Khanh Hoa replants mangrove forests

But in many other coastal provinces, large tracts of protective forests continue to disappear.

According to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the country's mangrove forests have shrunk from 400,000 ha in 1943 to 155,290ha now.

While in the past they were lost due to war, logging for firewood, and clearing for agriculture, shrimp farming has become a major culprit now.

Dr. Nguyen Huu Dai of the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute said the mangrove trees' massive roots are efficient at dissipating wave energy.

It is for this reason they are also called protective forests since they safeguard coastal areas from erosion, storm surges, and tsunamis.

But this benefit has not prevented mangrove forests from being destroyed over the last 30 years.

In Nha Trang, for instance, Huu said mangrove forests in Nha Trang Bay have been almost completely cleared. Thirty years ago the province, which has a 400-kilometre coastline with many large bays like Van Phong, Nha Phu, Nha Trang, and Cam Ranh, used to have an interminable stretch of pristine forests that were home to hundreds of species of sea creatures and acted as a solid wall against wind, saltwater intrusion, and erosion.

But their destruction began in 1990 when they were cleared first for shrimp farming and later for building resorts when tourism took off at the turn of the millennium.

Vu Dinh Long, an employee of Ninh Ich Commune in Ninh Hoa District, said the disappearance of the mangrove forests has caused serious consequences for local residents.

When the forests went away, they took along with them the main prey items for fish and prawns. As fish, prawns, and crabs dwindled as a result, the lives of people who depended on fishing in the forests was badly hit, he explained.

After the protective cover disappeared, erosion by the sea and wind became a major problem and saltwater began to intrude deep into the land, he said.

Reforestation efforts

But recognising the consequences of the destruction of the forests, he said, many people living along the Khanh Hoa coast have begun to replant mangrove trees since 2002.

Many other families followed suit and Ninh Ich alone had around 10 ha of mangrove forests planted by 2006, he said.

The afforestation movement received massive support from companies, public agencies, and the local administration, enabling it to expand quickly that more than 80 ha have been planted now.

Truong Kinh, director of the Nha Trang Bay Marine Protected Area, said his agency encourages young people living in nearby islands to afforest more beaches.

But it would take at least 20 years to return to the original state, he said.

Around 2,000 ha of coastal areas still require to be afforested, he added.