Mangrove Swamps are Collapsing
More than half of the world’s mangrove forests are at risk of collapse – which would have major consequences for both people and the climate, according to a new report.
Mangroves provide nurseries for thousands of marine species and provide shelter from storms and floods to millions of people who live along coasts. Many fishermen and others depend on mangroves for their livelihood.
According to the first global assessment of mangroves, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN, more than half of the ecosystems assessed are at risk of collapse by the year 2050 if nothing is done. For a fifth, the risk is seen as high as they are classified as endangered or critically endangered.
“The loss will be catastrophic for nature and people worldwide”, Angela Andrade of the IUCN said in a statement.
The threats to the mangroves consist, among other things, of cutting down forests, shrimp farms and pollution. But rising sea levels and stronger storms because of climate change are also pointed out as growing problems, especially in certain regions.
Mangroves are also important carbon sinks that contribute to mitigating climate change. If nothing is done, the loss of mangroves by 2050, according to the IUCN, risks 1.8 million tons of carbon returning to the ocean or atmosphere. And 2.1 million people are at risk of losing natural protection against flooding.
The Nature Conservation Union is now calling for urgent measures to preserve the remaining mangroves and restore lost areas.
Mangroves consist of various species of shrubs and trees that grow on lose ground between sea and land, in tropical and subtropical countries.
A multitude of animal species, from shrimp and fish to the Bornean proboscis monkey, live in the mangroves.
Approximately 15 percent of the host’s coastlines are covered by mangroves.
Source: NE, IUCN
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