Past and current extent of mangroves in the affected countries

Mangroves cover an area of around 15 million hectares worldwide, with close to 40 percent of this area found in the countries affected by the tsunami.

High population pressure in coastal areas has led to the conversion of many mangrove areas to other uses and numerous case studies describe mangrove losses over time. In the aftermath of the tsunami, many statements have been made on how the large-scale conversion of mangroves to shrimp ponds in the past exacerbated the damage by the tsunami with several sources citing the loss of 50 percent of the mangroves in the affected countries.

Scarce information exists on status and trends in mangrove areas at the regional and global level. A recent initiative by FAO aims at facilitating access to comprehensive information on the current and past extent of mangroves in all countries and areas in which they exist.

The preliminary results for the countries affected by the tsunami are shown below.

Specific information on mangroves from most countries in which they exist was submitted to FAO as part of the Forest Resources Assessment reporting (FRA 2000); the information has been extracted and analysed in order to be able to analyse recent trends in area losses and gains.

The preliminary results, which are being updated in the framework of the FRA 2005, indicates that mangroves cover an area of around 15 million hectares worldwide, with close to 40 percent of this area found in the countries affected by the tsunami:

Country	Most recent reliable mangrove area estimate		Mangrove area 1980	Mangrove area 1990	Annual change 1980-1990	Mangrove area 2000	Annual change 1990-2000
Country	ha	year	ha	ha	ha	ha	ha
Bangladesh	614 500	2003	597 100	606 400	930	620 000	1 360
India	487 100	1997	506 000	492 600	-1 340	479 000	-1 360
Indonesia	3 062 300	2003	4 200 000	3 640 000	-56 000	3 160 000	-48 000
Kenya	52 980	1982	54 700	52 000	-270	50 000	-200
Madagascar	325 560	1987	327 000	320 000	-700	314 000	-600
Malaysia	587 269	1995	669 000	620 500	-4 850	572 100	-4 840
Maldives	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
Myanmar	452 492	1996	531 000	480 000	-5 100	432 300	-4 770
Seychelles	2 000	1995	2 400	2 100	-30	1 900	-20
Somalia	10 000	1975	9 500	8 500	-100	7 500	-100
Sri Lanka	8 688	1992	9 400	8 800	-60	7 600	-120
Tanzania, United Rep. of	127 200	2000	152 000	139 600	-1 240	127 200	-1 240
Thailand	244 085	2000	285 500	262 000	-2 350	244 000	-1 800
Total extent	5 974 174	2000	7 343 600	6 632 500	-71 110	6 015 600	-61 690
From FAO. 2003.

The data indicate that countries affected by the tsunami have lost an average of 21 percent of their mangrove area in the period 1980 to 2000.

The largest loss in terms of area is in Indonesia, which also possess the largest mangrove area in the world. Myanmar has also lost a large area, due primarily to conversion of mangroves to rice cultivation to increase self sufficiency in food production and Malaysia has lost some both to pond culture and infrastructure development. Some countries with small areas of mangroves have also lost a high percentage of the area present in 1980, while other countries such as Bangladesh and Tanzania are reporting an increase in their total mangrove area since 1980.

The preliminary results are currently being updated in he framework of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 and will used as inputs to the revised World Atlas on Mangroves - a collaborative effort being undertaken by FAO, the International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - Man and the Biosphere Programme (UNESCO-MAB), the United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the United Nations University - International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).

Needs for action

A systematic and comprehensive assessment is needed that addresses:

The extent of damage and identification of areas in need of restoration
Mapping of past and current extent of mangroves to enable an assessment of potential sites for re-establishing mangroves