THE importance of MANGROVES are known for their ecological contributions. Their most important service is their ability to sequester and store huge amounts of carbon, which help to mitigate the impact of climate change.
The 2004 tsunami opened Malaysians' eyes to the benefits brought by mangroves as an important natural defender of coastlines.
Sadly, however, the destruction of mangroves continues.
Mangroves have been converted to aquaculture ponds, housing areas, and hotels and resorts.
People also built ports, roads, highways, and urban and commercial developments in these environmentally sensitive areas.
Mangroves thrive in pristine and undisturbed conditions. The larger the area being protected, the greater their ability to make room for plants and animals.
Taking the largest single contiguous mangrove forest in the world as an example, the Sundarbans mangroves, between India and Bangladesh, is home of the Royal Bengal Tiger.
This big cat is an apex predator that requires a large area to roam.
Protecting this mangrove forest means protecting the survival of these tigers as well as sustaining their food chain, including their prey and the food of their prey, such as herbivores, plants, macro and micro benthos, bacteria and other microorganisms.
Malaysia is ranked among the top five largest mangrove-holding nations in the world, in area and diversity of mangrove plant species.
Mangrove forests can be found along the coastline of our country, and they have been a lifeline for many species, as well as for livelihoods of coastal communities.
Coastal villages were established near mangroves for the protection they provide from winds, waves, storms and other oceanic hazards.
So the increasing population and the expansion of coastal villages to towns and cities would have negative consequences on mangroves.
However, this could be curbed when knowledge about ecology and ecosystem is given priority.
Economic activities such as logging, agriculture and industries occurring upstream of a river system would produce run-offs and effluents that enter rivers.
The run-offs and effluents would then reach and pollute mangroves and other coastal habitats downstream, including oceans.
Similarly, building landfills near rivers and intertidal zones is counterintuitive.
The management of solid waste, including locating landfills or incinerators, is crucial.
With heavy rain in a tropical country like Malaysia, unkempt and improperly managed solid waste will flow into drains, and later flow into channels and rivers.
The waste will then smother the roots and soils of mangroves or be flushed into the ocean.
Marine debris trapped in mangroves suffocate exposed roots and choke trees.
This debris would eventually enter the gut of marine life and cycle back to humans as microplastic-infested seafood.
Clearing mangroves should no longer happen in this era of increased concern about global warming, rising sea levels and climate change.
Cutting mangrove trees will eliminate their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, which they do at faster rates compared with trees in other habitats.
Exposing mangrove soils would then oxidise the carbon stored for thousands of years back into the atmosphere.
Let's take the spirit of the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystems (July 26) to boost our knowledge to protect mangroves.
The writer is associate professor, Institute for Environment and Development (Lestari), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Coordinator, The Malaysian Mangrove Research Alliance and Network (MyMangrove)
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times