Mangroves` rescue act
THE projected rise in sea level due to global warming and climate change is the kind of stuff that makes doomsday stories. The threat from such a rise has ominous portents for a large portion of the human population. Yet several scientists say that problems related to global warming may not be impossible to deal with. One very effective way to deal with the rise in sea level could be to create a buffer of mangrove forests along the coastlines, according to a paper published in the journal Canopy International (Vol 25, No 2).
"Unless preemptive actions are undertaken, this will wreck millions of lives in various countries throughout the world," say the authors led by Honorato G Palis, who has been associated with the Bangladesh Forest Research Institute. "The devastation posed by sea level rise, however, is not a no-win situation. As seen by environmentalists, mangroves, halophytes that inhabit the intertidal portions of tropical and sub-tropical coastlines, can help mitigate, if not completely check such potentially catastrophic consequences," they add. The importance of coastal areas cannot be overestimated as 70 per cent of the world's population is in coastal communities and the most productive agricultural zones are found in or near coastal areas, the researchers emphasise.
They point out that the Earth's surface temperature is expected to increase by 0.5