Dear All,
I tend to agree with John and Chris that the resort could be built in the mangroves provided that there is minimal disturbance like what had been done in Trat.
Tri - I do sympathise with the feeling that there is sometimes a need for using mangroves or other natural ecosystems because of the need for development in third world countries. I think many third world countries cannot afford a "hands off" attitude to our natural ecosystems - we often have to compromise and think in terms of multiple-use of these ecosystems so that they are preserved even if not conserved. BUT, often, this need for development is used as an excuse to exploit the natural ecosystems when it is not necessary to do so. For example, aquaculture ponds need not be sited in mangroves - they can be sited behind mangroves. So, if the resort can be constructed like the one in Trat, it could be the best solution - there is a resort but the mangroves are still preserved.
It also seems counterproductive to be planting mangroves in order to increase mangrove area on the one hand, and then clearing natural mangroves on the other hand. Perhaps another alternative is that the resort can be built in a degraded mangrove area that hasnt been rehabilitated yet?
Chris, I received notification of the posting in my email and can get to this forum via the url in that email and also via your newsletter. But, when I go directly to the homepage and try to get into the forum, I dont see any of the messages - just the names of the people who posted. What have I done wrong? On another matter, I would like to download the nice photo of our group in Pontianak that is on the home-page. How can I do this?
Cheers,
Gong
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