BY UMAIRAH RAZAK
MANGROVES are vital ecosystems that exist along tropical and subtropical coasts. For decades there have been rising concerns among environmentalists about the disregard for mangrove ecosystems globally.
“Mangrove ecosystem worldwide is a natural and effective climate change ‘mitigation plan and strategy’. For this reason, mangroves must be treated as a national asset,” said Dr Ahmad Aldrie Amir, a commission member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission-Species Survival Commission (IUCN-SSC) – Mangrove Specialist Group (MSG)
Ahmad Aldrie is a mangrove specialist, a lecturer and a research fellow with the Institute of Environment and Development (LESTARI) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
He pointed out that mangroves provide coastal protection by securing coastlines and serve as a shield for villages built around coastal areas, especially from natural disasters like storms, typhoons, hurricanes, and tsunamis.
Ahmad Aldrie also highlighted the positive and negative impacts of natural disturbances like lightning strikes on mangrove.
