Coastal Forest Rehabilitation Manual for Aceh Province and North Sumatera
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Coastal Forest Rehabilitation Manual for Aceh Province and North Sumatera Russell Hanley Dennie Mamonto Jeremy Broadhead The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Cover design: Chanida Chavanich Cover photos: Jeremy Broadhead For copies of the report, write to: Patrick Durst Senior Forestry Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200 Thailand Tel: 66-2-6974139 Fax: 66-2-6974445 E-mail: [email protected] 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents................................................................................i 1 Introduction ...................................................................................3 1.1 The coastal plain ..................................................................4 1.2 Mangroves ............................................................................5 1.3 Coastal forest........................................................................7 1.4 The coastal green belt ..........................................................9 2 Participatory approaches in coastal forest Rehabilitation ........11 2.1 Participatory rural appraisal ..............................................14 2.2 Community action planning..............................................24 2.3 Awareness raising ..............................................................25 2.4 Implementing planned activities.......................................25 2.5 Community agreements.....................................................26 2.6 Livelihood assessment and development activities .........26 2.7 Participatory monitoring and evaluation ..........................27 3 Coastal forest rehabilitation........................................................29 3.1 General site preparation.....................................................29 3.2 The species selection process............................................29 3.3 General planting considerations........................................30 3.4 Mangroves ..........................................................................30 3.5 Coastal forest......................................................................52 3.6 Fencing ...............................................................................63 3.7 Maintenance/management.................................................64 References ............................................................................................66 Coastal Forest Rehabilitation Manual for Aceh Province and North Sumatera i Introduction The tsunami of December 2004 destroyed coastal forests1 and mangroves along the western and northern coastlines of Aceh province and also caused extensive damage to coastal vegetation along the north-eastern coastline. The loss of these resources had an immediate impact on the livelihoods of the tsunami survivors and that impact continues. Long before the tsunami, large tracts of mangroves had, however, been cleared for wood production, the construction of fishponds (tambak), and for brackish water rice cultivation (sawah), amongst other things. Since the tsunami of December 2004, the GOI has, however, consistently declared an intention to re-establish and maintain a coastal greenbelt in Aceh Province in line with national greenbelt legislation1. A number of small scale mangrove and coastal forest reforestation projects have therefore been completed and more projects are anticipated, including some large scale projects of several thousand hectares. This manual has been produced to assist organisations engaged in rehabilitation and reconstruction in NAD Province that wish to implement mangrove or coastal forest reforestation projects. It provides information on the selection of mangrove and coastal forest species and collection of seeds and propagules, relevant nursery and planting techniques for each species. All coastal reforestation projects should be implemented as part of a co-ordinated planning and management process. Section 2 of this manual therefore provides a framework for engaging stakeholders and communities in coastal forest rehabilitation. Although time consuming, such processes are the only way to ensure that project interventions are sustained by individuals and institutions following completion of project activities. The role of legal agreements in protecting planted trees and forests and the long-term benefits they offer is also covered. This manual is intended as an introduction and field guide to participatory coastal forest rehabilitation. A range of more comprehensive guides published both by FAO and others are, 1 Act No. 41/1999 – Forestry; Presidential Decree No. 32/1990 – Management of Protected Areas. Coastal Forest Rehabilitation Manual for Aceh Province and North Sumatera 3 however, available and should be consulted if further information is required. 1.1 The coastal plain The coastal plain is typically narrower on the west side of Sumatra, but has similar characteristics to that found on the eastern side (Figures 1 & 2). The process of formation of the coastal plain includes deposition of sediment transported from the mountains and reworking of this sediment into a barrier dune system, behind which rivers and streams are deflected to form shallow coastal lagoons with outlets to the sea. This system is present on both coasts, but on the west coast the coastal plain is usually narrower and consequently there has been less land available for conversion to fishponds and rice paddies as seen on the east coast. However, there are areas on the west coast where a larger coastal plain is evident, particularly where larger rivers discharge through valleys into the sea. In those locations some areas of tidal lagoon and associated vegetation have been converted into both tambak and sawah. Along the coastline on the west coast the dune system is often quite narrow and low in elevation. Much of the coastline comprises sandy bays between rocky headlands. The sand dunes are colonised by several forms of coastal vegetation. The generally narrow tidal lagoons behind the barrier dune are often colonized by mangroves wherever enough anoxic fine sediments with high organic content have collected. At the upper limit of tidal and maritime influence many village gardens are present, and these included a variety of trees. 4 Coastal Forest Rehabilitation Manual for Aceh Province and North Sumatera Figure 1 The typical coastal profile on the west coast of Aceh Province. Figure 2 The typical coastal profile on the east coast of Aceh Province. 1.2 Mangroves Any tree or shrub growing between Mean Sea Level (MSL) and the upper intertidal limit is a mangrove. Whitten et al. (2000) report that there are 17 species of mangrove trees and shrubs that are (or were) commonly found in Sumatra as shown in Table 1. It is likely that these species were also present and common in Aceh province at one time. Coastal Forest Rehabilitation Manual for Aceh Province and North Sumatera 5 Table 1 Common Mangrove Tree Species in Sumatra Rhizophora apiculata Sonneratia acida Rhizophora mucronata Sonneratia alba Bruguiera cylindrica Sonneratia caseolaris Bruguiera gymnorhiza Sonneratia griffithii Bruguiera parviflora Avicennia alba Bruguiera sexangula Avicennia marina Ceriops tagal Avicennia officianalis Kandelia candel Xylocarpus granatum Differences in physical factors across the intertidal zone such as frequency of inundation and salinity creates different habitat types to which some species are more suited than others. There is thus a tendency for groups of mangrove species to grow in zones. Whitten et al. (2000) provide a generalized illustration of the typical zonation pattern seen along the Sumatra shoreline. This is reproduced in Figure 3 which shows that the majority of the formerlyXylocarpus common moluccensis species, which are now absent or rare, occupied the middle of the zone colonized by mangroves. Whitten et al. (2000) consider this area of the intertidal zone optimal for mangrove development. Figure 3 Diagram showing typical zonation of mangrove flora in Sumatra (after Whitten et al., 2000). Excoecaria Heritiera Nipa Avicennia Sawah Tambak Ceriops The area of mangroves destroyed in Aceh by the tsunami was small and although figures of many thousands of hectaresBruguiera were quoted, these are likely to be a gross overestimates. The conversion to both sawah (brackish water rice paddy) and tambak (brackish water fish ponds) considerably reduced the area of mangroves long beforeTidal Cha thennel Bruguiera 6 Rhizophora Coastal Forest Rehabilitation Manual for Aceh Province and North Sumatera Avicennia Sonneratia HAT MSL tsunami and also resulted in species loss. These facts help explain why local communities have little knowledge of formerly present mangrove species and why so few species are available as seedlings in nurseries. The only species which remain common are those that occur naturally at levels near Mean Sea Level and below the areas preferred for conversion to tambak and sawah. Box 1. Mangroves and erosion It is sometimes claimed that mangroves can prevent