Mangrove Forests: The Most Amazing Ecosystems

Mangrove forests are among the most biologically diverse and spectacular environments on earth. So diverse it is almost impossible to define them apart from the fact that they lie along the coast in the tropics. They play home to endemic jungle animals and plants that survive where no others could; being specially adapted to the low oxygen levels, high saline and challenging terrain.

The vastest area of mangrove forest lies in the Sundarbans or ‘beautiful forest’ as it is known in Bengali. The region is covered in dense tropical vegetation within which endangered rhinos and tigers roam. Natives from Bangladesh venture into the forest to harvest its bounty of fruits, teas and medicines, using it as a sort of poor-mans’ supermarket. The locals are, however, relatively committed to using the forest sustainably.

The Langkawi mangrove forest (as pictured above) is a huge tourism attraction to Malaysia bringing in copious amounts of GDP from anything from golf courses to boat tours. However the dark side of this tourism is the fragmentation of habitats leading to dispersed wildlife.  The Mangrove Action Project aims to reduce these impacts and encourage the implementation of eco-tourism and sustainable use of the forests. However the illegal loggers aren't exactly thrilled by The Mangrove Action Project to protect the ecosystem but the most recent report on the deforestation of mangroves shows their action is needed more than ever.

It has been discovered that over 200 meters of mangrove forest is disappearing each year due to these logging and commercial fishing activities. If this were to continue at the same rate in 10 years time species like the Bengal Tiger and the amazingly adapted tree climbing crab could be lost in the wild, if not altogether. This is as well as the disastrous effects to the local climate as circulatory patterns are disrupted and global climates as decades of carbon is released from the forest and into the already suffocating atmosphere.

The Mangrove Action Project identifies shrimp farming as the biggest obstacle needed to be overcome in the reforestation of mangrove forests.  But protected areas will also need to be increased as 7%, which is what it currently stands at, will not ensure these wondrous ecosystems will be in existence for generations to come.

My Moral Dilemma: Is Vegetarian Best?

As an environmentalist, member of my university's people and planet society and all round lover of animals I have always felt a certain pressure to become a vegetarian. However these are not the only attributes I have that contribute to the matter at hand. I am also the Granddaughter of a farmer. Because of this I have been brought up with a strong understanding of the process of killing animals for food and why without people eating meat many of them would not even be alive in the first place. I have always believed that if the animal has had a good life and little has been wasted of their remains there shouldn't be any problems with eating meat. Although what does upset me is that this is not always the case and many animals are mistreated. As well as the environmental impacts like methane release from cows and the destruction of forest for land as clear negative externalities of eating meat.

One thing I do know for sure though is that I disagree with people choosing to be pescatarians. I understand that some people just prefer fish and that is fine but for those who are just doing it to 'look good' I feel like they are basically saying 'stuff the oceans'. As fish stocks quickly dwindle our oceans are becoming more and more scarce, especially elite species like the blue fish tuna which has been fished to endangerment, and pescatarism is not helping this. Fish should be enjoyed as part of a healthy lifestyle put also enjoyed bearing in mind a healthy planet.

So I sposse if I were to become a vegetarian I would technically want to be a 'lacto-ovo-vegetarian', eating only non-vegetarian food and dairy products. I love cooking and know vegetarian food can be equally as delicious as dishes with meat in so there wouldn't be any problems in that department. I did read about a new strand of vegetarians called 'flexitarians'. These people only eat meat for a couple of meals a week and even then it is in small portions and everything else they consume is vegetarian food. Maybe I will take this up? It seems like a good first step. Or maybe I will just take the full plunge and become a lacto-ovo-vegetarian as a New Year’s resolution?

Give Green this Christmas!

If you are anything like me Christmas is your favorite time of year and getting your loved ones a gift they will really love is at the center of this. This year I have noticed myself being more conscious to shop ethically and buy gifts that I know will be giving something back to the environment and to deprived people of the world. Here are a few companies and products that share this feeling:

• ElephantBranded Bags and Accessories. I found out about this company from a friend who had recently been travelling in Cambodia and immediately fell in LOVE with the concept. Basically for everything you buy from them they will donate school supplies to a school in Africa and Asia, aiming at making long-term change in the poor communities. All of the products are recycled, ethically made and look fabulous and can now be found at John Lewis or on their online site.

http://elephantbranded.com/shop/products/elephantbranded-clipper-s 

• Twig Iphone Cases. Eco-friendly and super stylish Iphone cases (sorry blackberry users) made from richlite taken from and promoting the responsible harvesting of our forest resources. They are a little pricey but well worth it for the sustainability factor let alone the look on your loved ones faces when they receive it. 

www.twig.com

• Fair Trade Food Hampers. For Mum or perhaps a difficult aunt or grandparent a food hampers is ideal and with so many companies focused on making sure their products are fair trade its not hard to find one to suit an individuals wants and likes, whether they are a coffee, choccie or spice lover. Some of my favorites are from the edenproject.com

I think a hello is in order...

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I am an Environmental student at the University of Birmingham interested in topics like deforestation, sustainability, species extinction and green energy. I believe them to be such important issues for our generation to be part of but find trailing through the many organisations/newspaper pages, at times, very daunting. This is why I created this blog! So if you're looking for a concise roundup of all the latest from the world of environment and nature you are in the right place. 

As well as this I am your regular 19 year old girl who loves shopping and all things pretty so within the more high-brow articles there will be a sprinkling of ethical shopping and lifestyle articles. 

Enjoy.

Rio +20: The Last Hope?

Over summer while most of us were revelling in the fact exams were over, sunning ourselves overseas and taking full advantage of a fully stocked fridge at home, 190 of the most influential people in the world were travelling to Brazil for the United Nations Rio +20 Earth Summit.

Twenty years after the first earth summit, hopes were diminishing of there ever being an answer to our planets sustainable development needs and as the media and environmental groups looked on, there was scheduled to be some heated conflicts.

While Obama, David Cameron and Angela Merkel were not present, Brazil and the other BRIC nations took the lead at the beginning of the ten day mega summit. Whilst Hillary Clinton dodged any notion of the US taking governmental action, global youth representative, Brittany Trilford, nobly stated what many were thinking in that there didn’t seem much ambition and confidence in the delegates. The next nine days commenced similarly and protests in the streets of Brazil continued.

The romanticized conclusion of the summit, in the form of the contradictorily named report ‘The Future We Want’, was heavily criticised for lacking direction and commitment. However these views were strongly defended, in particular by Ban Ki Moon, the UN secretary general, who was optimistic about the summit and said the report was the guide to a sustainable future and a reaffirmation of the previous action plan, Agenda 21, which has had strong backing in many countries since it was implemented at the 1992 UN conference. In addition non-governmental organisations such as Greenpeace gained mass attention and support for their Save the Arctic campaign, despite being largely appalled on how the summit was run and concluded.

The combination of weak leadership, postponed decisions and a perception of more important business elsewhere has unfortunately led many to the supposition that the summit and follow up report was, yet again, a waste of time, money and energy.