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Conservation - THAILAND
Monthly Update for Conservation Programme - June 2007
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Thailand Marine Conservation Project - June 2007
Yet another month has flown by here in Thailand and it gives me great to pleasure to report on the fantastic work carried out by the present marine conservation volunteers. Following on from the start of our reef rehabilitation experiment last month, we returned to Koh See to monitor the survival and growth rates of the coral fragments that we planted back on the reef. It took four dives for Pam and Guang (the two field staff), along with some of the more experienced volunteers, to measure and photograph all the coral fragments. This was longer than we had expected and consequently we are now planning to monitor the corals once every two to three months. Additionally, as corals grow so slowly (between 1/8 to 4 inches a year), there is no need to record the growth rates each month. However, from our initial observations we have seen that so far there is roughly a 70% survival rate for corals attached with cable ties, and an 80% survival rate for those attached to oyster shells and then placed on the reef. The difference is not surprising as attaching the fragments with cable ties involved far more handling of sensitive corals than cementing them to the shells. The ones that are not so healthy have either been overgrown with algae or have bleached, the consequence of which is that the coral polyp will probably not survive much longer.
We are also beginning to get some interesting results from our other research experiments in the mangroves. After planting two species (
Ceriops tagal and
Brugueira sexangula) under varying conditions in Janaury and April respectively, it was time to return this month to see how they were getting on. As the local community have said they want to rebuild the bridge across the klong themselves, and it not having been built by the time we returned, the intrepid volunteers and staff yet again waded through the river and knee deep mud to reach our research site at Baan Thung Prasan. On arrival, we saw to our dismay, that there had been damage caused to some of the plants due to high tides depositing a large log inside one of the shade structures, and also tides washing away some of the seeds planted, both into the ground and into bags. However, after repairing the damage as best we could, we were able to monitor the surviving plants and record some useful observations. It was the 2nd time of monitoring the Ceriops seeds, but it is still too early to tell whether the shade is better than the sun, or whether seeds planted into the ground are growing better than those in bags. With the Bruguiera, the first round of monitoring indicates that they do not fair well in the waterlogged ground; many planted into the ground were missing having been washed away by the tide, and of those that were still able to be found, many were either dead or showing no real growth. In the high ground, there were better survival rates but it is too early to observe any significant differences, except that the seeds in the shade are doing slightly better than those under the blazing sun.
In 'Medhi's mangroves', our soil experiment at Chompli House, we have seen that the seeds planted into jungle soil grew fast at the start but now many have died implying that this is not the best soil to use. The seeds planted into mangrove mud, on the other hand, started off slow but are now growing very well. The seeds that were picked before they were ripe have all died so we now know not to pick them prematurely. Also those that were kept for a month longer before planting did not even begin growing so we know that we cannot store the seeds for long periods. As regards the soil mixtures the seeds planted into a mix of 50% coconut husk, 25% soil and 25% charcoal have mostly died, whereas those in the mixtures of 50% soil, 25% charcoal & 25% coconut husk, and 50% charcoal, 25% soil & 25% coconut husk are showing the best growth rates out of all the different soil states. These results suggest the potential for a further study on a larger scale between the two best mixtures and a control sample using plain mangrove soil. At present we do not have any seeds for this experiment so we will have to wait till some come into season to pick - watch this space.
As well as spending a couple of days monitoring and repairing our research nurseries, the volunteers also helped the local community at Baan Thung Prasan build up their own nursery by filling 1410 bags with soil in preparation for seeds to be planted in them. We will continue to help them build this over the coming months in preparation for planting towards the end of the rainy season and throughout the dry period between November to April.
The other land based activities this month have been beach clean ups at Lam Pho, Andaman Beach and Klong Muong with a total of 497kg of damaging debris being collected and taken away for proper disposal. For the beach clean at Klong Muong we teamed up with the local school and had 45 children aged between 10 to 15 help us clean their local beach. This took place in the morning, with teams of one volunteer and 5 school children picking up their designated type of litter. There was much enthusiasm from the kids and in 2 hours over 280kg of rubbish was collected including a fishing rod, lots of sheets of rusting metal, a plastic fish and snowman, and a big cow bone. After lunch Projects Abroad gave a presentation to the pupils explaining how sensitive the marine ecosystems are and the need for cleaning the beaches and reefs. Though this was presented in Thai by Guang, the volunteers helped make it more fun by having developed an interactive game called Lingo Bingo - a version of bingo using pictures of marine organisms with both Thai and English names printed on the cards. We also entertained the children with a short play about the perils of marine debris, which generated many laughs and hopefully had the desired effect of drumming home our environmental message. The day was certainly appreciated by all the children and teachers, with one girl giving us an origami heart with a message of thanks from all her class; an act that touched all the Projects Abroad volunteers and staff alike.
On the marine salvage side of things, 47kg of litter was retrieved from the reefs, with a substantial share of this coming from one dive at Tonsai Bay on Phi Phi where a battery and an anchor weighing 13 and 7kg respectively were lifted to the surface with the help of air lifting bags. As well as these two items and the usual fishing nets and lines found everywhere, Tonsai Bay was littered with all sorts of other items that indicate a large tourist presence; glass bottles, 6 dive masks, 5 snorkels, a flip flop, a pair of shoes, beer cans, an Arsenal football shirt, and a pair of sunglasses. We had not been to Tonsai Bay in a while and the volunteers' work was clearly much needed. This salvage mission took place during a three day 'live-a-board' trip to Phi Phi that was offered to the volunteers due to the weather preventing us going on daily trips there. The volunteers slept in hammocks aboard the Navada and braved rain storms during the night to get some great dives around Phi Phi and further afield at Bida Nok and Bida Nai, providing a memorable experience for all. It also allowed them to do a night dive, the first one for many of the volunteers, in which they were lucky enough to see barracuda hunting smaller fish in the beam of Pam's super-strong torch light. Some of the other highlights of the month's diving have been seeing large schools of over 500 fusiliers and snappers, a big pufferfish with a remora attached to it, a leopard shark, two twin magnificent nudibranchs mating, a large banded sea snake, and a school of about 20 dolphins swimming at the surface in Tonsai Bay.
So, we have now moved into the busiest month of the year for the conservation project, with the highest number of volunteers since I started working here last August in addition to the first of our two 2 week summer conservation programmes which begins mid July. The volunteer house will soon be completely full, and some of the new arrivals will even have to stay at Chompli House, 15 minutes walk up the road. We have an exciting schedule for the 2 week volunteers, giving them a taste of Thai life and culture, the opportunity to learn to dive in the fantastic waters of the Andaman Sea, and an insight into the aims of marine and coastal conservation, topped off with a couple of educational trips and adventure activities. And for the volunteers that are here for longer, we will continue to add to the excellent work accomplished so far on the local beaches, reefs and in the mangroves, whilst at the same time enjoying the marine delights to be discovered and all the other fun experiences to be had here in Krabi.
I feel I should end this update by saying goodbye and a great thank you to Medhi, the Desk Officer, who has retired happily to the quiet life in his new house nearby. His generosity, smile and cheeky humour will most definitely be missed around here, though I am sure he will drop in from time to time to say hi, lend a hand, or persuade us to drop everything and go for an ice-cream at Swensens. In Medhi's place we have a new Desk Officer, Nid, who is fast learning the ropes, and a new Director for the Teaching and Care projects, Ant, who has moved down from Chiang Mai to help develop the projects further. So, a big welcome to both of them - we are all looking forward to working together as part of an ever-effective team.
Marten Meynell
4th July 2007
Director for Thailand Conservation
Projects Abroad
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