Sabah and reefballs


> Hi Nicolas,
>
> Why would you think I am using Reef Balls to save the day?  We're looking 
> at
> planting mangroves to help stabilize the beaches because Reef Balls 
> offshore
> (8 years ago) have stopped the netting and increased the turtle nestings
> substaintially so they need as much space as possible.  Come on folks, we
> are an NGO, not a marketing company.  Sure, we use Reef Balls in a lot of
> our projects but only as one management tool of many.
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Todd Barber
> Chairman Reef Ball Foundation, Inc.
> 3305 Edwards Court
> Greenville, NC 27858
> reefball at reefball.com
>
> http://www.artificialreefs.org
> http://www.reefball.org
> http://www.reefball.com
>
> Direct: 252-353-9094
> mobile: 941-720-7549
> Fax 425-963-4119
>
> Personal Space: http://www.myspace/reefball
> Group Space http://groups.myspace.com/reefballfoundation
> Skype & MSN For Voice or Video Conferences:
> Available upon request
>
> Atlanta/Athens Office
> 890 Hill Street
> Athens, GA 30606 USA
> 770-752-0202
> (Our headquarters...not where I work see above)
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Nicolas J. Pilcher" <pilcher at tm.net.my>
> To: "Todd Barber" <reefball at reefball.com>; 
> <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Sent: Friday, March 17, 2006 11:57 PM
> Subject: Sabah and reefballs
>
>
>> Interesting to hear that reefballs are going to save Sabah's reefs from
>> erosion. Ever seen what continued man--made structures end up looking 
>> like
>> many years after being deployed in areas where shifting sands due to
>> predominant current patters persists? The Maldives might be a good 
>> example
>> of the continued need to adjust and shift these. The turtle islands have
>> been subject to a two-phase sand shift with the monsoon season for many
>> more years than reef-balls, and turtles, which require a stable nesting
>> habitat in order to successfully propagate as a group of species. Sand
>> moves one way in the monsoon season, the other in the off season. And
>> while sand is ultimately shifting slowly in one direction, the islands 
>> are
>> obviously sufficiently stable for turtles, which nest on their natal
>> beaches but require a 30 year developmental period. That is, the islands
>> are stable enough for 30 years, yet reefballs are going to save the day?
>>
>>
>>>I am off to the Turtle Islands in Sabah tomorrow to save the turtle
>>>nesting
>>>grounds from erosion for those totally protected (from humans) islands, 
>>>so
>>>I
>>>won't be able to respond for the next week. So if you have a comment try
>>>emailing it to me directly with a catchy subject that I can pick out on a
>>>slow internet connection.
>>
>> I am writing from Sabah with a fast broadband connection. You'll end up 
>> in
>> hotels all of which have wireless broadband access for guests - yes, 
>> right
>> here in Borneo, of all places! I'd appreciate if you would not suggest
>> that this is a backward destination, you might find in many ways Sabah 
>> has
>> a lot more to offer.
>>
>> Dr. Nicolas J. Pilcher
>> Co-Chair IUCN SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group
>>
>> Executive Director
>> Marine Research Foundation
>> 136 Lorong Pokok Seraya 2
>> Taman Khidmat
>> 88450 Kota Kinabalu
>> Sabah
>> Malaysia
>>
>> Tel ++ 60 88 386136
>> Fax ++ 60 88 387136
>> Email: pilcher at tm.net.my
>>
>>
>
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