Mangroves One of the Most Important Ecosystems in the World
Careful research has revealed that mangroves are one of the most important ecosystems on the planet. Respected as a barrier to coastal ecosystems as well as providing economic and ecosystem services to humans, Mangroves are a true treasure trove.
Mangrove forests are a breeding ground for aquatic biota such as shrimp, crab, shrimp and so on. Mangroves are critical in fighting climate change and protecting fisheries and coastlines around the world. Mangroves are closely interconnected within the ecosystem itself, but they are also an intermediate zone between land and sea, connected and supportive. It is not surprising that mangroves are referred to as “sea roots”.
More Carbon Sequestration
Mangroves work more than other forests to absorb carbon up to 4-5x more hectares of tropical rainforest. This makes mangroves one of the planet’s best and most important defenses against climate change.
Danoto’s research results in 2011 stated that mangrove forests in the Indo-Pacific have the capacity to absorb and store carbon 5 times that of terrestrial forest ecosystems, tropical forests and so on.
And Indonesia has many advantages over other countries because it has the largest mangrove forests and the largest carbon stores in the world.
Reduce the Risk of a Tsunami
The recorded tsunami that hit Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004, killed more than 227,000 people in total. Indonesia’s worst-hit province is Aceh, where 167,000 lost their lives when a 20-meter wave hit the coast that morning.
Nothing can prevent massive destruction, or stop the permanent marine invasion that follows. The earthquake caused widespread land subsidence that shifted the coastline inland by up to 800 meters and permanently sank several villages in Aceh.
Can Mangroves prevent Tsunamis? .. There is growing evidence that even in such extreme conditions, the dense network of mangrove roots and branches can help to dissipate the force of the tsunami, and reduce its destruction. Experiments by Tetsuya Hiraishi and Kenji Harada of Kyoto University, Japan, show that 100 meters of dense mangrove forests can reduce the destructive energy of a tsunami by as much as 90 percent.
During the tsunami on 26 December 2004 Simeulue and Nias, the community was safe, the tsunami energy was held back by mangroves. In North Nias to be precise in Lahewa. The houses, which are only wooden walls and thatched roofs, are safe from the tsunami because they are protected by a very good mangrove forest, which is very tight.
That is the scientific evidence that has been published in international publications on how mangroves can reduce the destructive power of tsunamis so that human resources can be saved. One-sided mangrove ecosystem is a very productive element, capable of providing ecosystem services but also very vulnerable to disturbances.
Globally, FAO data reveal that in 2014, 30 percent of mangrove forests had been lost and Indonesia was the largest contributor to forest loss, which was around 800,000 hectares. In 3 decades, Indonesia contributed 50 percent of the world’s mangrove loss. And is a contributor to the loss of aquatic life and also a very large carbon emissions
The magnitude of mangrove damage is not comparable to efforts to recover through rehabilitation. The loss of mangroves per year reaches 31,000 hectares. Meanwhile, the capacity for recovery by government and NGO programs is at most 15,000 hectares.
And currently one of the pockets of poverty is in the coastal area. The condition of the people on the coast will continue to deteriorate because the mangroves are getting worse. Fishermen who do not own a vehicle and cannot make a living in the city must earn a living on the coast.