Global Mangroves Reverse Decline, Cutting Net Losses to 849 Sq Km Since 2010
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 4
Global Mangroves Reverse Decline, Cutting Net Losses to 849 Sq Km Since 2010
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 4
Summary
Mangrove forests have posted net gains since 2010, shrinking cumulative unreplaced losses since the 1980s to about 849 sq km after decades of steep decline.
12,000 sq km had been cleared from the 1980s to 2010, but researchers say stronger protections, disaster-driven public awareness and mangroves' ability to regenerate once cutting slows have reversed the trend.
Indonesia has stabilized and Myanmar has expanded, while satellite mapping also found many forests growing denser, with closed-canopy mangroves up nearly 20% since the 1980s.
West and Central Africa remain destruction hotspots, especially the oil-polluted Niger Delta, and tropical cyclones still cause some of the sharpest annual losses.
Mangroves store up to five times more carbon dioxide than land forests and buffer coasts from storm surges, though some new growth may reflect upstream damage that flushes nutrients into waterways.