Community-led mangrove forest rehabilitation in the Philippines
Panay Island, in the Western Visayas of the Philippines, used to be home to over 12,400 hectares of lush mangrove forests. But extensive clearing to make way for fish/shrimp ponds have left them as little more than barren coastline and muddy lagoons with only 300 hectares remaining in 1988.
ZSL has joined forces with governmental bodies and organisations in the region to implement a demonstration project for successful mangrove rehabilitation.
Threats to mangrove ecosystems
Unfortunately, to most people a mangrove looks like a muddy, smelly swamp that couldn't possibly be home to such a wealth of wildlife.
So for decades mangroves have been cleared for other purposes. But by far the most common reason is to make way for fish ponds.
Fauna of a mangrove forest, Panay Island
Mangroves are one of the most endangered habitats in the world, second only to terrestrial rainforests.
They are home to a multitude of different animals including some endemic and endangered.
What is a mangrove forest?
The area separating land and sea is a hostile one, where many plants and animals would not be able to survive. However, with over 70 species occurring all over the world, mangrove trees and shrubs have overcome any and all obstacles to provide one of the most ecologically important ecosystems on Earth.
Mangroves exclusively thrive in the intertidal areas and estuary mouths of tropical and subtropical shores. They comprise higher plants - trees, shrubs, palms, herbs or ferns.
They survive by excluding salt at the roots, secreting salt through glands located in leaves and roots and storing salt in older leaves, bark and wood.
They have evolved many different types of roots to cope with the harsh, waterlogged conditions and to support the biomass above and the leaves of some may also have a thick, waxy surface to conserve water.
But mangroves are probably most recognisable for their strange roots. In order to survive the waterlogged and oxygen poor environment, they have evolved several extremely efficient root systems depending on species and location on the shore.
Ecosystem services and goods
Mangroves provide several important ecosystem services that are essential not only for the health of wildlife but also for the human population living along the coastlines.
With storm surges and typhoons becoming more and more common, the link between a damaged mangrove forest and a subsequently ravaged coastline is just one of the benefits of maintaining mangroves that is becoming more evident.
Acknowledgements and collaborations
