Reconciling shrimp aquaculture and mangrove protection
Over the past decades, mangrove forests in the area have been cleared to make way for shrimp aquaculture. The Mangroves and Markets project works to reverse this trend and ensure better incomes for local shrimp farmers, by introducing integrated-shrimp farming methods and facilitating access to Naturland organic certification.
Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle released a new video on SNV’s Mangroves and Markets (MAM) project, under the multimedia project Global Ideas.
The video takes us to the house of shrimp farmer Tan Viet Ho, a beneficiary of the MAM project. He highlights the benefits of protecting and replanting mangroves in aquaculture areas. Mangrove ecosystems form a natural breeding ground for shrimp, and eliminate the need to introduce expensive feed and chemicals. The shift to organic production methods under the MAM project has contributed to increasing Tan’s income. In addition, the Director of the Forestry Commission stresses the importance of mangroves in protecting coastal communities against rising sea levels and floods.
The video alsoshows various elements of the MAM project: mangrove replanting on a previously deforested farm, a farmer training on organic farming practices, and the introduction of shrimp post-larvae into the farming system. We also have a look into the shrimp processing factory of the company Minh Phu, who signed a contract to buy all the certified organic shrimp under the project at a ten percent price premium.
Deutsche Welle’s Global Ideas project showcases inspiring best practice models from around the world about biodiversity conservation and the fight against climate change. The MAM project was selected because of its innovative approach to forest conservation, integrating sustainable shrimp aquaculture and mangrove protection in the same development vision. Global Ideas is supported by the German Environment Ministry within the framework of its International Climate Initiative.