Mangroves under threat Globally, half of all mangrove forests have been lost since the mid-twentieth century, with one- fifth since 1980 (Spalding et al. 2010). Conversion into shrimp farms causes 25% of the total destruction, according to UNEP (Botkin and Keller, 2003), happening mostly in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Other drivers of mangrove destruction are wood extraction, climate change and industrial development such as harbours and tourism. MANGROVES Defenders of the coast Department of Environment and Natural Resources Regional Public Affairs Office Caraga Administrative Region Some of the National Greening Program Mangrove sites in Caraga
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Mangroves under threat
Globally, half of all mangrove forests have
been lost since the mid-twentieth century, with one-
fifth since 1980 (Spalding et al. 2010). Conversion into
shrimp farms causes 25% of the total destruction,
according to UNEP (Botkin and Keller, 2003),
happening mostly in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Other drivers of mangrove destruction are wood
extraction, climate change and industrial development
such as harbours and tourism.
MANGROVES
Defenders of the coast
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Regional Public Affairs Office
Caraga Administrative Region
Some of the National Greening
Program Mangrove sites in Caraga
Forests of the Tide
At the intersection of land and sea, mangrove
forests support a wealth of life, from starfish to
people, and may be more important to the
health of the planet than we ever realized.
–National Geographic
Intrinsic Values of Mangroves
Coastal Resilience
Mangrove forests provide protection and
shelter against extreme weather events, such as storm
winds and floods, as well as tsunamis. Mangroves
absorb and disperse tidal surges associated with these
events – as indicated by Hirashi and Harada (2003), a
mangrove stand of 30 trees per 0.01 hectare with a
depth of 100 m can reduce the destructive force of a
tsunami by up to 90%.
Biodiversity
Mangrove forests are rich in biodiversity
providing a habitat for wide varieties of animal and
plant species. They are dynamic areas, rich in food.
Live and decaying mangrove leaves and roots provide
nutrients that nourish plankton, algae, fish and
shellfish. Many of the fish caught commercially in
tropical regions reproduce and spend time in the
mangroves as juveniles or adults. Mangroves are also
home to many birds and mammals – such as mangrove
monkeys in South Asia.
Livelihoods
Traditional economic activities vary from
fishing and gathering of crustaceans to usages of the
trees for timber or tannin production. Research by
Barbier (2007) concluded that the economic annual
value of just one hectare of mangrove forest (by
adding the values of collected wood and non-wood
forest products, fishery, nursery and coastal protection
against storms) is $12,392.
Next to economic value, mangroves also bear
great cultural significance for communities, such as
the Concheras (shellfish-gatherers) in South America,
as their identity is strongly related to the ecosystem
they live in.
Carbon Storage
Storage of carbon in mangroves takes place
through accumulation in living biomass and through
burial in sediment deposits. With living biomass
typically ranging between 100-400 tonnes/ha, and
significant quantities of organic matter being stored in
