After decades of decline, mangroves around the world have bounced back, making this unique ecosystem an important factor in reversing climate change.
At a time when the environment is under an increasing range of threats, from climate change to poorly judged government policies, it’s heartening to report the return of one of the world’s best natural tools for carbon capture and land protection: mangroves.
These species-rich woodlands that lie between land and sea have been in steady decline for most of the previous century, destroyed to convert the land for agriculture and fish ponds. But in the past decade, they have been returning, erasing nearly all of the losses since 1980 according to a new study.
Using 40 years worth of satellite imagery, researchers at Tulane University in in New Orleans found that in much of the world, years of loss began changing course around 2010. Between the 1980s and 2010, global mangrove forest area shrank from around 155,000 km2 to 152,000km2, while in the last 50 years, roughly 35% of the world’s mangrove forests have been lost. Since mangroves often grow in narrow coastal strips, their coast-protecting benefits are huge compared to their overall dimensions. However, since 2010, mangrove areas has rebounded to almost 154,000km2, which is almost enough to recover from previous losses.
“After decades of loss, we’re finally seeing a global turning point for mangroves,” said Zhen Zhang, lead author of the study.
Flood barrier
The reason why mangroves are so important for the climate is because they store more carbon per acre than virtually any other natural landscape. Their extensive root systems sequester a vast amount of carbon, while breaking up waves and capturing sediment. That not only helps to prevent flooding further inland but builds up land and protects it from storm-driven floodwaters. In addition, mangroves help ecosystems and communities by helping to clean the water and cool down the local area.
“Mangrove forests are globally important coastal ecosystems, playing a disproportionate role in climate regulation, coastal protection and the maintenance of biodiversity,” states the Tulane University research paper. “Understanding mangrove dynamics is critical for quantifying changes in the ecosystem services they provide and for informing global conservation and restoration targets.”
WLT mangrove protection
Mangroves make up some of the areas of threatened land protected by World Land Trust (WLT) and its partners around the world. One of the key areas is the coast of Caribbean Guatemala, one of the most wildlife-rich regions on Earth. However, that region is under threat from cattle ranching, agricultural expansion and coastal property development, which not only affects endangered species such as the Jaguar, Yucatan Black Howler Monkey and Baird’s Tapir, but the livelihoods of the 111 communities living within the project area.
Along the Caribbean Guatemala coast, WLT and its local partner FUNDAECO have protected the land from developers and worked closely with the communities in delivering education about small-scale farming and eco-tourism, as well as providing technical support for forest landowners, enabling them to access government funds for forest protection.
If mangroves are to continue their much-needed global restoration, it needs more initiatives such as the WLT Caribbean Guatemala project and further in-depth research into the immense value mangroves give to the world.
“What FUNDAECO has achieved in Guatemala is really inspiring, bringing diverse local communities into the project,” said Philip Shapiro, a WLT Trustee. “Biodiversity is rising on the political agendas and growing in importance. However, in the absence of concrete political action on biodiversity, it will have to be NGOs which take the lead.”
