The Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA) Status of Mangroves in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden DRAFT 09-05-2004 PERSGA Technical Series No. 11 May 2004 PERSGA is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the conservation of the coastal and marine environments in the region and the wise use of their natural resources. The Regional Convention for the Conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Environment (Jeddah Convention) 1982 provides the legal foundation for PERSGA. The Secretariat of the Organization was formally established in Jeddah following the Cairo Declaration of September 1995. The PERSGA member states are Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. PERSGA, P.O. Box 53662, Jeddah 21583, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel.: +966-2-657-3224. Fax: +966-2-652-1901. Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.persga.org This document was prepared by Dr. Ahmed S.M. Khalil (University of Khartoum) under contract to PERSGA through the Habitat and Biodiversity Conservation component of the Strategic Action Programme for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, a Global Environment Facility project executed by PERSGA and implemented by the GEF partners - United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank. Supplementary funding was provided by the Islamic Development Bank and the PERSGA member states. © 2004 PERSGA All rights reserved. The text of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without the permission of the copyright holders provided that acknowledgement of the source is given. PERSGA would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this material as a source. This publication may not be copied, or distributed electronically, for resale or other commercial purposes without prior permission, in writing, from PERSGA. This publication may be cited as: PERSGA/GEF. 2004. Status of Mangroves in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. PERSGA Technical Series No. 11. PERSGA, Jeddah. 2 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..........................................................................................................III INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 STATUS OF MANGROVES......................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Djibouti - Gulf of Aden Coast ................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Western Red Sea Coast (Egypt and Sudan)..............................................................................................11 Egypt ......................................................................................................................................................11 Sudan..................................................................................................................................................... 15 2.3 Eastern Red Sea Coast (Saudi Arabia and Yemen).................................................................................. 26 Saudi Arabia .......................................................................................................................................... 26 Yemen.................................................................................................................................................... 30 MANGROVE FAUNA ................................................................................................................. 42 IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND POTENTIAL THREATS ...................................................... 44 4.1 Camel grazing and cutting....................................................................................................................... 44 4.2 Mangrove mortality................................................................................................................................. 45 4.3 Shrimp farming ....................................................................................................................................... 46 4.4 Freshwater damming ............................................................................................................................... 46 4.5 Pollution .................................................................................................................................................. 47 4.6 Coastal construction and changes in land use.......................................................................................... 49 RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR MANGROVE CONSERVATION, REHABILITATION AND MANAGEMENT IN THE REGION..................................... 50 5.1 Importance of resource conservation....................................................................................................... 50 5.2 Objectives of mangrove management ..................................................................................................... 50 5.3 Management strategies and prescriptive guidelines ................................................................................ 51 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 55 Appendix 1 .................................................................................................................................................... 58 Survey sheets................................................................................................................................................. 58 i LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Characteristics and condition of mangrove stands at Ras Siyyan and Khor Angar ................ 6 Table 2. Characteristics and condition of mangrove stands at Godoria, and Moucha and Maskali Islands ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Table 3. Location and extent of mangrove stands surveyed, Red Sea coast of Sudan, July 2002 ...... 16 Table 4. Characteristics and condition of mangrove stands north of Port Sudan................................ 17 Table 5. Characteristics and condition of mangrove stands between Port Sudan and Suakin ............ 20 Table 6. Characteristics and condition of mangrove stands south of Suakin to the Eritrean border... 23 Table 7. Distribution of Rhizophora mucronata along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coast Source: AL-WETAID (2003)................................................................................................................ 27 Table 8. Location and extent of mangrove stands surveyed in Yemen, July and August 2002........... 31 Table 9. Characteristics and condition of some Avicennia marina stands located at Midi and Al- Luhayah (Yemen).................................................................................................................. 33 Table 10. Characteristics and condition of Avicennia marina stands between Al-Khawbah and Ras Isa .......................................................................................................................................... 36 Table 11. Characteristics and condition of Avicennia marina stands north of Al-Hudaydah to Al- Urj ......................................................................................................................................... 38 Table 12. Characteristics and condition of Avicennia marina stands south of Al-Hudaydah to Bab al-Mandab ............................................................................................................................. 41 Table 13. Assessment of the status of mangrove stands in Yemen related to the impact of camel grazing and woodcutting ....................................................................................................... 45 Quadrat data........................................................................................................................................... 59 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS GBH Girth at Breast Height HBC Habitat and Biodiversity Conservation IDB Islamic Development Bank MPA Marine Protected Area NCWCD National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development NGO Non Governmental Organisation PERSGA Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden RSA Rapid Survey Assessment SAP Strategic Action Programme SSM Standard Survey Methodology UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation WSSV White Spot Syndrome Virus ii Executive Summary A mangrove survey programme was planned and executed by PERSGA during the months of July and August 2002 in Djibouti, Sudan and Yemen. Regional experts also provided a review of the status of mangrove habitats in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This document is a synthesis of these reports. It gives an indication of the status of mangroves in the Region1 and guidelines for mangrove rehabilitation, conservation and management. Avicennia marina is the most abundant mangrove species; it was reported in all mangrove areas in the Region. Relatively thick and well grown Rhizophora mucronata stands coexist in a few areas, particularly in Djibouti, while some other less developed Rhizophora mucronata stands occur in Yemen and