Mangroves benefit the sea

Mangrove is the fundament-al species of the coastal-marine ecosystem. They are located in the tropics and subtropics of the planet and are on the coasts of Latin America, from México down to Peru.

Mangroves have great biotic productivity. They grow up at the intermediate tidal zones and in flooded areas. They can adapt to different degrees of salinity, because they are in contact with sea water and fresh water. They are located on sandy, muddy, clay soils, which have little oxygen and are sometimes acidic.

Ecologically mangroves supply important functions that allow natural balance: flood control; erosion control; purification of water running to the sea by retaining sediments and toxic substances; desalinization of water running to land; and providing a source of organic matter, storm protection, and microclimate stabilization.

It is important to emphasize that México has advanced in the protection of these ecosystems. Last February 1, a Decree was published in the federation official diary, by which an article is added in Vida Silvestre's General Law, which establishes the conservation of 886,760 hectares of mangrove that still exist in the country.

by Edith Sosa Bravo, Coordinator of CEA's Water Quality Program
photo by Humberto Bahena Basave