[Coral-List] Wetlands
James M. Cervino
cnidaria at earthlink.net
Thu Jul 28 09:54:41 EDT 2005
Dear Coral Listers this may be of interest to some of you as this
addresses the protection of mangroves and estuarine systems in
Central America.
To Earth Island Institute, Greenpeace, and Sirenian International:
Action Alert!
The Belizean government is in the process of overlooking existing
wetland protections of mangroves and coastal estuaries in an effort
to "create" sellable lots for commercial interests. At issue is Big
Lagoon in Placencia (Stann Creek District), which supports extensive
mangrove forests, a vital fishery, important and viable populations
of Antillean Manatees (highest density in Belize), Morelet's
crocodile (endangered), several species of dolphin, and is an
important migratory stopover for numerous species of wading birds.
We are in the early stages of mounting opposition to destruction of
the mangrove forests and the filling of the lagoon. We will prepare a
more comprehensive "action alert' and white paper soon; in the mean
time, we are looking for support, ideas, and advice from
organizations involved in the protection of mangroves and estuarine
systems in Central America. Any advice or council you can provide
would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jules Evens, Principal
Avocet Research Associates
P.O. Box 839
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
phone 415/663-1148
fax 415/663-9235
P.S.
Some preliminary info:
Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus, ), it is protected by
CITES <javascript:openwindow('http://www.cites.org/')> (The
Convention on Trade of Endangered Species), and is listed as
endangered under Belize's Wildlife Protection Act of 1981
<javascript:openwindow('http://www.ecolex.org/LE/LE/details/EN/016033.htm')>
(Auil 1998)
Morelet's Crocodile is protected under Belize's Wildlife Protection
Act of 1981
<javascript:openwindow('http://www.ecolex.org/LE/LE/details/EN/016033.htm')>
(Auil 1998) and is listed as Endangered under the U.S. Endangered
Species Act, and included in Appendix I of the CITES Treaty. The IUCN
rates the species as "Lower Risk", but this rating would revert to
Threatened or Endangered if ongoing conservation efforts were ended.
According to Beletsky (1998) this is one of the more endangered
crocodilian species, listed by CITES Appendix I and USA ESA.
A succinct summary of manatee ecology in Belize:
<http://www.sirenian.org/ManateesInBelize.html
<http://www.sirenian.org/ManateesInBelize.html> >
--
Alfredo Quarto, Executive Director
Mangrove Action Project
PO Box 1854
Port Angeles, WA 98362-0279
USA
phone/ fax (360) 452-5866
<mangroveap at olympus.net>
mailto:mangroveap at olympus.net
web site: http://www.earthisland.org/map/map.html
--
**************************************************
Professor James M. Cervino
Marine Pathology
Department of Biological & Health Sciences
Pace University New York NYC
Phone: (917)620-5287
Web site: http://www.globalcoral.org
***************************************************
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