State of the World's Mangroves (2024)

Yet there are reasons for hope. The average rates of global mangrove loss are now slowing, and mangroves are being restored across their endemic lands despite external threats. But to fully recover mangrove populations and reap their benefits for generations to come, people worldwide will need to come together as allies for these critical systems.

The Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA) illustrates how powerful these global partnerships can be. The GMA is a joint effort of 27 organizations, including The Nature Conservancy (TNC), working to accelerate a revival of mangrove forests across the globe. “By joining the GMA, TNC is bringing its science and policy expertise to accelerate crucial mangrove restoration worldwide,” says Emily Landis, Coastal Wetlands Strategy Lead at TNC. “Likewise, we are learning from others who have decades of experience, so we do not duplicate each other’s failures but draw strength from our collective knowledge.”

The State of the World’s Mangroves, a new report by the GMA that was coauthored by TNC, is a guide for NGOs, scientists and other stakeholders to the current condition of global mangrove populations and the best pathways forward to recovering these remarkable habitats.

Here are three important things to know from The State of the World’s Mangroves.

1. Mangroves protect the lives and livelihoods of millions of people

Mangroves provide invaluable benefits to coastal communities around the globe, and they will only become more important in the face of accelerating climate change. Mangroves’ aerial roots prevent erosion, retain and filter sediments, and can facilitate soil’s vertical growth—and in some cases, can help the land keep pace with sea level rise. As people plan for climate responses, they should be looking to mangroves as part of the solution .

For many communities, mangroves are the first line of defense for flooding and storm events. A wave passing just 100 meters of a mangrove forest can lose two-thirds of its energy. Every year, mangrove systems prevent more than US$65 billion in property damages and reduce flood risk to some 15 million people.

Mangrove forests are also productive habitats for shrimps, crabs and many species of fish, which are caught by small-scale fishers and distributed within local communities. It is estimated that there are over 4.1 million mangrove fishers globally, whom countless others rely upon for jobs and nutrition.

In Papua New Guinea, for example, women reliant on mangroves have created the Mangoro Market Meri Program (meaning Mangrove Market Women) to help local women manage mangroves sustainably. TNC aids the Mangoro Market Meri by helping them develop and trial business and conservation plans and supporting ways to link their economic livelihoods with mangrove protection.

2. Mangroves are crucial for addressing the climate and biodiversity crises

Mangroves are also biodiversity superstars. Mangrove forests provide habitat for 341 threatened species across the world. Terrestrial wildlife—from insects and reptiles to monkeys and tigers—live in the drier parts of the habitat. Meanwhile, in the pools around their roots, mangroves are home to fish, mollusks, crustaceans and other species.

These habitats also indirectly support the health of other biodiversity hotspots, such as by trapping sediment that might otherwise smother nearby coral reefs. And the complex channels created by mangrove roots facilitate crossover between ecosystems, allowing larger species to visit or use mangroves as breeding grounds. Mangrove forests may also act as final refuges for species left stranded by habitat loss.

3. It’s not too late to restore mangroves—with the right partnerships

To help guide global action for mangrove recovery, the GMA and partners have launched an online platform called the Global Mangrove Watch that provides near real-time data on where and what changes are occurring to mangroves across the world. The tool’s information on topography, soil conditions and hydrology can help various stakeholders direct mangrove restoration and spatially plan for the most effective climate and biodiversity strategies.

TNC has been doing mangrove restoration work for decades, in countries from Mexico to Indonesia, but we need to expand our efforts. By compiling the latest science and distributing it to stakeholders around the world, The State of the World’s Mangroves report is an important new tool to advance these efforts.