Prof., Dr. Do Dinh Sam, from the Vietnam Institute for Forestry Sciences, said mangrove forests are being narrowed by aquaculture activities. As fishermen do not realize the value of mangrove forests, they destroy the forests to breed fish.
The Government has assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to perform a project to recover and develop coastal mangrove forests from 2008 to 2015. According to the Ministry’s scheme, it needs VND 2.49 trillion ($146.4 million) for this project.
Vietnam had more than 408,500ha of mangrove forests in 1943. By 2006, this area was cut in half. The country needs up to VND 2.49 trillion ($146.4 million) to recover and develop mangrove forests.
“According to the UN, Vietnam and Bangladesh would suffer the most serious influence from the sea level rising if not for our mangrove forest ecological system, which is greatly valuable for economic development and environmental protection, and is currently being destroyed,” said Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Nghia, Dean of the Institute for Forestry Sciences.
Speaking at a recent workshop on mangrove forests in HCM City, Nghia said facts shows that the places where mangrove forests are well-protected, their sea dikes can stand firm, even though the dikes are built by soil. Meanwhile, many stone- and concrete-made dikes, in places where do not have mangrove forests or damaged mangrove forests, were broken.
The Trouble of Fish Farms in Mangrove Forests
VIET NAM - A professor from the Vietnam has said that the destruction of mangrove forest for fish farms could lead to grave flooding dangers in the future.