Mangrove trees: marvellous, magnificent and - frankly - miraculous
They say that if trees produced Wi-Fi we’d be planting millions.
Instead, they ‘only’ help us breathe.
And for mangroves that is barely the beginning.
These quite extraordinary life forms are responsible for defending coastlines, harbouring monkeys, protecting reefs, providing nurseries (for sharks, that is), supporting communities and averting human-induced climate chaos at a rate better than pretty much any other tree.
They are the silent superheroes of the natural world.
They store carbon ten times more efficiently than any other forest - gargantuan storage equal to the annual emissions of China and the US combined. Put plainly, a lot.
But all that carbon is being released, all those communities are losing their livelihoods, all those sharks and reefs and monkeys are losing their lives.
Humanity’s disregard for the things that help us survive has meant mangroves are being pushed to breaking point. They are, quite literally, snapping under the pressure for our commercial benefit.
Their roots are being ripped from the ground and their trunks hacked apart for timber.
The havens for marine life are being obliterated and replaced with thick black excess from charcoal production and oil extraction.
Their habitat is being battered by roadbuilding, port construction and tourist infrastructure, because these mangrove trees are deemed to be dispensable.
It is nothing short of a massacre.
Less than half of the original expanse of these carbon-capturing wonders remains.
If this continues, the consequences could not be more serious. Whether mangroves survive or not will play a monumental part in the future of billions of people, billions of animals - and of our planet.
Our survival depends on them.
And their survival depends on people like you.
To turn this around we need support to increase our mangrove protection work across the globe - right now. Through your donations we are purchasing land dedicated to the protection, and restoration, of mangrove trees.
In the battle against climate change, we must not take our strongest allies for granted. The losses can’t go on - we must ensure there are enough of them to keep our planet thriving for generations to come. And with your support, we’ll do just that.
Please help save them. We must protect these trees in order to protect our planet - and if everyone reading this donates just £3 - you could help fund these projects and restore our natural regulators. Thank you.
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