Mangrove wetlands conservation

project and the shrimp farming

industry in Ecuador: Lessons learned
Ral Carvajal1 and Juan Jos Alava 1,2

Mangroves are one of the most important and productive coastal wetlands in the world. Among other ecological
services or benefits, this coastal ecosystem offers protection
against hurricanes, storms and flooding, natural water treatment systems and sedimentation sinks, as well as eco-tourism and fisheries. In Ecuador, mangroves provide nursery
areas and habitats for several species of crustaceans, such as
the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei; Pacific blue
shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris; red crab, Ucides occidentalis; fishes, including croakers, Cynoscion spp.; mullets, Mugil
spp. (e.g., Mugil cephalus), and snook, Centropomus nigrescens; shellfishes, including mussels, Mytella strigata and
M. speciosa; and mangrove cockles (= ark shells), Anadara
spp., such as Anadara tuberculosa, A. similis and A. grandis;
reptiles, such as the critically endangered American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus and iguanas, Iguana iguana; birds,
including mangrove black hawk, Buteogallus anthracinus;
white ibis, Eudocimus albus; roseate spoonbill, Ajaia ajaja;
and several species of herons, including great egrets, Ardea
alba; snowy egrets E. thula; little blue herons, E. caerulea;
tricolored herons, E. tricolor; green-backed herons, Butorides striatus, as well as blackcrowned Nycticorax nycticorax
and yellow-crowned Nyctanassa violacea night herons; and,
mammals, including crab-eating raccoon, Procyon cancrivorus, and neotropical otter, Lontra longicaudis. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are also common marine
mammals residing around the mangrove estuarine waters
along the Ecuadorian coast (Gulf of Guayaquil). Several
mangrove tree species has been identified in the Ecuadorian
coast: red mangroves, Rhizophora mangle and R. harrisonii;
black mangrove, Avicennia germinans; white mangrove, Laguncularia racemosa; button or jel mangrove, Conocarpus
erectus; piuelo mangrove, Pelliciera rhizophorae; and nato
mangrove, Mora oleifera, which is only distributed northwest Ecuadorian coast (Esmeraldas province). Even though
all the mangroves species are threatened in Ecuador, four
of these species (red, white, black and button mangroves)
are currently at risk of extinction (Ministerio del Ambiente
2001).
Wetlands are defined by Davis (1994) as: areas of marsh,
fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh,

14 September 2007

brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth

of which at low tide does not exceed six meter. Under this
concept, estuarine wetlands from the Ecuadorian coastline,
including deltas, tidal marshes and mangroves, show a major importance inasmuch as these areas are considered the
most productive and richest in the planet. For example, the
Guayaquil Gulf Estuary is a typical case, with approximately 81 percent of the total area of Ecuadorian mangroves
(149,556.23 ha) (CLIRSEN 1999). The Guayaquil Gulf is
not only the most important and complex coastal environment of Ecuador, but also the richest environmental management unit along the Pacific South American coast. It is
one of the five regions of special management in which the
implementation of The Ecuadorian Biodiversity Policy and
National Strategy is a priority (Ministerio del Ambiente
2001).
From 1969 to 1999, a mangrove area of about 54,000 ha,
which represented 26 percent of the original area (203,625
ha) was lost in Ecuador because of the non-controlled clearcutting of mangroves, mainly for construction of illegal
aquaculture, agriculture, timber extraction, urban sprawl,
as well as affection of mangrove remnants by plague infestations, including fungus and insects (Table 1). On the
contrary, the shrimp farm industry augmented from 0.00
to 178,072 ha between 1969 and 1995. This dramatic scenario in overuse and misuse of a natural resource reflected a
typical case of the classical thesis The Tragedy of the Commons by Hardin (1968), emphasizing that the lack of both
property rights and regulation enforcement on environmental resources cause their depletion or decimation. Thus, during the last decade, to face this challenging environmental
crisis, Fundacin Natura Guayaquil Chapter undertook
and enhanced its actions and strategies to conserve and protect the Ecuadorian mangroves forest areas, with special emphasis on the mangroves forest remaining on the Guayaquil
Gulf Estuary. From September 1995 to September 1997,
Fundacin Natura Guayaquil Chapter carried out a project
named Inter-institutional Coordination for the Control and
Surveillance of Mangrove Clear-Cutting on the Guayaquil
Gulf , which contributed a case study of joint-participation
and cooperation between a non-government organization
(Fundacin Natura) and a state office, the Conservation

Table 1.

Temporal and spatial evolution of mangrove forest, shrimp farming and salt flat areas (ha) on the continental coast of Ecuador from 1969 to 1999.

Land use/coverage
Mangrove forest
Shrimp farming
Salt flat areas
Total

1969

1984

1987

1991

1995

1999

203,624.6

182,157.30

175,157.40

162,186.55

146,938.62

149,556.23

0.00

89,368.30

117,728.70

145,998.33

178,071.84

175,253.50

51,496.30

20,022.10

12,273.70

6,320.87

5,109.47

4,531.08

255,120.90

291,547.70

305,159.80

314,505.75

330,214.97

329,340.81

Source: Centro de Levantamiento Integrado de Recursos Naturales por Sensores Remotos (CLIRSEN 1999).

and Surveillance Unit of Guayaquil (UCV). Based on this

inter-institutional experience, Fundacin Natura sought an
agreement with the National Chamber of Aquaculture of
Ecuador (Camara Nacional de Acuacultura-CNA), an important stakeholder involved with mangrove conservation,
to negotiate and sponsor, through individual financial support from some of its members (shrimp farming owners), a
new environmental project called Control and Surveillance
System of the Mangrove Clear-Cutting on the Ecuadorian
Continental Coast. The total invested budget was about $
US 367,000 allowing Fundacin Natura to administrate and
conduct this project from November 1998 to October 2001.
This project had a national scope, and its main goal was
to avoid and control the clear-cutting of mangrove forest areas by the cooperation of public, private (CNA) and
NGO entities involved on this environmental issue. Simultaneously, new environmental laws and guidelines for the
mangrove conservation were established by the time that the
project was underway. The major environmental strategies
of these laws were the mangrove zones concessions (Official
Register # 243, 28 July 1999) to traditional human communities that depend on mangroves resources, as well as the
establishment of the environmental economic value (benefit/cost) for a damaged mangrove area (one ha = $13,068)
by the National Procuratorial Agency (Official Register #
139, 2 March 1999). Two additional laws were also enacted,
the new Environmental Management Law (Official Register
# 245, 30 July 1999) and the improvement of the General
Applied Normative for the Forest Law (Official Register #
245, 30 July 1999). These environmental laws established
new terminology that was useful for mangrove conservation.
For instance, the term restoration means not only the focal
point of reforestation but, also, the recovery of an unique
biotic component, the mangrove tree, giving a global scope
of conservation in terms of ecological services and natural subsidies. The operational plan of the project had three
components: Surveillance Technical System, Legal Control
Technical System, and Environmental Education. These approaches are described below.

Fig. 12. Aircraft surveillance system was a key component to

detect illegal mangrove clearance and hot spots of deforestation due to anthropogenic activities during the mangrove conservation project in the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador (Photo by
Raul Carvajal).

Component I. Surveillance Technical System

Using aircraft surveys of the mangrove forest in the
coastal zone, hot spots of mangrove clear-cutting and areas
of potential conflict on the Ecuadorian estuaries, with special attention on Guayaquil Gulf, were systematically identiWorld Aquaculture

15

cal and legal approaches to enhance the legal

documentation, legal inspection and generation of legal evidence/proofs, including pictures and geo-referencing in multi-temporal
maps, for each case of mangrove clear-cutting. Of the 76 mangrove clear-cutting cases
presented to the Wildlife and Forest Agency/
Environment Ministry that were followed,
the authorities stated that 37 Administrative
Resolutions were completed during a record
period of about nine months for each case.
Legal evidence, such as photos of mangrove
removed by tractors in situ, absence of permits to develop shrimp farming, which was
illegal, video cassette records of clear-cutting of mangrove areas, official field reports
and testimonies were used in the persecution
of these cases.
Fig. 3. Isolated patches of mangroves remnants were rescued and protected
by the authorities (UVC and Ecuadorian Navy) and organizations (Fundacin
Natura and Camara Nacional de Acuacultura) involved in the terrestrial inspections before illegal shrimp farm activities cut the trees down (Photo by Juan
Jos Alava).

fied (Figures 12). Each identified case was communicated

to the UCV, which determined the date to carry out official
inspections and verification of a given case of mangrove
clear-cutting. Official members from four government organizations (the Provincial Department of Wildlife and
Forest, the General Fishery Undersecretary, the Navy and
the Municipalities) and technical personnel from two-invited NGOs (Aquaculture National Chamber and Fundacin Natura Guayaquil Chapter) were involved in these
inspections. The material used during airplane monitoring
and aquatic inspections were a camera (Nikon 400 4S),
video camera (Panasonic M-9000), GPS (Geoexplorer II)
and thematic maps for multi-temporal studies.
Based on the aerial and aquatic monitoring and inspections, three hot spots of mangrove forest clear-cutting areas were identified. These areas were the Jambel Archipelago (Archipilago de Jambel) and Naranjal Mouth
River (Boca del Rio Naranjal), located southeastern Gulf
of Guayaquil, and an area northeast of Puna Island, center of Gulf Guayaquil. From November 1998 to October
2001, a total of 79 cases of clear cutting of mangroves were
detected, from which 96 percent were assessed, verified and
closed under the UCV-authority (Figure 3). The legal and
administrative processes for each entrusted case were pursued.

Component II. Legal Control Technical System

This component focused on the pursuit of legal and
administrative processes concerned with mangrove clearcutting cases and illegal taking of beach and bay areas.
A main objective of this component was to accelerate the
legal processes to obtain a positive resolution in favor of
the natural resource. The technical system of legal control
was undertaken by the logistical support of both techni-

16 September 2007

Component III. Environmental

Education

A socio-economic survey was performed

on five human communities that depend on
mangrove resources. The objective of this
survey was to elucidate the environmental issues concerning the harvest of the mangrove red crab (U.
occidentalis), identification of working zones as well as
relevant socio-economic aspects, including family income,
facilities, economic and community activities. This assessment was conducted in the Churute Mangrove Ecological Reserve (REMCH), one of the mangrove areas on the
Guayaquil Gulf with human conflict. The findings generated from this component provided a baseline to integrate
these communities into the Environmental Education Program. Community-based conservation (CBC) activities
were incorporated to manage and conserve the mangrove
forest resources. Additionally, an educational strategic program of mangrove conservation was deployed to develop
education material, pamphlets and posters, and to increase
awareness of the importance of the mangrove forest and
the laws that protect them. A socio-economic survey was
completed of five human communities that depend on the
mangrove forest in the Churute Mangrove Ecological Reserve. The results of this socio-economic study are available in Fundacin Natura Captulo Guayaquil and from
the first author, Ral Carvajal.

Environmental Indicator of Control and Surveillance

The mangrove forest area increased about 2 percent (2,618
ha) from 1995 to 1999 (Table1; Figure 4). On the contrary, a
decrease of 1.6 percent (2,818 ha) was observed on the total
shrimp farming areas for the same period of time (Table 1).
This scenario might indicate that several clear cutting areas
were controlled in, at least, some areas, and the natural regeneration of mangrove forest was allowed in others; for example, closure of illegal shrimp ponds or abandoned shrimp
farms, because of the recoverability of hydrological and
tidal conditions, which enhanced the ecological succession

and restoration of mangrove communities.

Mangrove remnants affected by natural
events also get recovered, showing the importance of the ecosystem resilience in getting back to its original condition. Additionally, a reduction in salt flat areas of 11
percent was noticed during the 19951999
period (Figure 5), suggesting their usage for
other human-made activities. The temporal and spatial data reflecting the evolution
of mangrove, shrimp farming and salt flat
areas were processed by the Remote Sensing and Natural Resources Center/Defense
Ministry (Centro de Levantamiento Integrado de Recursos Naturales por Sensores
Remotos CLIRSEN) (Table 1).

Discussion and Conclusion

Fig. 4. Historical trend of the reduction of mangrove and salt flat areas due to
human activities (agriculture, aquaculture, timber extraction, and urbanization).
Of particular interest is the slight decreasing in the reduction of mangrove forest
coverage from 1995 to 1999, when environmental actions and mitigation strategies were undertaken by NGOs and the Ecuadorian government. The lost of salt
flat coverage (91%) have been more drastic compared to mangrove areas. 1969 is
the baseline period, reflecting the total original land cover (0% reduction) for both
mangrove and salt flat areas (Table 1), existing at that time and before the arriving
of the shrimp farming industry.

Wetlands embrace a diversity of habitats for plants and wildlife, especially

for waterbirds habitat conservation, as
well as ecological benefits and natural
resource subsidies for local human communities (Davis 1994, Ramsar Convention Secretariat 2004). Interinstitutional
cooperation among stakeholders is a key
issue in resource environmental management to accomplish sustainability. The conservation mangrove project
conducted in Ecuador reflected a positive example of
management strategies to mitigate environmental impacts
generated by unsustainable activities and misuse of mangroves. Furthermore, it is worthwhile to mention that The
Codes of Practice for Responsible Shrimp Farming of the
Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) emphasizes in one
of the guidelines that The shrimp aquaculture industry
will promote responsible and sustainable development
and management practices ensuring the preservation of
mangroves and the sustainability of shrimp aquaculture
as well as in its first management practice for protection
of mangrove ecosystems that New shrimp farms should
not be developed within mangrove ecosystems (Boyd
1999). In the field, it was observed that a large number
of rescued mangroves areas reached natural regeneration.
However, this aspect deserves more investigation in future multi-temporal studies of mangroves, shrimp farming and salt flat areas.
Furthermore, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
has been recently legalized in Ecuador as a technical and
a regulatory approach to examine previously whether or
not a particular aquaculture project, such as inland shrimp
farming, can cause potential environmental insults or effects
(Alava 2005). In addition to environmental regulation, local
incentives, community-based conservation and environmental education to manage coastal environmental resources
in developing countries, decision makers must consider in
their local agendas the coordination and joint-participation
among all the entities involved, the multi-stakeholder process, in the use and conservation of mangroves.

Notes
Ral Carvajal, Fundacin Natura Captulo Guayaquil, Avenida
Carlos J. Arosemena, Km 2.5, Edificio Investamar, 2 piso, P.O.
Box 09-01-11327, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
raul_carvajal8@hotpop.com
1,2
Juan Jos Alava, Fundacin Natura Captulo Guayaquil, Ecuador, Environmental Consultant for the Center for Environmental Studies (CEMA)/ESPOL, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Present Address: Juan Jos Alava, PhD Candidate/Graduate
Research Assistant
Environmental Toxicology Research Group, School of Resource
& Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, 8888
University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, CANADA; Office Phone: (604)268-7375; Lab Phone: (604)291-5776;
Fax: (604)291-4968; jalavasa@sfu.ca
1

Acknowledgments
The Project Control and Surveillance System of the
Mangrove Clear-Cutting on the Ecuadorian Continental
Coast was sponsored by the National Chamber of Aquaculture of Ecuador (Cmara Nacional de Acuacultura
CNA). We thank the exexecutive directors of CAN (Rodrigo Laniado and Sandro Coglitore), Joaquin Orrantia, as
well as Deborah Chiriboga, previous executive director of
Fundacin Natura Captulo Guayaquil, for their commitments in negotiating and encouraging the development of
this project. We warmly thank the technical personnel (we
specially acknowledge Jos Torres for his devoted field work
as well as Hctor Mosquera, Mariuxi Thompson, and Sandra Chalacn for the legal and educational work), administrative staff and volunteers of Fundacin Natura, CAN,
(Continued on page 69)
World Aquaculture

17

Ergotropics in Aquaculture

Mangroves and Shrimp

(Continued from page 24)

Pacific Magazine, January / February.
Mabahinzireki, G. B., K. Dabrowski,
K. J.Lee, D. El-Saidy and E. R. Wissner. 2001. Growth, feed utilization and
body composition of tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) fed with cottonseed meal-based
diets in a recirculating system. Aquaculture Nutrition 7:189-200.
Massam, J. 2005. Direct fed microbials in
growout ponds: Industrial scale results.
Abstract, World Aquaculture Society,
World Aquaculture 2005, May 9-13,
2005, Bali, Indonesia.
Naylor, R.L., R.J. Goldburg, J.H. Primavera, N. Kautsky, M.C.M. Beveridge,
J. Clay, C. Folke, J. Lubchenco, H.
Mooney and M. Troell. 2000. Effect of
aquaculture on world fish supplies. Nature 405:1017-1024.
New, M. and I. Csavas. 1995. Will there be
enough fish meal for fish meals? Aquaculture Europe 19:6-13.
Ramli, N., U. Heindl and S. Sunanto. 2005.
Effect of potassium-diformate on growth
performance of tilapia challenged with
Vibrio anguillarum. Abstract, World
Aquaculture Society, World Aquaculture
2005, May 9-13, 2005, Bali, Indonesia.
Ring, E. 1991. Effects of dietary lactate
and propionate on growth, and digesta
in Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus (L.).
Aquaculture 96:321-333.
Ring, E., R. E. Olsen and J. D. Castell. 1994. Effect of dietary lactate on
growth and chemical composition of

Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus. Journal

of the World Aquaculture Society 25
(3): 483-486.
Sissons, J. W. 1989. Potential of probiotic
organisms to prevent diarrhoea and
promote digestion in farm animals. A
review. Journal of the Science of Food
and Agriculture 49:1-13.
Sugiura, S. H., J. Gabaudan, F. M. Dong
and R. W. Hardy. 2001. Dietary microbial phytase supplementation and
the utilization of phosphorus, trace
minerals and protein by rainbow trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum) fed
soybean meal-based diets. Aquaculture
Research 32: 583-592.
Tacon, A.G.J. 1996. Feeding tomorrows
fish. World Aquaculture 27: 20-32.
Tomasso, J. and M. New. 1999. Aquaculture in Global Fisheries Production.
Fisheries 24: 32.
Verbeeke, W. 2001. The influence of consumerism on livestock production and
eventually the feed industry. Pages 6,
1-18 In Recent Developments in animal feeds and feeding. Proceedings of
the Animal Feed Manufactures Association (AFMA) Forum 2001, 21st-23rd
of February 2001, Sun City, Northwest
Province, South Africa.
Williams, M.J., J.D. Bell, M.V. Gupta, M.
Dey, M. Ahmed, M. Prein, S. Child, P.R.
Gardiner, R. Brummet and D. Jamu.
2000. Responsible aquaculture can aid
food problems. Nature 406: 673.

(Continued from page 17)

and government agencies (Provincial
Departments of the Wildlife and Forest Service, the General Fishery Undersecretary, the Ecuadorian Navy
and the Municipalities) for their participation during the project.

References
Alava, J.J. 2005. Inland Shrimp Aquaculture and Environmental Impact Assessment in Ecuador. World Aquaculture
36(3): 54-58.
Boyd, C. E.1999. Codes of Practice for
Responsible Shrimp Farming. Global
Aquaculture Alliance. St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
CLIRSEN (Centro de Levantamiento
Integrado de Recursos Naturales por
Sensores Remotos ). 1999. Estudio Multitemporal de Manglares, Camaroneras
y Salinas al ao 1999.Ministerio de Defensa-PATRA. Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Davis, T.J., editor. 1994. The Ramsar Convention Manual: A guide to the Convention on wetlands of international
importance especially as waterfowl habitat. Ramsar Convention Bureau. Gland,
Switzerland.
Hardin, G. 1968. The tragedy of the commons. Science 162:1243-1248.
Ministerio del Ambiente. 2001. Poltica y
Estrategia Nacional de Biodiversidad
del Ecuador. Ministerio del Ambiente.
Quito, Ecuador.
Ramsar Convention Secretariat. 2004. The
Ramsar Convention Manual: a Guide to
the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar,
Iran, 1971), 3rd ed. Ramsar Convention
Secretariat, Gland, Switzerland.

Advertisers Index
Aquaculture America 2008................................ 43

Northern Aquaculture....................................... 29

Aquaculture Europe.......................................... 34

Parkway Research by Brandt Consolidated....... 33

Aquafauna Biomarine......................................... 7

Seabait, Ltd. ............................ Inside Back Cover

Aquatic Eco-Systems, Inc.................................. 39

USAS Sponsored Publications........................... 61

AREA..................................................Back Cover

WAS Future Meetings....................................... 66

Argent Laboratories................. Inside Front Cover

WAS Online Store.............................................. 55

Caribbean and Latin American

Aquaculture 2007............................................ 30

World Aquaculture 2008.................................... 49

World Aquaculture

69