Governor supports mangrove project
Thursday, January 25, 2007
The Department of Environment (DoE) has partnered with the Reef
Ball Foundation in starting up the Mangrove Restoration Project in an
effort to save one of the Cayman Islands’ most critical plant.
This project, which began in November 2005, is on a plot of land
owned by and nearby the Red Bay Sailing Club.
According to reports from the DoE, the declining mangrove situation
was grossly exacerbated by Hurricane Ivan in 2005 and during the
2005 hurricane season.
However, extensive damage of remaining mangrove areas has further
opened up the potential for their development, though, conversely, the
storm has also awakened an increased public awareness of the fragile
nature, as well as the importance of the Island’s ecosystem.
Therefore, environmental decisions and activities undertaken over the next few years may be of the utmost significance for the long-term
ecological future of the Cayman Islands.
DoE staff in charge of the project has been planting a number of
mangroves and monitoring the site.
H.E the Governor, Stuart Jack, and his wife, Mariko became part of
the ‘planting process’, on Friday 19 January, when they visited the
mangrove site.
According to Tim Austin, Assistant Director of Research and
Assessment (DoE), the Governor was invited because they wanted
him to be part of an important process.
During his brief remarks, Governor Jack pointed out that it quite
important that ‘we look after our mangroves’. He was also pleased that
‘a lot of young people are involved in the project.’
Gina Ebanks-Petrie, Director of the Department of Environment, Matt
Cottam, Terresterial Ecologist, and James Gibb, Research Officer
were also present to lend a helping hand.
The project involves the implementation of a high-survivorship headstarting
protocol, using Reef Ball technology. This involves using reef
balls to headstart and anchor the seedlings in place, re-establishing
mangroves in denuded areas.
While the initial outlay per seedling is high, once pioneer seedlings are
established, they will provide shelter for further back-planting.
This novel methodology additionally has the potential to showcase a
restoration technique which may be implemented, by private
landowners, and will be accompanied by an ongoing monitoring
programme to evaluate comparative survivorship and costeffectiveness.
Restoration activities will be supported by an extensive interactive
website, interpreting projects in the context of local biodiversity and
international environmental responsibility.
The DoE reported that in the Cayman Islands, as in many areas of the
world, traditional under-valuing of mangrove habitat as a natural
resource has contributed to a precedent for rapid wetland reclamation
and development.
The mangroves play a very significant role in the Cayman’s
ecosystem. They are a critical habitat for key local species including
the Yucatan Vireo (Vireo magister caymanensis), the (nearthreatened)
Cayman Parrot (Amazona leucocephala caymanensis),
and the main breeding site for the (vulnerable) West Indian Whistling-.....
