Mangrove Forests
Mangrove forests are deteriorating due to over-exploitation, deforestation, land reclamation and pollution. Large areas of mangroves have been cleared due to various factors.
Importance in maintaining coastal ecology:
•Basis of a complex marine food chain.
•Creation of breeding habitat for birds and water animals.
•Filtering and assimilating pollutants from upland run-off.
•Stabilization of bottom sediments.
•Water quality improvements.
Protection of shorelines from erosion.
•Mangroves are the first line of defence for coastal communities. They stabilize shorelines by slowing erosion and provide natural barriers protecting coastal communities from increased storm surge, flooding, and hurricanes.
Causes of depletion:
Anthropogenic Causes:
Over-exploitation and Illegal Forest Cutting: Over-exploitation of forests to meet the growing requirement of the people is one of the main problems facing the Sundarban.
Shrimp Farming: The rapidly expanding shrimp farming industry possesses the crucial cause for deteriorating the mangrove forests in Bangladesh.
Pollution: Industrial development, agriculture and aquaculture near the river basins has led to the production of huge amounts of garbage, wastewater, pollutants and other effluents.
Management Failure: The mangrove forest is disappearing because of Lack of training and knowledge of coastal land use.
Diseases: “Top dying” is the disease of the dominant Sundari trees (Heritiera fomes) one of the biggest causes for deteriorating the forest.
Fire: Fire may have caused some of the most serious damage of the mangrove ecosystem in recent years.
Natural Causes
Natural Disasters, Climate Change and Sea Level Rise:
Nutrient depletion: Especially phosphorus and nitrogen was found to be directly connected with the decline in forest cover.
Thus it is imperative seeing their importance in maintaining coastal ecology to save them through local and national efforts.