Globally, half of all mangrove forests have been lost since the mid-twentieth century, with one-fifth since 1980 (Spalding et al. 2010). Conversion into shrimp farms causes 25% of the total destruction, according to UNEP (Botkin and Keller, 2003), happening mostly in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Other drivers of mangrove destruction are wood extraction, climate change and industrial development such as harbours and tourism.
Our Work
Wetlands International aims to reverse the rapid loss of mangrove forests along with working towards the achievement of sustainable development that enhances the many benefits provided by mangroves. In particular, we support local communities in West Africa (Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone), Asia (India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand) and Latin America (Panama) in restoring these invaluable ecosystems. Over the past decade we have restored thousands of hectares of mangrove forests and we are working to address the drivers of mangrove destruction. Read more on what we do.