It is important today to clarify what is meant by the term “mangrove friendly aquaculture”. Certainly, it is important to restore mangroves to areas where they have been destroyed or degraded. Mangroves provide many important benefits and services, such as shoreline protection from storms and erosion, enhanced wild fisheries, lumber and fuel wood, as well as carbon than other forest types. Mangroves also play a major role in providing for local communities’ livelihoods and sustenance.
The concept of “mangrove friendly aquaculture” is based on the idea that implementation of small-scale local owner-based aquaculture for livelihood can be combined with re-establishment of mangroves in degraded areas. This may sound good in theory, but may fall short of its goals in practice, unless this practice somehow coincides with effectively establishing mangrove protected areas to ensure no further mangrove ecosystem losses to human development. Conservation of primary mangrove forest areas must go hand in hand with so-called “eco-friendly” development.
Utilizing already degraded or destroyed mangrove areas for partial recovery shared with some viable form of development enterprise which fosters human cultural and livelihoods needs makes sense, as long as we understand this to mean such areas of development so not often represent net gains in area of mangrove ecosystems and their derived full benefits and services. A shrimp pond is not a natural wetland, just as a system whereby mangroves are planted along bund walls of a shrimp pond are not an example of a restored mangrove ecosystem.
Globally, if there are extensive areas of abandoned or disused shrimp ponds, then we need to endorse restoring a good portion of these back to healthy, productive mangrove forest wetlands where possible. This is something worth working towards. Where such is not possible, promoting a partial recovery of some mangrove services, while promoting alternatives, such as small-scale, community-based aquaculture initiatives or other environmentally/community friendly alternatives, seems appropriate. A major challenge towards mangrove recovery involves land tenure issues.
Supporting such human-based development alternatives to full mangrove ecosystem recovery will encourage needed work to restore natural mangrove wetlands where possible. There must be some equitable give-and-take, even with nature. If we only take, and do not give back, the resources we take will soon run out.
One further thought: When a full recovery of a mangrove wetland occurs, this is not solely a loss of opportunity, but a real positive gain for the nearby communities who benefit by increased marine fisheries, an added buffer against coastal storms, erosion, and sea level rise, a counter to the climate