> An introduction
> What is a biosphere reserve?
> Biosphere reserve management - a new approach
> Zoning
> What is there and why is it important?
> Why are the mangrove forests important?
> The MAB programme and the world network of Biosphere Reserves
> UNESCO Biosphere Reserves
> The Ranong Mangrove Forest Research Center
> Things TO DO and NOT TO DO for visitors

An introduction

 .

In January 2000 there were 368 Man and the Biosphere (MAB) reserves in 91 countries around the world. Ranong is the fourth in Thailand and the only one to include a coastal environment.

In 1997, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Thai government, declared the Ranong Biosphere Reserve.

The Ranong Biosphere Reserve (RBS) is in Ranong Province, southern Thailand, on the west coast of the Peninsula, Thailand ; 650 km south of Bangkok and 300 km north of Phuket. Ranong is Thailand's smallest and least-populated province renowned for receiving the highest annual rainfall.

Major agricultures are fisheries, rubber, cashew nuts and fruit. The Ranong Biosphere Reserve embraces 30,309 ha from south of Ranong town to the north of Kapoe district. It is bound on the east by the Ngao Waterfall National Park and on the west by the Andaman Sea. The RBS incorporates a range of diversified natural and disturbed habitats including mangrove forests, evergreen hill forests, open sea, seagrass beds, and urban and agricultural land.

Its natural resources are of great importance to the local people, many of whom are totally dependent on the forests and marine areas for their livelihoods. The RBS's natural resources are also of great importance for protecting the coast and providing a habitat for Thailand's wildife.

These natural resources are also under increasing pressure from overuse and unsustainable development. Major problems are overfishing and the use of destructive fishing gear, forest clearing and degradation and water pollution.

The declaration of the Ranong Biosphere Reserve presents the Thai government with an opportunity to work with the local people to address all of these problems, with the ultimate goal being the sustainable development of Ranong's coastal environment.

A biosphere reserve maximises the conservation of an area's natural environment and biodiversity while managing people's use of its resources for sustainable socio-economic development.

It views the areas as part of an integrated landscape rather than pockets of protection from which people are excluded, as in a traditional national park. This is achieved by forming a partnership between the government and the local people living in or near the reserve. It represents a movement away from a cadastral to a bioregional approach.

By placing biosphere reserves under the stewardship of the government and local people, one of the reserve's major goals is to become a model of land management and of approaches to sustainable development. To this end it becomes a centre for research, monitoring, education and training.

No mangroves : No fish No mangroves : No prawns No mangroves : No mud crabs

Mangrove trees provide a source of food for many marine animals. They also provide shelter from predators in their complex root systems for young shrimp, crabs and fish. In this way, mangrove forests support Ranong's fishing industry, providing employment, food and other economic benefits for a large number of people.

Mangroves are an important source of wood which local people use to construct their houses and fishing equipment as well as for cooking fuel.

 

No mangroves, no coastal protection

Mangrove forests protect the coast from erosion during the Southwest monsoon. In areas where mangroves have been cut back the coastline erodes each year exposing villages to storm damage.

 

Mangroves-seagrass - coral reefs linkage

Mangroves maintain coastal water quality by trapping sediments and filtering nutrients carried down by river systems. This is important for seagrass and coral reefs growing offshore as they grow best in clean/clear water.

A fascinating feature of the Ranong Biosphere Reserve is its evergreen hill forests. These are scattered throughout the reserve, on islands rising high above the mangroves and further inland interspersed among agricultural and urban land. The main species found in hill forests here are Dipterocarpus spp., Anisoptera spp,. Shortea siamensis, Hopea ferrea, H. odonta and Dillenia spp.

These forests play an important role as a habital for numerous animal species that move between the namgroves and the upland areas. These hill forests are also important for people who use them as a source of medicinal herbs, honey, wild fruits, rattan and bamboo. They regulate the water flow, ensuring a constant supply for humans and the nearby mangroves.

 

Seagrass beds

Seagrass beds are located in isolated patches throughout the reserve. These beds are ckomprised of Enhalus acoroides, Cymodacea serrulata, Halophila ovalis and Halodule uninervis. Seagrass beds are important for juvenile fish, prawns and other small animals, playing a role similar to mangrove forests, and providing them with food and sanctrary. They also bind the mud, protecting against erosion and providing a source of food for the endangered dugong and certain species of sea turtles.

There are areas of urban and agricultural land inside the RBS, on the narrow coastal plain that lies between the mangrove forests and the Ngao National Park. Fifteen villages are located within the reserve boundaries, five are within the mangrove forests. The people who live within the reserve are predominantly Buddhist and Muslim. The only an exceptional village is on the western side of Ko Lao Island, which is occupied by the Chow Lei, or Sea Gypsies, who are animist. Villagers residing within the mangroves derive their livelihood by catching mud crabs, small acetes shrimp and pelagic fist. Some villagers produce shrimp paste and raise fish in cages placed in the mangrove waterways. Further inland, villagers grow fruit, rubber and cashew trees as well as shrimp farming within the mangrove boundaries. Large parts of the reserve were abandoned after tin mining, once an important industry in Ranong, petered out in the 1980s. These areas are no longer suitable for agriculture due to the poor soil condition. Sustainable development is now critical if people are not to affect the mangroves and downstream areas adversely.

The RBS is home to a diverse wildlife population. Some will visit the mangroves for part of their day, to feed or rest before returning to their permanent habitation inland or in the evergreen hill forests. Others visit the mangroves only to breed or raise their young.

Within the reserve, it is possible to see otters, bats, crab-eating macaques, tree squirrels, civets and slow lorets, while endangered species like the dugong, dolphin and crocodile have also been sighted. Among the many reptiles found here are turtles, monitor lizards and many species of land and sea snakes, while many bird species migrate here from all over Thailand and abroad to raise their young, among the most common being kingfishers, hawks, plovers and ducks.

• biosphere reserves (core areas, buffer zones and transition areas) are beconing larger in size and there are and increasing number of twinning arrangements,
• transfrontier biosphere reserves which form biological corridors and promote bioregional planning. "Biosphere reserves make it clear that any action taken for the conseravtion of natural resources and their use on a sustainable basis must be orrted in the traditions of the societies concerned and enjoy their full support. Seen in this light the message of the Seville Strategy is highly promising for the future."

(P.Lasserre, 1996. Naturopa, The Council of Europe, N80)

A Biosphere Reserves has three functions :

• 1. a conservation function, contributing to the conservation of landscapes, species and genetic variation,
• 2. a development function, fostering economic development which is ecologically and culturally sustainable,
• 3. a logistic support function for research, education, training and monitoring.

Biosphere Reserves are organized into 3 inter-related zones in order to enable them to carry out the different activities involved :

• a core area for the long-term protection of biodiversity,
• a buffer zone around or next to the core used for recreation, education, research and sustainable resource use, complatible with the ecosystem conservation objectives,
• an outer transition area used for agriculture and other rural activities, including human settlements. It is here that the local communities, nature conservation agencies, scientists, non-governmental organizations, cultural groups, and other stakeholders work together to manage and develop the area resources in a sustainable manner.

The Ranong Mangrove Forest Research Center is located in Ranong province, southern Thailand, 650 km south of Bangkok on the western coast of the Malay peninsula facing the Andaman Sea. The centre is located 15 km south west of the township of Ranong in Tambon Ngao, Muang district.

The research centre lies adjacent to Ngao canal; one of the major canals of the Ranong mangrove ecosystem. These luxurious mangrove forests grow in the delta of the Kra Buri river which forms the border between Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar. The area of mangrove forest in Ranong province is approximately 19,600 ha; the largest concentration now remaining in Thailand and one of the significant mangrove forest areas in Asia and Pacific regions.

The Royal Forest Department established the Ranong Mangrove Forest Research Center in 1983. Its main objectives are to;

• Conduct research and support the research projects of other research organisations both within Thailand and overseas;
• Disseminate information about mangrove forest ecology to the general public; and to
• Encourage mangrove forest conservation.

The Ranong Mangrove Forest Research Center has reserved 3 areas of the nearby mangrove forest for research purposes. The first two are located close to centre on Ngao canal, one immediately surrounding the RMFRC is 24 ha in area, and was formerly a charcoal concession. This forest was last cut approximately 12 years ago but has been replanted and is now in excellent condition.

At Had Sai Khao the centre is responsible for a 2,160 ha area of mangrove forest. A small area of this forest is Old Growth forest which has never been cut. This forest supports a stand of 200-year-old giant Rhizophora apiculata trees the largest of which has a trunk measuring 2 metres in circumference at breast height and stands 25 metres in height. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited this site in 1996 during her visit to the Ranong Mangrove Foresst Research Centre. To commemorate the Princess's visit a plaque has been constructed at the site.

The third research site under the control of the centre is the Mangrove arboretum, on the La-Un canal, approximately 30 km from Ranong town. This reserve covers an area of 80 ha including a large area of back mangrove that is home to a highly diverse range of mangrove tree species.

A Special feature of this area is the large Xylocarpus moluccensis tree, measuring 20 metres in height with a circumference of 5 metres at breast height. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited this site in 1993 and 1996.

The RMFRC has hosted many major International research groups since its opening including the:

• Japanese-Thai collaborative research program in 1981-1982 "A Forest Ecological Study of the Mangrove Ecosystem";
• UNDP/UNESCO project "Research and Application to Management of the Mangroves of the Asia/ Pacific in 1986-1989;
• The European Union project "Environmental Assessment of Mangrove Reforestation as a Means of lmproving Coastal Protection, Stability and Fisheries Production" from 1994-1996;
• The International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) project "Development and Dissemination of Reafforestation techniques for mangrove forest" (1993-1996); and
• The Danish SE-Asian Collaboration in Tropical Ecosystems Research and Training. A co-operative program aimed at researching productivity and mortality of mangrove plantations on degraded shrimp farms and former tin mining areas and developing nursery techniques for various mangrove species as well as providing training to young Thai researchers (1997-1999).

Ongoing research at the centre includes phenological studies of selected mangrove species, monitoring of growth and survival of reforested areas and the establishment and monitoring of permanent research plots in each of the reserved research areas. The centre is equipped with research equipment, boats, and a research nursery as well as accommodation for a limited number of researchers.

The centre plays an important role in educating school and community groups about the importance of Thailand's mangrove forests, hosting around 2,000 visitors each year. In addition, the centre often organizes community replanting days where members of the local community come and help replant degraded mangrove forests in the local area. The Ranong Mangrove Forest Research Centre is equipped with an information centre and a mangrove forest boardwalk with interpretative signboards.

In order to conserve this beautiful area and get the most out of your visit to the boardwalk please take note of the following regulations.
1. DO NOT interfere with any of the plants or animals that live within the centre's reserved research areas, cutting of trees and the hunting of wildlife strictly prohibited;
2. DO NOT feed the monkeys along the boardwalk;
3. DO NOT bring food or drink into the forest, and do not litter the forest with garbage;
4. DO walk slowly and quietly through the forest so as not to scare the animals;
5. DO read the interpretative signs that are located along the boardwalk and learn more about the fascinating world of the mangrove forest;
6. DO folllow the arrows and the numbers on the signs so as to read the signs in their correct order;
7. DO ask the officer on duty if you have any questions or problems during your visit to the centre;
8. DO enjoy your visit to the centre and come back again soon.