Guest guest Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from The Star Online URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2003/9/2/features/6114710 & sec=fe\ atures ________________________ Tuesday September 2, 2003 One with Mother Nature Story and pictures by ONG JU LYNN The idyllic fishing village of Leam Markham in Trang Province, Southern Thailand, is a classic example of how restoration of coastal mangrove forests can bring a new wave of prosperity to poverty-stricken fisherfolk. BU NUANSI came home tired but smiling. Wiping his furrowed brows, he pulled out a stool and gestured to us to sit with him. A cat lying nearby stretched itself and sauntered off. The sweet aroma of fried cempedak, served for tea, was invigorating on that hot, humid afternoon. The good news that the village elder, popularly known as Pak Bu, bore that day was like the clear blue sky & #8211; a respite from the monsoon rains which had been sweeping Leam Markham in Trang province. The fishing village is cradled in a lush mangrove forest on the coast of southern Thailand, off the Andaman Sea. “This time, it will be different. We will win,” said Pak Bu, a confident smile etched on his lined face. Pak Bu, 67, turned conservationist when he realised the only way for his people to eat and live well was to organise themselves to fight for their rights and to protect the environment. He had relinquished his post as village imam to focus on environmental protection and community development. Pak Bu and his men had just returned from the Muang District police station after having their statements recorded. The day before, Pak Bu and 10 villagers escorted by policemen had gone out in three boats to arrest a recalcitrant fishing trawler which had eluded them for six years. They gave chase and surrounded the boat. The four men on board surrendered. The fishing trawler had been infiltrating the 3km coastal conservation zone, dredging the seabed and destroying traditional fishing gear for years. Their faster Apollo boat always managed to evade the smaller fishing boats belonging to subsistence-based fisherfolk. “Reporters interviewed me this morning. When our story is published it will become a hot issue. I have informed the district fisheries department and will speak the governor of Sikao soon. The owner of the trawler wanted to settle the matter by paying us off but the whole village refused. The four men are now in the lock-up,” said Pak Bu. Until recently, such initiative and group action were unheard of in this quiet Muslim community in a Buddhist majority country. Village elders said that 200 years ago, their ancestors came from Langkawi and Penang. They still speak the Malay language, besides Thai. For years, they were victims of commercial trawlers, destructive fishing practices and middlemen. They dared not complain for they believed the rich owners of commercial trawlers were in league with corrupt government officials. Weak enforcement saw big trawlers flouting sea laws. With their huge open-mouthed trawler nets, they scraped the seabed, crunching up coral reefs and hauling in fries before they had time to grow. Depleted catches forced some fishermen to resort to dynamite fishing and cyanide poisoning which further degraded the marine ecosystem. Soon the men were returning from sea with empty nets. To help support their families, the women worked for meagre wages in factories, leaving behind malnourished children under the care of the elderly. Impoverished and helpless, the community fell into debt to middlemen. Many turned to chopping down mangrove wood for charcoal factories to eke out a living. Over the last two and a half decades, more than 50% of the vast mangrove forests along Thailand & #8217;s 2,560km-coastline had been destroyed by charcoal companies and tiger prawn aquaculture. The degraded mangroves resulted in even smaller catches and the people were unable to break free from the cycle of poverty. It was at that low point that Yadfon (Raindrop) Association established contact with this remote village, accessible then only by boat. “When we first came here 19 years ago, there were so many problems we didn & #8217;t know where to start. But we were determined to help out, so we stayed on and slowly learned from the villagers and gained their trust,” said Pisit Charnsnoh, 57, who co-founded the organisation with his wife, Luong. “Yadfon creates a learning process. We are not standing in front and teaching. We give equal respect and learn from each other to create something new,” said Pisit, a graduate in animal husbandry. For instance, the local knowledge of boiling the roots of mangrove wood to relieve itch may not have any basis in science, he said, but it has been practised for generations and it has proven effective. Their early work includes digging wells to supply clean drinking water, setting up revolving funds for the poor to buy fishing gear and engines for their boats, and rearing of groupers which was very profitable at that time. In 1986, Yadfon and Pak Bu helped the villagers to create a 95ha community mangrove forest which covered Leam Markham and the neighbouring villages. It was the first of its kind in Thailand. The restoration results were dramatic. From 1991 to 1994, there was a 40% increase in total catch, resulting in increased income levels in the local villages. The success of the community forest caught the attention of the government which gave its tacit support. Three years ago, charcoal concession was abolished as a result of Yadfon & #8217;s work and years of lobbying by environmental groups. Today, there are nine community managed forests modelled after Leam Markham. The grassroot effort inspired the first-ever popularly-written Community Forest Act which is currently awaiting parliamentary sanction. The Act mandates that villagers are allowed to live and harvest from the forest if they can properly manage the forest in a sustainable manner. During our trip, we were also taken on a mangrove tour in a fishing boat by Meliwan Menpoh, 36, head of the Leam Markham Women & #8217;s Cooperative. She had helped to replant the mangroves and was proud to show us the results of her village & #8217;s collective effort. At the periphery, two signboards bore the words “Community Mangrove Forest”. As we glided along the canal flanked by verdant mangrove trees, Meliwan pointed out several species whose leaves, roots or barks have medicinal values. Since the mangroves grew back, the fish, crabs and shellfish have returned, said Meliwan. Their nets are full. The children no longer go hungry. In the neighbouring village of Tung Tase, the women took us on the 750m mangrove boardwalk sponsored by the Queen of Thailand. With dexterity, they descended the swampy earth and walked with ease among the gnarled roots. One of them bent down and plucked out a clam from the mud. Then another, and another. Soon her hands were full. Scanning the rich black mass, I could not even spot one measly clam, while she was already returning the ones she picked back to the exact spots she found them. The mangrove forest is like a “supermarket” to the villagers. The only difference is that the items are free for all. Back at the women & #8217;s co-op, we had curried clams and bamboo shoots. In fact, everything that was laid on the mat was locally harvested. Globalisation has yet to make its mark here. Part of Yadfon & #8217;s work is empowering the women to play an essential role in environmental protection and community building. In almost all the communities that Yadfon has touched, there is a women & #8217;s co-op to generate funds to supplement the family income or tide the family over during the monsoon months when the men cannot go out to sea. In Leam Markham, the women also weave baskets, purses and spectacle cases from pandanus (mengkuang) leaves. The plant grows in abundance in the area. Further south from Leam Markham in Thambon village, the sale of handicraft has become the main source of income during the monsoons. When the men could not go out to sea, they would take over the women & #8217;s traditional role. Buya Yaji, 46, is proud that her husband has taken to weaving baskets and purses, and can make them more beautifully then she could, although not as fast. Luong, who helped set up the co-op in 1986, said that weaving has given the elderly a productive activity and a way to contribute to the family income. A Thammasat University graduate, Luong shares a warm intimacy with the womenfolk. Almost 30 years ago, as a young activist, she had helped the villagers to get a piece of land to build a school. Many of the women in the co-op were educated there. When she returned to the village in 1985, it was a reunion of sorts and the community was open to Yadfon & #8217;s community development work. Leam Markham & #8217;s model of sustainability has been repeated in 40 other coastal communities in Trang province and it is now spreading inland. It is Pisit & #8217;s dream to see the conservation of the whole watershed area, and the communities living sustainably along the length of the river. Upriver, it is not the protection of mangroves or seagrass, but the conservation of the sago ecosystem which is dominant in brackish wetlands. A Centre of Sago Learning has been set up to teach children about the importance of sago as a food source, as material for roof thatch and forest covering for water catchments. Yadfon & #8217;s work has not gone unnoticed. Last year, Pisit won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize and US$125,000 (RM$475,000) for his work in improving the conditions of poor fishing communities in Trang. With their four children all grown, Pisit and Luong want to spend more time cultivating their half hectare of land, now overgrown with weeds but bountiful with rambutans, mangosteens and durians. “We & #8217;re so busy, we never have time to live in our dream house in the village,” said Luong. Both are past retirement age but carry on with the same fervour that they had when they first returned to Trang. But their work is not over yet. Ultimately, they want to see communities becoming guardians of the entire watershed ecosystem. Asked what drives him, Pisit said it is his vision to see man co-existing peacefully with nature.<p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2003 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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