Japan tsunami was wake-up call for S. Asia: expert

An expert said Thursday Japans March tsunami was a wake-up call for South Asian nations still restoring their coastlines after a massive wave struck in December 2004.MFF, supported by United Nations and other agencies, promotes and funds projects to plant mangroves on vulnerable coastlines as a defence against tsunamis and typhoons.Macintosh spoke this week at a conference in the South Korean city of Incheon organised by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which has called for nature-based solutions as Japan rebuilds.MFF works to safeguard all coastal ecosystems. It adopted mangroves as a flagship project because of the important role they played reducing the impact of the 2004 tsunami, which killed more than 220,000 people.Mangroves also absorb wind forces which do much of the damage associated with typhoons, and provide a natural habitat for fish, shrimp and crab, he said.Since 2004 MFF has focused on Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, India and the Seychelles. Pakistan and Vietnam have also joined, and Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar and East Timor will join in the future.The group has offered Japan advice and help based on its experience of the 2004 tsunami. But Macintosh said it was more appropriate for Japan to plant pine forests rather than mangroves, given its climate.