Mangrove is a type of tropical tree that grows in Intertidal zones where the coastal areas are between high and low times. They are adapted to harsh conditions such as high salinity, low oxygen soil and frequent tidal flooding, resulting as one of the most productive marine ecosystems on Earth, providing habitats such as breeding grounds, nursery sites for the terrestrial and a wide variety of organisms, whereas more than 1,500 plant and animal species are dependant on mangroves including fish and birds, and are also now critical for larger mammals such as monkeys, sloths, tigers, hyenas and African wild dogs.

They are highly productive ecosystems considering their ability to cycle nutrients to provide food, acting as natural filters towards both freshwater and saltwater by removing pollutants before they reach the open ocean and are equally productive compared to tropical forests in terms of converting inorganic carbon from the atmosphere into organic compounds.

Mangroves as one of the ecosystem engineers

Mangroves absorb a huge amount of carbon, taking up 4 times more carbon than normal forests on land for decades, centuries or even millennia through photosynthesis, storing in their roots, trunks and leaves by burying organic matter in their root systems, in this way, they have formed a natural living barrier that protects coastal communities from extreme weather events.

As global temperature rises, weather events such as storms and flood surges are becoming more frequent and severe, mangroves play an important role in limiting its impact, the trunks of the mangroves absorb the impact of the waves acting as the front line of defense that helps to protect a higher ground, studies have shown that mangroves are found to be effective against tsunamis, reducing the wave heights between 5 and 35 percent as well as believed to reduce the flood risk to more than 15 million people and prevent more than 57 billion pounds in property damage every year. Mangroves also play an important role for supporting people; by providing food, security and income for millions of individuals worldwide. Mangroves serve as nurseries for many aquaspecies, they help with maintaining fish populations, serving as an important food source and directly benefiting local fish communities. Over one third of small-scale fishers in countries with mangroves, depend on these ecosystems for their livelihoods as a source of direct catch towards the fishes. However, there has been a rising concern on the environmental damage driven by human activities that has a huge impact on the climate change in the status quo.

Mangroves are declining in today's world

Despite the loss of nearly half of the mangrove forests over the past 50 years, since 1996 alone, net global mangrove area shrank by 5,245km^2. Worldwide, mangroves today cover roughly 147,000km^2 of coast. The reason for the loss of mangroves are due to environmental factors such as;

Deforestation for the aquaculture farming

There has been a significant mangrove loss in Southeast Asia, India, Bangladesh and Latin America. Mangroves have been removed by farms to make room for commercial shrimp and fish farms. Since mangroves serve as nurseries for marine life, this drastic loss will reduce local biodiversity and fisheries.

Pollution

Despite the fact that the farms have already produced a significant amount of waste, they continue to search more for commercial shrimp and fish farms. However there are many more factors such as oil spills, sewage discharge, agricultural runoff, and industrial pollution that have degraded mangroves through chemical contamination and nutrient loading causing oxygen depletion. Due to this, countries such as Nigeria’s community, Bodo Creek, lost its natural coastal protection, being more vulnerable to storms, flooding, and oil spills. With the absence of Mangroves, there would be less options for a natural way to trap and slow the movement of oil, leading to spilled oil spreading towards rivers, wetlands, and fishing areas causing long term environmental damage.

Climate change

Rising sea levels, increasing storm intensity, and changing rainfall will refrain mangroves from expanding landward due to coastal development. The absence of carbon capture leads to carbon dioxide acidifying oceans creating a harmful impact on the environment, such as the Philippines communities being more vulnerable to the impacts of typhoons and sea-level rises. Mangroves are one of the Philippines most important natural barriers against extreme weathers, however due to the declining sight of mangroves, there has been a loss of natural disaster protection leading to heavy flooding, strong winds, and much more frequent earthquakes.

An estimate of 30-50% of mangrove forests have been lost over the last half century; gradually, the conservation efforts slowed down the annual loss rate in recent years by 0.04%. However, there is still an opportunity to protect the remaining mangrove forests. In taking these rightful decisions for the sake of the environment and the livelihoods of biodiversity, we are capable of taking action such as;

Restoring the loss of habitats and preventing the exacerbation of this problem;

  • Planting native mangrove seedlings in degraded areas by creating community-based restoration programs - planting more greens such as bushes, grasses and trees between farms and rivers for the greens to trap soil, fertilizer and pesticides
  • Emphasize water cycles to stop pollution from reaching mangroves such as having school projects to build water recycling-model and promote awareness towards the audience, using leftover drinkable water for plants and supporting brands that recycle water in production.
  • Reducing greenhouse emissions to prevent sea levels from rising by emphasizing the alternatives of fossil fuels towards cleaner options such as Solar panels, wing turbines, or hydropower. Or in a simpler manner, just use fewer emissions.

These preservations will make a big difference in the restoration of mangrove ecosystems, requiring urgent global action. But heading towards the opposite direction in protecting mangroves will lead to the risking one of the planet’s most productive ecosystems.

https://www.manggear.com/blogs/stories/the-degradation-of-mangrove-forests?srsltid=AfmBOopi-grR4E5Zmo7vSHCPokSN8KzBufE-O2ZnzquIHQBkLLY7mCXL

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-31683-0

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/inside-look-beauty-and-benefits-mangroves

https://www.zsl.org/what-we-do/habitats-and-regions/habitats/marine-and-freshwater/why-are-mangroves-important

https://www.unep-wcmc.org/en/news/5-facts-about-mangroves-and-why-we-must-protect-them