Indispensable mangroves are nature's resilient coastal guardians

New Straits Times

28-07-2025

LETTERS Mangroves are an important natural asset for the planet. Countries within the tropics, in particular, heavily depend on mangroves to ensure the safety and security of their lands, people, and properties.
Mangroves are not just a group of trees shielding the coastlines and estuaries from the impacts of tropical storms and other oceanic extremes. They provide a home to a wide variety of living things. These range from as small as microbial organisms to large mammals on land, marine and the coastal transition realms.
The diversity of plants and animals provides colours and symphonies to an otherwise gloomy and soggy habitat. The muddy and sandy mangrove soil, largely lacking in oxygen, catalyses the domination of select plants to call this setting home.
Mangrove trees exhibit unique root structures to demonstrate what living in the mud should look like. Not only to stabilise themselves on the soft sediment, but the roots are also their breathing apparatus to absorb oxygen from the air for respiration and to sip in water and nutrients crucial for their growth.
All of these are used to filter excessive salt from entering their bodies. Think of any other more hardworking tree than the mangroves — you can't hardly find any.
The scented and colourful flowers of mangroves also attract birds and pollinators of all sorts. Bats, bees, plus migratory birds, too. They love a stopover in the mangroves for their survival and livelihood.
Imagine the melodies, symphonies and harmonies of nature, with the chirping of birds, the buzzing insects, and the sea breeze — nothing beats the serenity of a rich and luxurious tropical mangrove forest.
That's not all. During the day, mangrove plants spend a major portion of their energy absorbing light and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. And as they respire quickly due to constant exchange of tides, they pump carbon dioxide in faster than other plants on land.
This makes mangroves one of the most productive ecosystems and the most prolific carbon sequesters in the world.
Acknowledging these facts, scientists and policymakers around the world have foreseen mangroves' potential as an ally, an effective nature-based solution against climate change and biodiversity loss.
With the upcoming tabling of the country's Climate Change Bill, it is timely for Malaysia to enshrine strict protection and rehabilitation of mangroves and other forested wetlands.
As we celebrate the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystems on July 26, impactful action such as this by Malaysia, as one of the largest mangrove-holding nations in the world, is highly anticipated.
And, it is one of the best sustainability initiatives for humanity, our country and our planet, for now and in the future.
DR A. ALDRIE AMIR
Associate Professor,
Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI),
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times