Tenere has highlighted the importance of global mangrove planting efforts before. But we haven’t touched on the destruction and failure to restore them.
Mangroves are an important part of the Earth’s ecosystem. Yet, they are being diminished significantly by human hands. Between 2000 and 2016, 3.1% of global mangroves were cut down. This equates to a loss of 0.13% per year.
In total, about 25% of global mangroves have been destroyed. So how effective are global efforts for mangrove planting?
1. Indonesia
Indonesia, with 17,000 islands, has the most mangrove cover. In 2021, it is estimated that 637,624 of Indonesia’s 3.31 million hectares of mangrove land are in critical condition.
The main reasons for mangrove loss: Indonesia has lost 40% of its mangroves, primarily due to shrimp and fish ponds and palm oil plantations.
Conservation efforts: Last year, Indonesia missed its goals and had to scale back its target to recover its lost mangrove coverage. The organization’s long-term objective of repairing 630,000 hectares (1.55 million acres) by 2024 remains unchanged.
2. Brazil
Brazil is home to the second-largest area in the world, covering 25,000 km2. The loss of Brazilian mangroves is estimated to be 25% since the beginning of the twentieth century.
The main reasons for mangrove loss: Human influences such as shrimp aquaculture, rubbish, infrastructure and house occupation, cattle breeding, and river damming are causes of deforestation and degradation of mangrove recovery on Brazil’s northeastern semiarid coast.
Conservation efforts:
- More than 88,598 ha of north-coastal mangrove forests are under protection by the Brazilian government. These areas constitute 60 to 70% of Brazil’s mangrove forests.
- In 2014, The Araí-Peroba Marine Extractive Reserve was increased from 213,000 to 322,000 ha. This extends the preservation area to cover more mangrove forests.
- Several mangrove parks have been established in Brazil’s northeastern regions to protect mangrove areas from shrimping.
3. Malaysia
Mangroves may be found on all Malaysian shores, with the greatest concentration on the coast of Sabah, notably in the northeast. Sabah’s mangrove forests encompass 73% of Sabah’s 1800 km of coastline. It covers around 368,000 acres or 57% of the entire land area of the country. Malaysia’s mangroves also hold high species diversity, with 36 species recorded.
The main reasons for mangrove loss:
- In Malaysia, mangroves have traditionally been collected for fuelwood, charcoal, lumber, poles, and fish traps.
- Prawn culture leads to the clearance of large mangrove areas.
- Significant mangrove areas are currently being reclaimed for urban and tourist resort development.
Conservation efforts:
- The Matang forest on Peninsular Malaysia’s west coast has been sustainably maintained since the turn of the century, and it is one of the world’s few instances of successful continuous management of a tropical forest ecosystem.
- The respective State Forest Departments have control over all mangroves in their states.
4. New Guinea
The mangroves of New Guinea occupy an area of 26,800 square kilometers (10,300 square miles), mostly along the island’s south coast river mouths. With 33 species, this ecoregion has the most diverse mangrove species in the world, and they are an important animal home.
The main reasons for mangrove loss:
- Due to high population pressure in coastal areas, many mangrove habitats have been converted to various uses.
- Cutting for firewood and charcoal burning are two threats to mangroves in New Guinea.
- Global warming leads to a rise in seawater, destroying the habitat for these mangroves.
- Non-sustainable mariculture, agriculture, and urbanization practices.
Conservation efforts:
- Tree replanting efforts on a community level are organized to raise awareness about mangrove conservation.
- Sustainable lifestyles and agriculture and mariculture practices are promoted, encouraging communities to use mangrove resources at a rate that allows the ecosystem to recover.
- Conservation areas have been established for coastal mangroves in certain areas.
5. Australia
Mangroves cover around 11,500 km2 in Australia, predominantly on the continent’s northern and eastern shores. This equates to 7% of the world’s mangrove area. Other than human unsustainable farming practices, the main threats to Australian mangroves are extreme climate conditions like droughts and rising sea levels.
The main reasons for mangrove loss:
- Climate change and El Nino cause massive destruction to Australia’s mangrove areas. In one month, 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres), or 9% of the mangroves, were devastated.
- Coral reef destruction is frequently blamed for mangrove die-offs since the former serves as the first line of defense against heavy waves.
- As inland dams decrease sediment flow downstream, they take away the mangroves’ sediment supply. Thus, the mangroves are unable to develop quickly enough to keep up with rising sea levels.
- Other causes include reclamation, drainage works, uncontrolled animal access, weed invasion, dumping, rainwater run-off, and damage by off-road vehicles.
Conservation efforts:
- National Parks and other reserves safeguard around 18% of Australia’s mangrove forest regions.
- Other mangrove areas are privately owned, making exploiting these areas more difficult.
- Extensive mapping, classification, and evaluation of most mangrove resources, coastal areas, estuaries, and bioregions in Australia.
Conclusion
Despite the fledgling efforts in restoring the world’s mangroves, the global mangroves still fail to recover, and this is detrimental to the world ecosystem. The main reasons for mangrove loss are mainly human influences, such as shrimp aquaculture, rubbish, and infrastructure. This has led to the deforestation and degradation of mangroves worldwide.
As a tree-planting initiative, Tenere aims to conserve mangrove planting efforts worldwide. By shopping with us, a small donation will be sent to one of our partnered tree-planting restoration programs.
