Half of mangrove ecosystems are at risk: conservationists May 24, 2024

A man plants mangroves on a beach in Pekan Bada, Aceh province, Indonesia. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Half of mangrove ecosystems are at risk: conservationists

Half of the world's mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse due to climate change, deforestation, and pollution, according to a study published on Wednesday.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), known for its red list of threatened species, has for the first time taken stock of the world's mangroves, evaluating 36 different regions.

IUCN Director General Grethel Aguilar said the assessment “highlights the urgent need for coordinated conservation of mangroves - crucial habitats for millions of people in vulnerable communities around the world”.

Mangroves are trees or shrubs that grow mainly in seawater or brackish water along coastlines and tidal rivers in equatorial climates.

Released on International Biodiversity Day, the IUCN said its findings show that “50% of the mangrove ecosystems assessed are at risk of collapse” - categorized as vulnerable, threatened, or critically endangered.

Mangroves are threatened by deforestation, development, pollution, and dam construction.

However, the risk is increasing due to rising sea levels and the greater frequency of severe storms associated with climate change.

Around 15% of the world's coastlines are covered by mangroves, covering around 150,000 square kilometers.

Climate change threatens a third of the mangrove ecosystems assessed, due to rising sea levels.

According to estimates, at the current rate, a quarter of the global mangrove area is expected to be submerged in the next 50 years, said the IUCN.

The northwest Atlantic Ocean, the northern Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the South China Sea, and the coastline of the Gulf of Aden are expected to be particularly badly affected.

A plastic bottle and garbage are seen near mangrove trees during World Mangrove Day in Banda Aceh on July 26, 2023. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN

“Mangrove ecosystems are exceptional in their ability to provide essential services to people, including reducing the risk of coastal disasters, storing and sequestering carbon, and supporting fisheries,” said Angela Andrade, chair of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management.

“Their loss could be disastrous for nature and for people around the world.”

The study states that caring for mangroves is essential to mitigating the effects of climate change, as healthy ecosystems cope better with rising sea levels and provide inland protection from the effects of severe storms.

Without significant improvements by 2050, climate change and rising sea levels will lead to the loss of 1.8 billion tons of carbon stored in mangroves.

Currently, mangroves store around 11 billion tons of carbon, almost three times the amount of carbon stored by tropical forests of the same size.

Maintaining good sediment circulation and allowing mangroves to expand inland will help them cope with rising sea levels, the IUCN said. It also called for the restoration of mangroves that have already disappeared.

“A very good study on changes in mangroves worldwide, published in 2022, indicates that around 5,000 square kilometers of mangroves were lost” between 1996 and 2020, Marco Valderrabano of the IUCN told AFP.

By Agnès PEDRERO

apo/rjm/rox