By Kimani Wiseman<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A trip to the beach, and you would enjoy the golden sunshine, the sounds of Sea Birds flying over the ocean, the exquisite sounds of waves crashing on the shore, a wonderful place where you will find tranquillity to brighten your day, and makes you feel as if you are in paradise, however among us are some very important trees that are grown along the coastline that are overlooked, and are taken for granted, these trees are \u201cMangroves\u201d.
A Mangrove is a woody tree or shrub that lives along sheltered coastlines within the tropic or subtropical latitudes. The word Mangrove is derived from the Portuguese word, mangue which means \u201ctree,\u201d and the English word \u201cgrove,\u201d which is used for trees and shrubs. Mangroves are very important trees in our ecosystem because they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which would alleviate \u201cglobal warming and climate change\u201d. According to a CNN news article, the article states that the concentration of carbon dioxide in 2020 was 149% higher than levels before industrialization. (https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2021\/10\/25\/world\/emissions-climate-greenhouse-gas-bulletin-wmo-intl\/index.html). Environmental Scientists have discovered that keeping more Mangroves intact, allowed them to avoid the release of around 13 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is equivalent to removing 344,000 cars from the road each year.
Mangroves can mitigate against damage caused by Hurricanes and Storms. Mangrove forests reduces the height of storm surges and flooding by absorbing wave energy through their dense roots and stems. When the tsunami struck India\u2019s southern state of Tamil Nadu on December 26th 2004, areas in Pichavaram and Muthupet with dense Mangroves suffered fewer human casualties and less damage to property, compared to areas without Mangroves. Mangroves also prevent coastal erosion by stabilizing sediments with their tangled root systems. They maintain water quality and clarity by filtering pollutants and trapping sediments originating from land, thus ensuring our coral reefs are healthier. They are also a habitat for Shrimps, Crustaceans, Mollusks, Fish, and Birds.
Humans are the perpetrators why Mangroves are under threat. Fifty percent of the world\u2019s Mangroves have already disappeared in the past half century. Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and Panama, recorded the largest losses of Mangroves during the 1980s. A total of one million hectares were lost in these five countries. Mangrove Forests have been seen as unproductive and smelly, and are cleared to make room for Agricultural land, Human settlements, Harbours, Industrial areas, and Tourism sites. Mangrove wood is resistant to rot and insects, making it extremely valuable, hence the reason why it is commercially harvested for Pulp, Wood chip, and Charcoal production. The next time you visit the beach and you spot a Mangrove Forest, instead of \u201cover exploiting\u201d them, appreciate the good job that they are doing in the environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Kimani Wiseman A trip to the beach, and you would enjoy the golden sunshine, the sounds of Sea Birds flying over the ocean, the exquisite sounds of waves crashing on the shore, a wonderful place where you will find tranquillity to brighten your day, and makes you feel as if you are in paradise,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":42842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mainstory"],"yoast_head":"\n