Unstoppable devastation of Guatemalan mangroves

Fringing red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) are an essential nursery habitat for coral reef species. Uncontrolled coastal development in the Caribbean is threatening the survival of both mangrove and coral reef communities. The Dominican Republic today is one of the hot spots of major habitat destruction in the region, followed closely by the Mexican Caribbean. Photo by Dr. Sarah Frias-Torres/Marine Photobank

From an article by Danilo Valladares in Tierramérica:

GUATEMALA CITY, Jul 13 (Tierramérica).- "Before, this place was beautiful. It was truly a mangrove forest. When the shrimpers arrived, the logging meant that we lost 60 percent of it," said Francisco Vásquez, manager of a hotel on the Pacific coast, in the southeastern Guatemalan department of Jutiapa.

The deforestation led to sedimentation and has had a visible effect on the animals, because the mangrove forests serve as a sanctuary for the reproduction of many species, including fish, mammals and migratory birds," Vásquez told Tierramérica.

According to a study by the Savia School of Ecological Thought, in the past 50 years this country of 108,889 square kilometers lost two-thirds of its original forested area and the biodiversity that it held. The current rate of deforestation is 73,000 hectares per year.

The disappearance of forests has reduced the natural ability to regulate climate and increased the risk of landslides. Furthermore, entire ecosystems have been lost, with their flora and fauna, as well as the capacity to capture, filter and store water resources, warns the study.

The case of the mangroves is one of the most dramatic, according to ecologists. "Many mangroves are destroyed by agro-industrial activities, cotton, African palm, shrimp farms, and, more recently, the construction of tourism complexes," Carlos Salvatierra, an expert with the Savia School, told Tierramérica.

Mangrove forests, which grow in coastal zones of tropical countries, "constitue one of the planet's most productive ecosystems for the great quantity of animals it houses - birds, mammals, mollusks, crustaceans, which are important for the livelihood of local communities," he added.

The tangled form of the mangrove tree, or bush, acts as a natural barrier that filters out pollution, impedes salinization of the soil, prevents erosion and blocks strong winds.