Once the mangroves are ripped out, the
cost is rendered unstable, which triggers erosion, harming coral reefs and seabed,
which destroy and limit habitats for animals. This can affect the food chain
and even life cycles of some animals.
When mangroves swamps are being wiped out, there should be the implementation of higher fees on shrimp farmers for the use of the land. It should be considered as an economic rent (Primavera 1997). Instead of allowing shrimp farmers from buying mangrove swamps from the government, it should be based on rent: the land is on a loan. When one clears the swamp for farming, it has to be returned to its original state after the usage of the land, and at the cost of the shrimp farmer. If the government collected rent, such collections can fund mangrove planting and other rehabilitation programs. By making them pay fees, there could also be a decrease in the rate of mangrove swamps being destroyed, as the individual farmers will be getting lesser investment.
It is crucial to remove any financial incentives, substitutes or tax breaks given to these shrimp farmers. This measure has been proven in Philippines, where there was a decrease in the clearing of mangrove swamps since 1992 (Primavera 1997).
Since shrimps cause a great deal of damage to mangroves, a great solution would be for the government or organizations to simply invest more money and time into mangrove management. They should carefully monitor the actions of the shrimp farmers and ensure that their actions don’t cause detrimental destruction to the mangroves. Any farmer that does so should not be allowed to farm or face negative consequences. Other action-oriented programs can be instituted, such as enforcing existing pro-environment laws, conserving existing mangrove swamps, introducing sustainable methods to protect this natural habitat and the integration of a management program that is community-based (Primavera 1997).
In fact, the productivity of shrimp aquaculture is directly dependent on the mangrove swamps as it supplies water quality maintenance through filtration, nutrient absorption, and erosion reduction (Small Fishers Federation 2003). Hence, it is vital for the government to focus on the rehabilitation of the mangroves as this will benefit not only the local communities, but also the shrimp yield.
Another suggestion is to implement shrimp farming seasons, rather than allowing the farmers to farm all year. This allows for a regeneration period in between seasons for the mangroves to grow back. (Anderson 2010) The shrimp industry needs to realize that they bring about much negative consequences to the environment and onto domestic life. They need to be gracious to society. Unfortunately, shrimp industries are corrupt, and it will take time to change the ways of shrimp aquaculture. Local farmers should not only plead for shrimp aquaculture seasons, but also protect their own land by placing plastic sheets over their crops to minimize water evaporation, to decrease the use of the limited freshwater supply (Greenpeace 2013).
When mangroves swamps are being wiped out, there should be the implementation of higher fees on shrimp farmers for the use of the land. It should be considered as an economic rent (Primavera 1997). Instead of allowing shrimp farmers from buying mangrove swamps from the government, it should be based on rent: the land is on a loan. When one clears the swamp for farming, it has to be returned to its original state after the usage of the land, and at the cost of the shrimp farmer. If the government collected rent, such collections can fund mangrove planting and other rehabilitation programs. By making them pay fees, there could also be a decrease in the rate of mangrove swamps being destroyed, as the individual farmers will be getting lesser investment.
It is crucial to remove any financial incentives, substitutes or tax breaks given to these shrimp farmers. This measure has been proven in Philippines, where there was a decrease in the clearing of mangrove swamps since 1992 (Primavera 1997).
Since shrimps cause a great deal of damage to mangroves, a great solution would be for the government or organizations to simply invest more money and time into mangrove management. They should carefully monitor the actions of the shrimp farmers and ensure that their actions don’t cause detrimental destruction to the mangroves. Any farmer that does so should not be allowed to farm or face negative consequences. Other action-oriented programs can be instituted, such as enforcing existing pro-environment laws, conserving existing mangrove swamps, introducing sustainable methods to protect this natural habitat and the integration of a management program that is community-based (Primavera 1997).
In fact, the productivity of shrimp aquaculture is directly dependent on the mangrove swamps as it supplies water quality maintenance through filtration, nutrient absorption, and erosion reduction (Small Fishers Federation 2003). Hence, it is vital for the government to focus on the rehabilitation of the mangroves as this will benefit not only the local communities, but also the shrimp yield.
Another suggestion is to implement shrimp farming seasons, rather than allowing the farmers to farm all year. This allows for a regeneration period in between seasons for the mangroves to grow back. (Anderson 2010) The shrimp industry needs to realize that they bring about much negative consequences to the environment and onto domestic life. They need to be gracious to society. Unfortunately, shrimp industries are corrupt, and it will take time to change the ways of shrimp aquaculture. Local farmers should not only plead for shrimp aquaculture seasons, but also protect their own land by placing plastic sheets over their crops to minimize water evaporation, to decrease the use of the limited freshwater supply (Greenpeace 2013).
Sources:
Primavera, J. (1997) Socio-economic impacts of shrimp culture. CDCA. (Date accessed: February 18, 2013.) http://www.cdca.it/IMG/pdf/Socio_economic_impacts_of_shrimp_culture.pdf.
Small Fishers Federation . (2003) Study On Better Practices for Shrimp Farming in Chilaw and Puttlam Districts of Sri Lanka. Mangrove Action Project.(Date accessed: February 18, 2013.) http://mangroveactionproject.org/files/map-asia/SFFL-MAP-shrimp-aquaculture-bps.pdf.
Greenpeace. (2013) Shrimp Farming. Greenpeace International. (Date accessed: February 18, 2013.)
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/aquaculture/shrimp-farming/?accept=6d053571549e7525541e94270fa24d87.
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