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[ Foreign Language Singing ]
The wetland forests if Micronesia are some of the most beautiful and unusual in the world.
Mangrove trees grow where the tides rise and fall only
where the water is warm all year round.
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In many countries of the tropics people have harvested mangroves until the forest is gone.
In Micronesia people have respected the forest.
Palau, Pohpei and other islands have large areas of healthy mangroves.
Here in Micronesia some mangrove forests are rainforests.
The plentiful rain helps the mangroves grow large and tall.
>> Let the wind blow.
Let the thunder roar.
Let the lightening shine.
The trees are wild and free.
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>> Many species of plants grow on the bark and branches
of mangrove trees watered by frequent rains.
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The mangroves are the home of many creatures.
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[ Foreign Language Singing ]
Mangroves also provide food and shelter for fish.
Some fish spend the early parts of their lives in the protected waters of the mangrove.
Other fish go to the mangrove to feed.
Many more reef fish in the high Carolinian islands are part
of the food chain that begins in the mangroves.
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The mangroves forests provide wood for people who live nearby.
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How much wood can the forest give.
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If only a few trees are harvested at a time.
The forest can grow back as fast as it is cut.
One Palauan story says that the mangrove forest is a mother whose children are the young trees,
crabs and fish.
Only a healthy mother can have many children.
In Kosrae gathering crabs from the forest provides food and income for almost twice
as much as firewood that is harvested and sold.
If too many trees are harvested too quickly, the best trees are used up and people have
to cut smaller and smaller trees or trees that don't have good quality wood.
When young trees don't grow back as fast as the old trees are cut, the mother forest
and her children are slowly being destroyed.
How can we be good stewards and take care of the forest that has been given to us?
Many islands have proverbs telling people
to only take what they need from the forest or reef.
The wisdom from the past needs to be remembered.
Nowadays in Kosrae almost two thirds of the wood that is cut is wasted.
If we cut down whole trees to get a few nice branches for carving, we should use the rest
of the wood for posts or firewood.
By harvesting at low tide we can cut the bottom of the tree and the prop roots.
We can be careful when cutting to just fell the trees that are needed.
A skilled woodcutter can aim the tree so that it doesn't knock down other trees.
Wood cutters should be careful when removing the cut trees to avoid trampling the seedlings
and saplings that will restore the forest.
Cutting trees in small patches instead of big clearings helps the forest to grow back.
It is best to cut only one of two trees in the same patch.
If more trees are needed a new patch can be cut nearby.
The trees that are left standing between cut patches will make it easier for young seedlings
to grow in the small clearing where they'll replace the trees that were cut down.
The roots of the large trees protect the small trees and the oil from strong currents.
The large trees are also a source of seed for the forest.
Mangrove forests along rivers often have the best trees for wood
but they're also the most valuable forests for catching sediment.
They produce the most leaves for fish in the food chain.
So tree cutting near rivers should be limited and trees
on the river banks should be left standing.
The mangroves on the edge of the forest facing the ocean protect the rest of the forest
and the land from winds and strong waves.
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When cutting opens a gap in the French mangrove forest,
winds and waves can come in through the gap.
Storms can wash away soil and keep the forest from growing back.
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It's best to cut wood closer to the land and leave trees near the ocean and rivers alone.
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Remember, leave trees on river banks.
Leave the forest at the edge of the sea.
Cut trees in small patches.
Take only the wood that is needed.
[ Foreign Language Singing ]
Micronesia has been blessed with large mangrove forests and plentiful fisheries,
but some forests are being over harvested and fish catches are going down.
As Micronesia's population increases, it will be a challenge to educate and lead people.
Everyone needs to control their own harvest so that the forest will be sustained for everyone.
It will be easier to take care of the forest then to replant it if it is destroyed.
The forest was given to us and we were made stewards over it.
Let us appreciate creation and conserve it for our grandchildren.
[ Foreign Language Singing ]