Local man shifting the tide for mangroves in Thailand (Feature)

Samut Sakhon, Thailand - At low tide, Vorapol Dounglomchan can see the foundation of his childhood home sitting forlornly in the muddy path of an encroaching sea. At high tide, he could swim to it if he wanted to. But the 48-year-old father of two chose another path, one that could be described as swimming against the tide: He's trying to reclaim the coastline a generation of neglect has lost. The encroaching sea is mostly due to unregulated shrimp farm development along the mangrove coastal area, but trying to reclaim that shoreline is no small feat. There has good money in shrimp farming here since the 1980s and pools for breading and growing them sprouted up along the coast at the expense of the well-rooted mangroves, which were often also cut for the wood. Before they were destroyed by the shrimp farmers, the mangrove swamps provided a biodiversity-rich environment for a wide variety of plant and animal species. Some people did protest against the influential out-of-towners who came to make quick profits from shrimp farming without thinking of the mid- and long-term consequences. At least two people were killed in Thailand for their efforts to stop the development, according to local press reports. It should be noted that shrimp farming can be done without destroying mangroves. Thailand, in fact, has made great strides in shrimp farms that don't destroy the environment, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature's (WWF) Thailand Country Director Dr William Schaedla told the German Press Agency dpa. But in Samut Sakhon developers chose the quicker, cheaper, easier and more destructive route, and then when the shrimp business slowed, they pocketed their profits and walked away, leaving the mess for others. Vorapol, a community leader of Khok Kham in Samut Sakhon province, about 30 kilometers south-west of Bangkok, was one. For years he ran a business in Bangkok but often returned home. He saw the changes with growing concern and about six years ago decided it was time to do something. His efforts came with doubts, mostly other people's doubts. There was a time not so long ago that Vorapol's neighbours considered him crazy with all his sinking attempts to replant mangrove forests. His childhood community had fractured as the mangroves were cut, the sea moved in and the people moved toward higher ground and apart, and stopped being a community as such. 'I studied the sea for five years,' he said while standing in the middle of his reclamation efforts. He sold his interest in his Bangkok business, returned home and started testing his ideas to reclaim the mangroves. He persevered even when during a storm when he was swept out to sea, where a passing fisherman picked him up and asked him what he was doing. He might have been hard pressed to answer that question then, but the results of his years of trial-and-error are hard to miss now. His experimenting included pushing walls of bamboo poles into the mud along the coastline. He found placing the walls 50 metres apart worked best, and better still with the addition of bamboo barriers connecting them for extra support. Sediment fills in behind the bamboo wall and mangrove trees are planted once there is enough muddy clay. He found a system that worked, but is the first to admit if the government had not taken an interest in his efforts - after Dr Pimsak Surasawadee with the Department of Marine and Natural Resources saw and understood what he was trying to do - it would have amounted to little. The Thai government has turned his little effort into something relatively big, as Vorapol works closely with government officials. Now it is easy to marvel at what is being achieved but equally sobering to realize just how immense an undertaking it will be to replant any significant area of mangrove forests. Along a 2-kilometre stretch being reclaimed, about 40 labourers are spending long days replanting mangrove trees in the muddy areas behind the bamboo walls, which an additional team of about 10 workers are sinking into the mud. It's a labour-intensive undertaking and would be cost prohibitive if labour weren't so cheap in Thailand. It is a local solution to a local problem but could reach further than the surrounding area. The Thai government could use the idea in other parts of the kingdom's vast coastal areas, Dr Surasawadee said. The WWF came onboard to help, too, after finding Irrawaddy dolphins in the area feeding on the young marine creatures that the rejuvenated mangroves have attracted. 'They are river dolphins that have been forced from many rivers because of building and prefer vegetated coastlines if they are available,' Dr Schaedla said. For Vorapol - who has shed his village crazy label for an area-man-of-note image - and others in the area it's a promising undertaking. There is a buzz of activity now where once there was only an encroaching sea. Vorapol now spends time explaining how the bamboo wall system works to students and visitors as a small team sinks bamboo poles into the mud as part of the newest retaining wall. About 500 metres east some 40 laborers slip and slide in the mud, planting small mangrove trees behind another bamboo wall. Vorapol now looks at the site of his old home on the shore side of the most recent bamboo retaining wall. He says he won't be moving back anytime soon, but it is a sight that brings a smile to his face.