Features
Newsday reporter
Rahanna Juman,
Director (Ag)/ Wetland Ecologist,
Institute of Maritime Affairs
Our coastlines, especially the Bay of Paris, were once lined with huge trees supported by massive roots, tangled and glittering with wildlife, where our grandfathers and fathers hunted crabs to tuck into their Sundays, and harvested oysters that were sold in spicy sauce all around. Queen Parks Savannah. At that time we did not 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 may ask? It is our mangrove forests.
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 salt water submersion and wave action, and are adapted to the low oxygen conditions of water-saturated mud.
Recently, we have come to learn more about the value of mangrove forests. Mangroves provide critical ecosystem services, contributing approximately $42 billion to global fisheries, storing 25.5 million tons of carbon annually, and providing flood protection for over 15 million people annually (Walker et al 2022). These forests act as an important environmental barrier between coasts and land, protecting the ecological and social communities that inhabit them 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 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 all 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.
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).
Initial estimates of carbon stored in the aboveground biomass of mangrove forests in TT are 809,085.92 tonnes. Comparing 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). It is clear that there can be a huge climate benefit from slowing the rate of mangrove conversion.
In TT, mangrove forests also provide livelihoods for people who harvest and sell fish and shellfish; the most important from an economic point of view is the harvesting and marketing of hairy crab, blue crab and oyster. Many also earn a living as tour guides, as the mangrove forest provides 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 sites in Trinidad. It is particularly popular with bird watchers due to its rich population of avifauna, and tour guides have made a living from the marsh for generations.
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 variety of social-ecological factors, ranging from climate change (e.g. increased salinity caused by rising temperatures and natural disasters – tropical cyclones and tsunamis) to pollution and anthropogenic exploitation (trespassing, exploitation of forest resources, water withdrawal, urbanization and upstream pollution) (Walker et al 2022).
In commemoration of 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 Marine Affairs (IMA), we will continue to conduct research and monitoring of mangrove forests in order to provide the scientific data needed to effectively manage and restore these essential ecosystems so that they can continue to provide ecosystem services to all citizens in our country. beautiful island state. 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. Mangrove Forests of Trinidad and Tobago
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”
