Mangrove Swamps (Hansard, 14 June 2000)

§ Clare Short

My Department supports a number of programmes and activities related to the sustainable use and conservation of coastal ecosystems, including coral reefs and seagrass as well as mangrove swamps. Current programmes at least in part related to the preservation of mangrove swamps in the West Indies and the Indian Ocean include: the Turks and Caicos Islands Coastal Resource Management Project to develop institutional capacity; support to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) for capacity building in coastal resource management; promotion of participatory natural resource management through the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI); the State Forest Management project in Grenada; rehabilitation of coastal mangroves in Bangladesh as part of a project to increase fish and shrimp production; and development of community management of coastal ecosystems at Mafia Island in Tanzania.

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Other on-going activities we support include the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and preparatory work for the African Partnership Conference on the Development and Protection of the Coastal and Marine Environment of Africa.

In addition, recently completed work includes support to the preparation of the South Africa White Paper on Sustainable Coastal Development containing provisions for the protection of degraded and threatened ecosystems, and research on the coastal lagoons of Sri Lanka. I will send my hon. Friend a copy of the findings and recommendations of this research project on participatory approaches to natural resource management.

This answer does not include any assistance which may be given by other Government Departments.