The BBC News has reported on the finding that "large-scale conversion of mangroves into shrimp and fish farms were among the main destructive drivers" in the deaths and devastation caused by the cyclone disaster in Myanmar, which may result in the loss of up to 100,000 lives and 1 million people without homes.
Mangroves, which grow along the shoreline, provide a natural barrier against giant waves. Recent studies show that 3.6 million hectares of mangrove forest have disappeared since 1980. Reasons for this loss include land-use change for commercial agriculture, fish farming, logging and development for tourism and population growth.
Read the BBC Report:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7385315.stm
Get the latest news reports on the Myanmar cyclone disaster:
http://news.google.com/news?q=cyclone%20myanmar&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&ei=rfQhSOu-GJz2gQTp_uDvAg&redir_esc=www5&um=1&sa=N&tab=wn
Find the aid agencies accepting donations for the Myanmar cyclone disaster:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h3HoHl_XfhgzQcBgXeSa0E03PPnAD90GB69O9
Sign a petition to save the mangroves in Bimini:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/885814782
photo courtesy double-h, Creative Commons
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Absence of Mangroves Proved Fatal During Myanmar Cyclone
