Experts Say Mangroves Save Lives

Rachel Brittin
NOAA Fisheries Service

February 2, 2009 — When Cyclone Nargis hit the coast of Burma last May, a 12-foot storm surge washed away whole towns, leaving 2.5 million people homeless and an estimated 140,000 people dead. In the days that followed, scientists pointed to the massive loss of mangrove forests, which act as natural buffers from the sea, as one of the main culprits.

“It’s true,” said Leslie Craig, restoration specialist at the NOAA Fisheries Service Habitat Restoration Center’s Southeast Region. “Mangroves serve as nature’s defense against the powerful waves that accompany hurricanes and storms. By restoring and protecting them, we are quite literally saving lives.”

Mangroves are salt-tolerant evergreens that grow along warm water coastlines, rivers, and deltas. Their roots are all connected, preventing erosion and naturally dissipating wave energy.

Unfortunately, mangroves are in decline. Mangrove forests are being removed to accommodate new housing developments and agricultural uses.Ironically, the mangroves that would have made these new developments safer were removed so the housing could be built.  In the U.S. alone, about half of the people live within 50 miles of the shoreline.

Although the loss of our coastal habitat, including mangrove forest, is a widespread problem in states like Louisiana and Florida, the picture is not entirely bleak. NOAA experts are working to slow mangrove loss and restore areas where people, fish, and wildlife will all benefit.

In 2004, a category four storm, Hurricane Charley, caused massive damage to the southwest Florida coastline and nearby communities. Since then, NOAA’s Restoration Center has funded two mangrove restoration projects for a total of six acres. Because this area of the country is vulnerable to hurricane activity, work to restore mangrove populations will limit damage from future storms.

"Without a mangrove restoration effort, what once was pristine habitat would convert to open water,” said Craig.  “Hurricane Charley also left this area vulnerable to the spread of invasive species, so it was critical that we plant mangroves.” 

Storm buffering does not stop at mangroves. NOAA’s aerial analysis of Louisiana’s coastline revealed that places where wetlands remained intact were not as badly damaged by hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005.

As mangroves and other habitats are lost, and habitat becomes open water, it becomes more difficult to protect coastal communities from storms. Although NOAA and other organizations have made progress restoring coastal mangrove forests in the Southeast, much work remains.