STATUS AND TRENDS IN MANGROVE AREA EXTENT WORLDWIDE

Antigua and Barbuda

Vegetation description

Antigua's low-lying coasts feature many saline ponds and tidal mud flats that carry stunted mangrove vegetation of the species Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia nitida and Laguncularia racemosa. Mangroves are usually found on mud or sandbanks sites, that are not actually inundated but have a high brackish-water table; "manchineel" swamps of Hippomane mancinella with some Annona glabra and Achrostichum sp. are often found bordering the mangrove swamps. Whereas the mangrove trees are commonly stunted and do not exceed 4.5 m in height, the manchineel attains 9 to 12 m with girths of up to 1.2 m.

CCA. 1991. Antigua and Barbuda: country environmental profile. CCA/IRF/Environmental Awareness Group/USAID.

National level mangrove area estimates

Year

Area
(ha)

Source

Trend

Methodology/Comments

1982

1 500

Putney, A.D. 1982. Survey of conservation priorities in the Lesser Antilles. Technical Report 1. Caribbean Conservation Association.

X

Cited in: Fisher, P and Spalding, M.D. 1993. Protected areas with mangrove habitat. Draft Report World Conservation Centre, Cambridge, UK. 60pp.

The "Year" is the publication year.

1982

1 215

WCMC. 2000. Coral reefs and mangroves of the world. http://www.wcmc.org.uk/marine/
data/coral_mangrove/

The figure given in the website is 1215 sq. km. Taking into account the references used for this figure (Putney. 1982 and Bacon, P.R. 1993) and the total land area of the country (i.e. 19,400 ha. Reference: Deutsche Forstinventur-service GmbH, Caribbean Development Bank. 1983. Regional Forestry Sector Study, Country Report Antigua and Barbuda), this figure should be considered as a typing error, and an average between the two cited sources.

1991

1 316

Spalding, M.D., Blasco, F. and Field, C.D. eds. 1997. World Mangrove Atlas. The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, Japan. 178 pp.

Map analysis based on wide range of maps, scale between 1:50 000 and
1:300 000.

1991

1 175

Bacon, P. R. 1991. The Status of Mangrove Conservation in the Caricom Islands of the Eastern Caribbean. Report to the Commission of the European Communities as part of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan for the Caribbean Region. University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. 211 pp.

X

Ground survey

Year	Area (ha)	Source	Trend	Methodology/Comments
1982	1 500	Putney, A.D. 1982. Survey of conservation priorities in the Lesser Antilles. Technical Report 1. Caribbean Conservation Association.	X	Cited in: Fisher, P and Spalding, M.D. 1993. Protected areas with mangrove habitat. Draft Report World Conservation Centre, Cambridge, UK. 60pp. The "Year" is the publication year.
1982	1 215	WCMC. 2000. Coral reefs and mangroves of the world. http://www.wcmc.org.uk/marine/ data/coral_mangrove/		The figure given in the website is 1215 sq. km. Taking into account the references used for this figure (Putney. 1982 and Bacon, P.R. 1993) and the total land area of the country (i.e. 19,400 ha. Reference: Deutsche Forstinventur-service GmbH, Caribbean Development Bank. 1983. Regional Forestry Sector Study, Country Report Antigua and Barbuda), this figure should be considered as a typing error, and an average between the two cited sources.
1991	1 316	Spalding, M.D., Blasco, F. and Field, C.D. eds. 1997. World Mangrove Atlas. The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, Japan. 178 pp.		Map analysis based on wide range of maps, scale between 1:50 000 and 1:300 000.
1991	1 175	Bacon, P. R. 1991. The Status of Mangrove Conservation in the Caricom Islands of the Eastern Caribbean. Report to the Commission of the European Communities as part of the Tropical Forestry Action Plan for the Caribbean Region. University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. 211 pp.	X	Ground survey

Antigua and Barbuda

Vegetation description

National level mangrove area estimates

Trends in mangrove area extent over time