Trinidad and Tobago’s mangroves are valuable in maintaining biodiversity, food sustainability and as a carbon sink.
In a statement, Rahanna Juman, Director (Ag.) and Wetland Ecologist at the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA), said the country’s mangroves are home to creatures used as food, including oysters and crabs.
“Our coasts, especially the Bay of Paris, were once lined with great trees supported by massive roots, tangled and glittering with wild animals, where our grandfathers and fathers hunted crabs to tuck into Sunday, and harvested oysters that were sold in spicy sauce around. Queen Parks Savannah.”
“Back then we didn’t fully understand and appreciate the importance of these coastal forests, so about 50 percent was cleared to build houses, businesses and ports. What are you talking about, you might ask? It’s our mangrove forests.”
Juman said mangroves can also protect coastlines from damaging coastal actions.
“Mangrove forests are spectacular and fertile ecosystems located at the boundary between land and sea.
Mangrove trees are salt-tolerant trees, also called halophytes, that have adapted to life in harsh coastal conditions. They contain a complex salt filtration system and a complex root system to withstand immersion in salt water and wave action, and are adapted to shallow conditions. oxygen conditions of submerged mud.”
“In recent times, we have come to learn more about the value of mangrove forests. Mangroves provide critical ecosystem services, contributing about US$42 billion to global fisheries, storing 25.5 million tons of carbon annually and providing protection from flooding for more than 15 million people per year (Walker at al. 2022).
“These forests act as an important environmental barrier between coasts and land, protecting the ecological and social communities they inhabit from the negative impacts of extreme events, such as hurricanes and storms around the world.
“Mangroves have a significant effect on the extent of flooding and damage caused by coastal flooding. It is estimated that if all of the world’s mangroves were lost, an average of 18 million more people would be flooded each year, an increase of nearly 40 percent , and annual property damage would increase by $82 billion.”
“A 2019 World Bank study puts the annual value of Jamaica’s mangrove forests in reducing flood risk in the country’s built-up capital at more than US$2,500 per hectare per year.
“In Trinidad, floods are the most common and widespread of natural disasters and there is strong evidence that, in a warming world, devastating floods will become more common and more intense, adversely affecting lives and more people.”
Juman added that the country’s mangroves could offer value as carbon storage areas, a potential source of carbon credits.
“In addition to providing protection against coastal flooding, mangrove forests have the highest surface area rate of carbon capture and storage of any other ecosystem, terrestrial or marine, contributing disproportionately as a carbon sink if left undisturbed.
On average, mangroves have an average ecosystem-wide carbon stock of ~950 t C ha−1, which is about 2.5–5 times higher than the average ecosystem carbon stock found in temperate, boreal, and tropical forests. mountain (200-400 t C ha−1) (Alongi, 2012).
The IMA said initial estimates of the carbon stored in the aboveground biomass of mangrove forests in Trinidad and Tobago are 809,085.92 tonnes.
“Comparison of mangrove forest carbon with terrestrial forest carbon found that per hectare, mangrove forests store 61 percent more carbon than terrestrial forests in Tobago, while for Trinidad the value was 44 percent (Juman et al. 2021).
“Clearly, there could be a huge climate benefit to slowing the rate of mangrove conversion.
“In Trinidad and Tobago, mangrove forests also provide livelihoods for people who harvest and sell fish and shellfish; the most economically important is the harvest and trade of hairy crab, blue crab and oysters.
“Many also earn a living as tourist guides as mangrove forests offer invaluable opportunities for recreation and tourism. They are important tourist destinations due to their aesthetic value and high biodiversity. Caroni Swamp is one of the most popular eco- tourism in Trinidad. It is particularly popular with bird watchers because of its rich population of avifauna, and tour guides have made a living from the Swamp for generations.”
Juman said, however, mangroves are vulnerable to many human activities.
“Despite their key role in helping to cope with climate change and providing livelihood opportunities, mangrove forests continue to be degraded by human activities. Mangrove deforestation is subject to a multitude of social-ecological factors, ranging from climate change (p eg increased salinity caused by rising temperatures and natural disasters – tropical cyclones and tsunamis) to anthropogenic pollution and exploitation (encroachment, exploitation of forest resources, water withdrawal, urbanization and upstream pollution) (Walker at al 2022).
“As the world marks International Mangrove Ecosystem Conservation Day on July 26, let us all reflect on the crucial role our mangrove forests play in our daily lives, in our food, our culture, our way of life. At the Institute of of Marine Affairs (IMA), we will continue to conduct research and monitoring of mangrove forests in order to provide the scientific data required to effectively manage and restore these essential ecosystems so that they can continue to provide ecosystem services for all citizens in our beautiful island nation Work with us to save our mangroves!”
References:
Alongi, D. (2012). Carbon sequestration in mangrove forests. Carbon Management 3(3), 313-322.
Juman, R., Asmath, H., Gooding, N. and Collins, G. 2021
Walker, JE, Ankersen, T., Barchiesi, S., Meyer, CK, Altieri, AH, Osborne, TZ and Angelini, C., 2022 conservation and wise use of mangroves. Journal of Environmental Management, 312, p.114823.
World Bank. 2019. “Forces of Nature: Assessment and Economic Evaluation of Coastal Protection Services Provided by Mangroves in Jamaica”