Mangroves in Kerala, India, destroyed to make way for elevated huts for the poor. Photo courtesy of Baban Shyam
By Angela Dewan
The thick mangroves of the tropics offer local communities a number of services and products. Yet they continue to be destroyed at a rate of around 150,000 hectares, or around 1 percent, each year, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization. This is almost twice the rate of the1990s, when 1.1 million hectares, or 6 percent, were lost.
In the Banacon Island Mangrove Forest in the Philippines, a 425-ha area, the local community makes a living out of the mangroves, harvesting around 400 kilograms of shrimp every day.
“In this area, the people planted and have sustained the mangroves themselves. It’s a good example of community forestry,” said Antonio Carandang of the University of the Philippines. “The natural mangroves in the area are very few. Since 1957, the people have planted 460,000 ha without government support.”
But most mangroves around the world are under threat of more lucrative ventures.
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