/ In Venezuela, large-scale shrimp farming began in the 1980s. By 1987, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARNR) had received 14 proposals for approval. A developer illegally started the construction of ponds at the Piritu Lagoon in the State of Anzo~tegui before the authorization process was completed. This action triggered a land-use conflict. This study identifies the causes for public protest and determines the consequences of this conflict for land-use management. The results show that public protest was based on the impacts of the partial construction of ponds. These impacts were related to direct removal of wetlands, interruption of natural patterns of surface flows, and alteration of feeding grounds of some bird species with migratory status. Consequences were identified in relation to the role that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play in land-use conflicts and the actions that MARNR could take in the future to prevent and solve similar situations.

A simulated oil spill was carried out under controlled conditions at an estuarine mangrove forest dominated by Rhizophora mangle. Two mitigation strategies were thereafter applied: addition of nutrients to restore sediments CIN and CIP ratios and addition of a commercial shoreline cleaner without further surface washing. Photosynthetic capacity of leaves, soil respiration rate, and litter disappearance rate were measured periodically to evaluate differential responses of these community functional variables to the treatments. Application of shoreline cleaner negatively affected the productive capacity of R. mangle leaves. Soil respiration rate was stimulated in all of the oiled experimental plots but to a lesser extent in those where shoreline cleaner was applied—presumably as a result of less retention of hydrocarbon fractions in the sediments. Although litter increased its dry weight by 0.4 percent as a result of hydrocarbon addition, its disappearance rate did not slow down and remained unaltered among the different treatments compared to controls. Results suggest that the studied mangrove community possesses the capability to respond to moderate, medium crude oil spills. Neither the use of a shoreline cleaner nor the addition of nutrients alone is recommended as a mitigation strategy under such conditions.

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