Mangrove forests are healing after decades of human destruction

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Mangrove forests are healing after decades of human destruction49 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleMatt McGrath & Esme Stallard, Climate & ScienceGetty ImagesThe world's coastal mangrove forests, which protect millions of people from storms - and soak up vast amounts of planet-warming gases - are staging an unexpected comeback, scientists find. For decades these swampy trees had been declining rapidly as they were cleared for fish farms and housing. But a new study shows that since 2010 the world has been gaining more mangroves than it has been losing - driven by stronger legal protections and increased public awareness of their importance, sparked by disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

The researchers say the key factor though is the remarkable capacity of these forests to regenerate naturally once humans stop chopping them down. Chaideer Mahyuddin//Getty ImagesSome communities have become more aware of the importance of mangroves for coastline protection following extreme weather Mangroves are one of the world's unsung environmental heroes. Not only do they store up to five times more carbon dioxide than land-based forests, but their tangled roots can also slow down waves and protect coastal communities from storm surges and tsunamis.

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These same roots provide a perfect nursery for many species of fish and other marine life - protecting them from predators and providing ample food. These benefits, though, have come under serious threat over the past century as the rise of fish farming, agriculture and the expansion of coastal cities and towns have seen mangroves chopped down and rapidly removed. From the 1980s to 2010, over 12,000 sq km (4,600 sq miles) of mangroves were cleared or destroyed across Asia, Africa and the Americas - an area the size of Jamaica.

However, the new study shows a real reversal of that trend, particularly over the last decade. The total net losses - the forest lost and not replaced - since the 1980s have now been reduced to around 849 sq km (328 sq miles). Restoration efforts over decades have helped degraded forests to recover, but the big change has come from the natural expansion of mangroves in many parts of the world following drops in deforestation.

This has enabled forest levels to stabilise in Indonesia and grow in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) - two of the most mangrove-dense countries. In Indonesia, the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 seems to have played a role in changing people's minds about the importance of mangroves, and the removal of trees for fish farming has slowed. "Some islands were covered by mangroves and after the tsunami those islands were protected very well, so that increased public awareness about the importance of protecting mangroves," said lead author Dr Zhen Zhang from Tulane University in the US.

A similar change in public attitude occurred in Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis in 2008 and a national logging ban in 2016.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.