Governments must provide stronger protection for crucial small mangrove patches, is the call led by scientists at international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London), which hosts the IUCN SSC Mangrove Specialist Group, in a letter published in Science today (18 January 2019).
Governments must provide stronger protection for crucial small mangrove patches, is the call led by scientists at international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London), which hosts the IUCN SSC Mangrove Specialist Group, in a letter published in Science today (18 January 2019).
With nearly 35% of mangroves lost from around the world since the 1980s, primarily due to coastal development, the future loss of seemingly small mangrove patches to new construction projects such as airports or aquaculture is extremely worrying for coastal communities and Critically Endangered wildlife like the pygmy three-toed sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus) and green sawfish (Pristis zijsron) that are protected by, and reliant on, these habitats.
Large swathes of mangroves in Southeast Asia, such as in the Philippines, have been cleared to make way for aquaculture, mainly shrimp and fish ponds. Elsewhere, in the Maldives, mangroves are being cleared to make way for a controversial new airport to be built. Here, despite assurances being made that only 30% of mangroves would be directly affected as a result, almost 70% may have already been destroyed.
Read more at Zoological Society of London
Image: This is a mangrove forest in Sonneratia alba, Capiz, Philippines. (Credit: Jofel Coching, ZSL, CMRP)
