Controversial aquaculture projects threaten Myanmar’s remaining mangroves

He says he sees aquaculture as a necessity and a means to reduce overfishing from the sea, but adds he did not formally seek approval from the national government, which would only have approved the project if the forestry department also gave it the green light. “But it would take time, because it’s a complicated procedure,” says U Hla Than.

U Myint Maung says he believes there is potential for more aquaculture projects to be developed in Tanintharyi, which would put the remaining mangroves at further risk. “We are thinking to impose some restrictions,” he says. “For example, a business or company will have to maintain or preserve at least 30 percent of the mangrove in their project area, or replant at least 30 percent of the project area in another available vacant and fallow land.”

Scientific concerns

Christoph Zöckler, a coastal biodiversity specialist with the Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung for Nature Conservation and Environmental Protection in Germany, says this is the wrong way to approach these projects. Because Tanintharyi is home to the majority of Myanmar’s remaining mangroves, Zöckler says, regional governments and officials should try to keep it that way. “We want to keep them for the sake of local people, for diversity. We don’t want to jeopardize that with any kind of half-hearted deals with developers,” he says.

Zöckler and his collaborators in Myanmar, including Fauna & Flora International, are looking to create a biosphere reserve that would cover more than 300,000 hectares (741,000 acres) of land in Tanintharyi and would encompass mangroves and mudflats in many of the islands. “Aquaculture has no place in that,” he says.

Jean Yong, a plant biochemist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, says the biodiversity of mangroves in Tanintharyi is “too precious to be sacrificed” for land-based aquaculture. Perhaps one way to sustainably develop aquaculture in Tanintharyi, he says, is for businesses to develop offshore aquaculture systems that do not require the loss of mangrove forests.

As of mid-March, after prime minister Aung San Suu Kyi visited Tanintharyi and spoke with locals, the aquaculture projects in Tanintharyi have come under greater scrutiny. During her visit, Suu Kyi spoke with locals, who complained about the impacts of aquaculture on their daily lives.  The national and regional parliaments are working to stop current government projects or take action against the existing aquaculture businesses.

With additional reporting by Victoria Milko.

Banner image: A coastal village near the Myeik area in Myanmar. Photo by Victoria Milko. Photo by Victoria Milko.

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