30 images Created 13 Sep 2017
REPORTAGE: Climate Change and Biodiversity in West Africa
The mangrove ecosystems along the coast of West Africa are among the most important in the world. Mangroves are extremely carbon-rich habitats, containing on average twice the biomass of tropical forests, making them highly effective carbon sinks in the fight against global warming. Thirty-one percent of West Africa's population live along coastal zones and rely on the region's natural resources for their livelihoods and way of life. Climate change induced drought and rising sea levels are causing the salinization of the coastal ecosystems and the degradation of vast swaths of mangrove forests, fisheries and agriculture lands.
According to Achim Steiner, the executive director of the UNEP, "The escalating destruction and degradation of mangroves ... is occurring at an alarming rate, with over a quarter of the earth's original mangrove cover now lost. This has potentially devastating effects on biodiversity, food security and the livelihoods of some of the most marginalized coastal communities in developing countries, where more than 90 per cent of the world's mangroves are found."
According to Achim Steiner, the executive director of the UNEP, "The escalating destruction and degradation of mangroves ... is occurring at an alarming rate, with over a quarter of the earth's original mangrove cover now lost. This has potentially devastating effects on biodiversity, food security and the livelihoods of some of the most marginalized coastal communities in developing countries, where more than 90 per cent of the world's mangroves are found."
