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KNOWLEDGE BASE

What destroys mangroves

Clearing for farms, shrimp ponds and development, over-harvesting, pollution, damming and rising seas.

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Beginner 1 min read threatsdeforestationaquacultureinfrastructureclimate

Globally, mangroves are lost mainly to direct human clearing, with natural causes adding to it.

Human drivers

  1. Aquaculture, especially shrimp ponds, and agriculture such as rice and oil palm.
  2. Wood and charcoal: poles, firewood, charcoal, and tannin.
  3. Coastal development: ports, roads, housing, salt pans and tourism.
  4. Pollution: oil spills (a major issue in the Niger Delta), plastics, and sewage.
  5. Altered water flow: dams upstream cut off sediment; causeways block tides.

Natural and climate drivers

  • Storms such as cyclones in the Indian Ocean.
  • Erosion and sea-level rise, where mangrove cannot move inland.
  • Drought and hypersalinity in dry regions.

What the Atlas maps can and cannot show. They show where area changed, which is the first step. They do not tell why. To find causes, overlay pressure layers (the roads, port and village layers that exist for Lamu), check satellite images and talk to local people.

Limits. Atlas does not yet hold nationwide layers for aquaculture, farming or oil.

Related reading

LAPSSET: why a corridor project matters to mangroves

LAPSSET is a transport and port corridor centred on Lamu; Atlas measures how much mangrove lies near it.

Sea-level rise and the "coastal squeeze"

Mangroves can keep up with moderate sea-level rise if they get sediment and room to move inland.

West and Central African mangroves

West Africa holds more than half of Africa's mangrove, anchored by the Niger Delta and the Guinea coast.

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