Turning the Tide for Mangroves

Mangrove forests are one of the most rapidly disappearing ecosystems on the planet. Over the past two decades, more than a third of these rainforests of the sea have been logged, bulldozed and choked into oblivion. Today, mangroves are critically endangered or approaching extinction in 26 out of the 120 countries that have them.

Industrial shrimp farming (aquaculture) is one of the main causes of mangrove forest destruction. In most developing countries shrimp are farmed in unsustainable ways. Mangrove wetlands are bulldozed to create huge expanses of shrimp-rearing ponds, each of which can be the size of several football fields. The ponds are typically abandoned after a few years as productivity falls and disease sets in. The aquaculture juggernaut moves on, finding new forests to fell, but leaving behind it useless land and impoverished coastal communities.

The rainforests of the sea are:

• nursery grounds for fish
• coastal barricades against storm waves and tsunamis
• nutrient providers for seagrass meadows and coral reefs
• nature’s own supermarkets for millions of coastal people in the tropics

What do we lose when mangroves are cut down?

• a potent absorber of carbon dioxide
• a vital coastal shield
• a stunning diversity of plant and animal communities
• an indispensable food source for traditional coastal populations

What can be done to save the mangroves?

• stop cutting down mangroves
• conserve and protect healthy mangrove stands
• help local communities to sustainably manage their mangroves
• restore and replant degraded coastlines

Halting the destruction is partly a matter of economics—assigning a true dollar value to mangroves that refects their massive contribution to biodiversity and human life. It is also partly a matter of politics—respecting the rights of indigenous and traditional communities who rely on mangroves for their livelihoods. For too long these wetlands of critical importance have been regarded as wastelands of no importance. That needs to stop.

Restoring mangroves to the places where they have been removed is a challenge. Often the land where they stood has been radically altered through having shrimp ponds built on it or agricultural chemicals spread over it. But with the right preparation and management, mangroves can flourish again on the coastlines of the tropical world.