Gef-iw5 etps mangroves

SECTION 2: PROJECT CONTEXT

A.Introduction

Studies estimating coastal deforestation suggest that across the 25°N - 25°S tropical and subtropical coastal margins, over an estimated third of mangrove habitat is already converted or disturbed by development, wetland drainage, changes in agriculture practice and aquaculture. With 23% of the global human population living within 100 km of the coast near sea level (IPPC, 2007) the direct impacts of human activities landscaping the coastal zone have been more significant over the past century than any other period in recorded history. This has direct consequence for mangrove forest restricted in distribution to the coastal fringe and subject to run off from upstream watersheds.

Mangroves play a vital role towards a healthy coastal ecology and societies. They process ground water and recycle nutrients, help to bind sediments, and form a filter for reefs and corals that shields them from upstream pollution and eutrophication. As highly productive carbon sinks they draw down and lock away greenhouse gases with reaching implications for climate mitigation and adaptation.

As nursery areas mangroves enhance local fisheries and provide both food and job security for local communities. In addition to a number of traditional extractive uses for timber, charcoal, honey etc. they also generate a range of cultural benefits including knowledge (scientific and traditional) and have great potential as areas for recreation and low impact nature tourism. The relationship of people living in and around the mangrove habitat has influenced culture, shaping community identity and spiritual values.

This multi-scale two-year project seeks to help safeguard these habitats and the important benefits they generate for the ETPS region. Here we propose the development of a regional plan that informs and strengthens national policy and supports on-the-ground conservation actions and communities. The intention is to support national and local policy that fosters a sustainable community culture for the ETPS region. This will potentially encourage broader reforms that favor mangrove restoration over wider areas.

B.Environmental Context and Global Significance

The ETPS spans the national waters, coasts and islands of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador (2,000,000 km²) (see Figure 1). Bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the western slopes of the Andes to the east, the coastline of the ETPS is unique, lying at the interface of complex oceanic systems and the abundant rivers flowing out from the region’s central mountains. The numerous bays, estuaries and gulfs that result from this unique reef-to-ridge configuration are lined with expansive and productive mangrove forests. These mangrove areas along Pacific coasts provide the ecological connection between the estuarine waters, other marine ecosystems, terrestrial floodplains, and up-river watersheds across the region.

Figure 1. Locations of the four demonstration sites selected across the eastern tropical pacific seascape. The trans-boundary area of interest for Ecuadorian/ Colombian common mangrove policy is also highlighted.

The upstream topography, geomorphology and climatology across the ridge-to-reef system support diverse vegetation zones. They range from dry/moist transition forest in Nicoya, Costa Rica, the wet and moist forests of Panama's Darien Province (a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve), to Pacific coastal plains where freshwater and sediment mixes into estuarine deltas in southern Ecuador. Mangrove forests extend up to 20 km inland in certain areas of Colombia; especially in the southern half of the coast between Buenaventura and Tumaco where tree height can attain over 20 m. (Alvarez-León & Garcia-Hansen 2003). The Colombia Chocó coastal margin remains relatively undeveloped and figures among the wettest regions on the planet. Over 11,000 plant species (~25% endemism) are recorded from the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena region alone (a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot) to the north of the Gulf of Tortugas. It includes more than 900 bird species of which 112 are recognized as endemic and justify the designation of Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs; Bird Life International). The region supports high mammalian, reptile and amphibian diversity and endemism.

Estimates for mangrove cover in the ETPS region vary depending on survey methods but consistently show 10-40% decline since urban expansions and established shrimp aquaculture in the 1960/70s. Remote imagery analysis suggests that 148,200 ha remain in Ecuador (2006) with 70% in the Gulf of Guayaquil and 17% in the estuarine outflow from the Cayapas and Mataje rivers. In Colombia 70-80% of mangroves are along the Pacific coast with estimates ranging from 150,000 -170,000 ha (Giri 2010) to 230,000 ha (IDEAM 2007; INVEMAR, 2008). National coverage of 165,000 ha is estimated across Panama's Pacific coast with 28%, 12% and 31% across the Gulfs of Chiriquí, Montijo and Panama respectively. Nearly the entire estimated 37,000 - 41,000 ha mangrove areas in Costa Rica (Spalding et al. 2010) are spread between more than 120 fragmented stands along the Pacific coast. Overall the regional representation of ETPS mangrove represents an estimated 6.5% of the worlds 15,000,000 ha mangrove system.

Even given fragmentation since the 1960s the mangrove fringe for the eastern Pacific continues to provide a disproportionately high contribution to ecosystem services and biodiversity value. Of the 16 mangrove genera known, five are commonly found along the Eastern neo-tropical Pacific margin; Rhizophora, Avicennia, Pelliciera, Laguncularia and Conocarpus comprising seven species. Three species, Avicennia bicolor, Mora oleifera and Tabebuia palustris all listed as Vulnerable, are rare or uncommon species only known from the Pacific coast of Central America.

The mangrove ecosystems are home to a rich diversity of species, and refuge for many resident IUCN Red listed species considered threatened (vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered). To name just a few these include conservation flagships species such as the Caiman (Crocodylus acutus), Boa (Boaconstrictor), mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata), the Spotted Paca (Agouti paca), the peccaries (Tayassu pecari and Tayassu tajacu), fin joined goby (Gobulus birdsongi), Jaguar (Panthera onca) and Neotropical Otter (Lontra longicaudis) as well as amphibians and a great number of migratory birds. Pacific migrants which use the sheltered mangrove bays for feeding, reproduction and resting include critically endangered (CR) marine turtles Dermochelys coriacea, Eretmochelys imbricata, and Caretta caretta and endangered(EN) Chelonia mydas agassizii and Lepidochelys olivacea (also all listed in Appendix I of CITES). Exposed bays are often frequented by seasonally migrating humpback whales with calves as rest and feeding areas.

In terms of denominations that protect biological diversity, all of the ETPS countries subscribe to the Article 3 CBD Aichi biodiversity targets and Article 5 of the Ramsar convention for wetland conservation, and continue to develop national protected area networks. They also form part of several bi-lateral and international cooperation agreements that recognize and seek to help prioritize and conserve endangered natural heritage. Costa Rica has over 350 wetland areas of which 30% are formally protected with 12 declared Ramsar sites since 1991. The Panama Bight eco-region is included as the representative mangrove habitat for the neo-tropical Global-200 listing (Olsen, 2002) for priority conservation. With 39 recognized wetland areas Panama maintains four Ramsar sites since subscribing in 1989 (ANAM, 2010) and hosts the Ramsar regional technical offices of CREHO. Colombia has one of its four Ramsar sites located within Afro-descendant community territories across the Baudó river delta (Chocó) on the Pacific coast and is working to protect ecological connectivity through a subsystem of national Marine Protected Areas. The National Protected Area System (SNAP) implemented in 2014 by MAE in Ecuador establishes 16 marine protected areas in coastal waters under various management categories across which 4 of the 17 Ramsar sites include significant extensions of coastal mangroves.