Concern Universal, a British organisation pioneering programmes of environment, water and sanitation in Nigeria, has embarked on projects to save mangrove habitats in major riverine areas.
Mr Ousman Touray, the organisation’s Programme Coordinator, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Touray said that restoration and conservation plans were in top gear to reduce the growth of destructive Nipa Palms said to be fast overtaking the mangroves.
He said the focus was on Cross River State, the base station for the organisation’s operations in Nigeria.
He noted that while some countries embarked on strict legislation to protect mangroves, his organisation, in collaboration with the Cross River Government, was concerned with decreasing the growth of Nipa Palms.
Nipa Palm (Nipa fruticans) is a South East Asian palm growing chiefly along rivers and estuaries and having a short underground trunk and large erect pinnate leaves.
It is found in mangrove swamps and tidal estuaries from India to Sri Lanka, the Philippine Islands and some other islands of the Pacific. It was introduced to Southern Nigeria in the 1906.
The seeds of the Nipa Palm float and germinate in the water, and when deposited on a muddy bank, can establish themselves, thereby making them outgrow the mangroves speedily.
According to Touray, Nipa Palms causes as much threat to mangrove forests as the use of mangrove for timber, mining, agriculture, harbour development and human settlements.
He said ``Livelihood enhancement in the mangrove areas is a key achievement. You will observe in the southern part of Cross River, there are mangroves and these mangroves we’re losing them because people are cutting them for firewood and other things. So what we are doing as an organisation is to provide an alternative livelihood for people to leave the mangroves to grow. In it, you have the Nipa Palm which is taking over the mangroves; it is a weed that was introduced into the Southern part of Nigeria from Asia. If you understand the mangroves, they are around the river areas; they are the ones that protects us from flooding and other things. But Nipa Palm is more like a palm tree and it grows up tall so it can’t protect us from flood and all other things.
``But it is a wild tree and any space where there is no mangroves, it colonises this space; it’s faster in growing than mangroves so, it smothers the growth of mangroves and kills them off. Touray said research carried out by the organisation had shown that Nipa Palm was not easy to clean up or cut down. Therefore, the key approach was to stop the growth of its production cycle by removing the palm seeds for animal feed.
he further stated, ``How will we get it off our backs to make sure that they don’t reproduce?
We’ve started two years ago from the University of Calabar to convert the seed into feed for animals so that the seeds that will germinate will no longer be there. So they collect the seeds directly from the plant, crush it and feed it to poultry. At this stage now, we are at the point of feeding it to poultry, the chemical analysis, the laboratory analysis has been done. It has been found out that it has a lot of carbohydrates but we need to add some additives to give it some protein and other things; that is what we are doing at the next level. ’’
NAN reports that mangrove forests thrive near the mouths of large rivers where river deltas provide lots of sediment (sand and mud). Mangrove roots collect sediments and slow the water's flow, helping to protect the coastline from erosion and storm damage. Over time, the roots can collect enough debris and mud to extend the edge of the coastline further out.
Mangroves are also a good natural habitat for animals such as shorebirds, crab-eating monkeys, and fishing cats; nursery for a variety of fish, birds, crustaceans, and shellfish are found in mangrove swamps. They also support a bursting population of bacteria, decomposers and filter feeders. These organisms in turn feed fish and shrimp, which support wading birds, pelicans, and the endangered Crocodile and therefore, need to be fully protected for a wholesome ecosystem.
NAN
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