A forever young ecosystem: Light gap creation and turnover of subtropical mangrove forests in Moreton Bay, Southeast Queensland, Australia

Light gaps act as important renewal agents in mangrove forests. Light gaps progress through a number of stages starting from the death of a patch of trees through to its infill and rejuvenation of forest. These define a process of mangrove regeneration where forests naturally replace themselves over time. Light gaps in Moreton Bay mangroves were assessed to develop a greater understanding of the physical characteristics and microclimate change with adjacent canopies. Historical aerial photographs from 1978 to 2007 were analysed to reveal the dynamic processes of these mangrove forests and the role of light gap creation. The annual average number of new light gaps and the annual average number of gaps in recovery phases were calculated and used to estimate forest turnover. The average size of gaps in Moreton Bay is 84.2 m2. Average forest turnover based on gap creation decreased from 1987 to 2007. An increase in gap creation rate may be indicative of an increase in storm activity - a possible tangible effect of global climate change

Community participation in governance for sustainable management of medicinal plants market in urban area

Community participation (CP) in governance is important for better management of medicinal plant’s market in the urban area. The basic concept of sustainability is described as meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the needs of future generations, with concern to economics, social and natural environment. Communities have the right to voice out their needs toward medicinal plants. This paper describes community participation in governance through their attitude and how governance response. Generally, there is a two-way interaction between authority and community to ensure the medicinal plant’s market fulfil both parties’ needs. As for the communities, they voice out their needs through attitude by giving response, reaction and action. While the authority take in account to the attitude to design a suitable policy in planning, implementation, enforcement and reviews for better management that achieve both needs by the time and for the future

Utilitarian tumbuhan ubatan di Tamu Pantai Barat Sabah

Utilitarian atau kepenggunaan tumbuhan bagi memenuhi keperluan hidup merupakan nic ekologi manusia. Ia merupakan proses kebergantungan manusia terhadap sumber bagi kelangsungan hidup. Tujuan kertas kerja ini adalah untuk menghuraikan utilitarian tumbuhan ubatan oleh masyarakat di Pantai Barat sabah dalam memahami kebergantungan masyarakat di kawasan kajian terhadap sumber tumbuhan untuk kelangsungan kesihatan. Sebanyak 77 spesies daripada 43 famili telah direkodkan melalui kajian lapangan di 15 buah tamu (pasar tempatan) di Pantai Barat Sabah. Manakala 119 kegunaan tumbuhan ubatan telah didokumentasikan berdasarkan kepada maklumat daripada 107 orang responden. Kedah penyediaan tumbuhan sebagai ubat dan akses terhadap sumber tersebut juga dihuraikan bagi memahami cara pengurusan sumber tumbuhan tersebut

Women’s perception on medicinal plants in traditional Tamu, West Coast, Sabah, Malaysia

The objective of this paper is to describe the perception among women on the medicinal plants they sold in the tamu (local market) in West Coast, Sabah. The study was conducted in 14 selected tamu. Related information has been collected through questionnaires and interviews with 84 women involved as respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis in IBM SPSS software 21. Finding showed that the majority of the items showed a high score, except for two items listed below mean score of 3.68, which are at a moderate level. The average mean score is 4.06, which means the perception of women on the sale of medicinal plants is positive and at a high level

Community participation in governance for sustainable management of medicinal plants market in urban area

Community participation (CP) in governance is important for better management of medicinal plant’s market in the urban area. The basic concept of sustainability is described as meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the needs of future generations, with concern to economics, social and natural environment. Communities have the right to voice out their needs toward medicinal plants. This paper describes community participation in governance through their attitude and how governance response. Generally, there is a two-way interaction between authority and community to ensure the medicinal plant’s market fulfil both parties’ needs. As for the communities, they voice out their needs through attitude by giving response, reaction and action. While the authority take in account to the attitude to design a suitable policy in planning, implementation, enforcement and reviews for better management that achieve both needs by the time and for the future

Remote sensing to study mangrove fragmentation and its impacts on leaf area index and gross primary productivity in the south of Peninsular Malaysia

Mangrove is classified as an important ecosystem along the shorelines of tropical and subtropical landmasses, which are being degraded at an alarming rate despite numerous international treaties having been agreed. Iskandar Malaysia (IM) is a fast-growing economic region in southern Peninsular Malaysia, where three Ramsar Sites are located. Since the beginning of the 21st century (2000–2019), a total loss of 2907.29 ha of mangrove area has been estimated based on medium-high resolution remote sensing data. This corresponds to an annual loss rate of 1.12%, which is higher than the world mangrove depletion rate. The causes of mangrove loss were identified as land conversion to urban, plantations, and aquaculture activities, where large mangrove areas were shat-tered into many smaller patches. Fragmentation analysis over the mangrove area shows a reduction in the mean patch size (from 105 ha to 27 ha) and an increase in the number of mangrove patches (130 to 402), edge, and shape complexity, where smaller and isolated mangrove patches were found to be related to the rapid development of IM region. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) products were used to inspect the impact of fragmentation on the mangrove ecosystem process. The mean LAI and GPP of mangrove areas that had not undergone any land cover changes over the years showed an increase from 3.03 to 3.55 (LAI) and 5.81 g C m-2 to 6.73 g C m-2 (GPP), highlighting the ability of the mangrove forest to assimilate CO2 when it is not disturbed. Similarly, GPP also increased over the gained areas (from 1.88 g C m-2 to 2.78 g C m-2). Meanwhile, areas that lost mangroves, but replaced them with oil palm, had decreased mean LAI from 2.99 to 2.62. In fragmented mangrove patches an increase in GPP was recorded, and this could be due to the smaller patches (< 9 ha) and their edge effects where abundance of solar radiation along the edges of the patches may increase productivity. The impact on GPP due to fragmentation is found to rely on the type of land transfor-mation and patch characteristics (size, edge, and shape complexity). The preservation of mangrove forests in a rapidly developing region such as IM is vital to ensure ecosystem, ecology, environment, and biodiversity conservation, in addition to providing economical revenue and supporting human activities

Faktor kelangsungan pasaran tumbuhan ubatan di Tamu Pantai Barat Sabah: Satu tinjauan awal

Artikel ini membincangkan faktor yang mempengaruhi kelangsungan pasaran tumbuhan ubatan di pasar tempatan atau dikenali sebagai tamu di Pantai Barat, Sabah. Data dikumpul melalui pemerhatian tidak ikut serta dan temu bual di lima buah tamu di Penampang, Ranau, Tamparuli, Tuaran dan Pekanabalu. Seramai 26 orang responden dalam lingkungan umur 35 hinga 78 tahun telah mengambil bahagian. Tujuan utama kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti faktor yang mempengaruhi penjual untuk terus memasarkan tumbuhan yang mempunyai nilai perubatan. Oleh yang demikian, responden terhad kepada kalangan penjual. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa terdapat sepuluh faktor yang menyebabkan kelangsungan aktiviti pemasaran tumbuhan ubatan di kawasan kajian, iaitu sumber pendapatan, permintaan, harga, peluang, budaya, kemajuan teknologi komunikasi, pengetahuan tradisi, akses, kelimpahan dan produktiviti. Faktor tersebut seterusnya diklasifikasikan kepada tiga, iaitu faktor ekonomi, faktor sosial dan faktor ekologi. Analisis lanjut mendapati bahawa ketiga-tiga faktor ini sama penting dalam mempengaruhi kelangsungan pasaran tumbuhan ubatan di Pantai Barat Sabah

Nurse-Led intervention on knowledge, attitude and beliefs of Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background Coronary heart disease has emerged as a number one killer in Malaysia and globally. Much of the morbidity and mortality in acute coronary syndrome patients is because of patients not recognizing their symptoms which contributes to delay in seeking early treatment. Aim The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse-led health education programme on knowledge, attitude and beliefs of coronary patients towards the responses to acute coronary syndrome and the association with patients' characteristics. Methods A single-group quasi-experimental design took place in a tertiary hospital. A total of 60 coronary patients were recruited to this study. The knowledge, attitude and beliefs towards acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were evaluated at baseline and after 1 month of giving education intervention. Results Knowledge, attitude and beliefs about ACS increased significantly from baseline to 1 month after intervention. Level of attitude was associated with gender, educational level and employment status. Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that an education program conducted by a nurse improved patients' level of knowledge, attitudes and beliefs in response to ACS symptoms at 1 month compared to baseline, but whether they are sustained for a longer period is unclear. Improving the responses towards ACS might reduce decision delay in symptom interpretation and seeking early treatment. Relevance to clinical practice Nurse-led interventions have imparted positive outcomes in response to ACS symptoms among coronary patients. Therefore, nurses should take the initiative in educating patients to minimize delay in symptom interpretation and seeking early treatment

Enhancing Uptake of Nature-Based Solutions for Informing Coastal Sustainable Development Policy and Planning: A Malaysia Case Study

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have been advocated to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. The uptake of NbS differs regionally with some countries exhibiting greater uptake than others. The success of NbS also differs regionally with varying environmental conditions and social-ecological processes. In many regions, the body of knowledge, particularly around the efficacy of such efforts, remains fragmented. Having an “inventory” or “tool box” of regionally-trialed methods, outcomes and lessons learnt can improve the evidence base, inform adaptive management, and ultimately support the uptake of NbS. Using Malaysia as a case study, we provide a comprehensive overview of trialed and tested NbS efforts that used nature to address societal challenges in marine and coastal environments (here referring to mangroves, seagrass, coral reefs), and detailed these efforts according to their objectives, as well as their anticipated and actual outcomes. The NbS efforts were categorized according to the IUCN NbS approach typology and mapped to provide a spatial overview of IUCN NbS effort types. A total of 229 NbS efforts were collated, representing various levels of implementation success. From the assessment of these efforts, several key actions were identified as a way forward to enhance the uptake of Nature-based Solutions for informing coastal sustainable development policy and planning. These include increasing education, training, and knowledge sharing; rationalizing cooperation across jurisdictions, laws, and regulations; enhancing environmental monitoring; leveraging on existing policies; enabling collaboration and communication; and implementing sustainable finance instruments. These findings can be used to inform the improved application and uptake of NbS, globally.</jats:p

When nature needs a helping hand: different levels of human intervention for mangrove (re-)establishment

Protecting existing mangrove forests is a priority for global conservation because of the wide range of services that these coastal forests provide to humankind. Despite the recent reduction in global rates of mangrove loss, high historical loss rates mean that there are at least 800,000 ha globally that are potentially suitable for mangrove re-establishment. Recently deposited mud banks or intertidal, previously terrestrial, land might provide additional habitat for expanding mangrove areas locally. There is a long history of mangrove rehabilitation. However, despite numerous good examples of, and growing expertise in, natural or assisted (re-)establishment activities, most mangrove planting efforts, for instance, either fail entirely or meet with only limited success. Exposed to waves and currents and subject to tidal inundation, mangroves differ from terrestrial forests, and approaches to, or tools for, terrestrial forest restoration cannot easily be transferred to mangrove forests. Successful mangrove (re-)establishment usually requires a robust understanding of the abiotic and biotic conditions of the chosen site, the ecological requirements of the mangrove species used or facilitated, the reasons for previous mangrove loss or degradation, as well as the barriers–both societal and ecological–that have prevented natural recovery to date. Because most mangrove forests are socio-ecological systems, with which local human populations are intimately engaged, (re-)establishment will normally require the support of, and engagement with, local communities and other local stakeholders. Here, we summarize where, when and why (re-)establishment of mangroves is needed and how to assess this need. We discuss a range of potential aims and goals of mangrove (re-)establishment along with potential pitfalls along the way from conceiving the initial idea to its realization. We compare different technical and conceptual approaches to mangrove (re-)establishment, their challenges and opportunities, and their design and financial requirements, as well as potential solutions. We ground our final outlook and recommendations on examples of successful efforts and the factors that rendered (re-)establishment successful in the past