Between the global pandemic, the accelerating impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, and the conservation sector’s reckoning with its colonial past, 2020 and 2021 have been a tumultuous time for efforts to conserve the planet. As an organization that has extensive field operations in about 60 countries and runs a network of zoos and […]
China joins the foreign fleets quietly exploiting Madagascar s waters mongabay.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mongabay.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Embed
MANOUSH ZOMORODI, HOST: On the show today - an SOS from the ocean. And Ayana s recommendations are mainly for people living in developed, wealthier countries, not for island and coastal nations that depend on the ocean for their food and their livelihoods, like Madagascar.
ALASDAIR HARRIS: Madagascar s the epicenter of global biodiversity. It s one of the hottest of the hot global biodiversity hot spots. It s vast. It s - there are very few roads.
ZOMORODI: This is Alasdair Harris. He s a marine biologist who spent most of his career on the southern coast of the country.
Mangroves provide a range of benefits, including protection from storms and the prevention of coastal erosion
Mangroves, like these in Madagascar, provide a range of benefits, including protection from storms and the prevention of coastal erosion. (Louise Jasper/Blue Ventures)
January 27, 2021
Mangroves are salt-tolerant plants found in intertidal areas throughout much of the world’s tropical and subtropical coastlines. Mangrove ecosystems are highly variable, ranging from sparse, stunted shrubs to dense stands of thick-stemmed tall trees.
These ecosystems provide habitat for an incredibly diverse range of species including fish (from snapper to shark), invertebrates (such as shrimp and crab), reptiles (from snakes to crocodiles), birds (from kingfishers to hawks), primates (such as macaques and lemurs) and even Bengal tigers.
Mangroves are salt-tolerant plants found in intertidal areas throughout much of the world’s tropical and subtropical coastlines. Mangrove ecosystems are highly variable, ranging from sparse, stunted shrubs to dense stands of thick-stemmed tall trees.
These ecosystems provide habitat for an incredibly diverse range of species including fish (from snapper to shark), invertebrates (such as shrimp and crab), reptiles (from snakes to crocodiles), birds (from kingfishers to hawks), primates (such as macaques and lemurs) and even Bengal tigers.
Mangroves also provide essential goods and services to millions living in coastal communities they prevent shoreline erosion, provide protection from storms, supply food, cooking and building materials, and contain places of cultural and spiritual significance. They are also incredibly carbon dense storing as much or more carbon than their terrestrial forest peers the majority of this carbon is stored in incredibly deep soils.