● This article provides historical background to the usage of mangroves by the Eastern Tropical Pacific countries (Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama). (152-155)
● This article provides a relatively comprehensive list on the international conventions, regional agreements, and national law/regulations related to mangrove habitats for each of the Eastern Tropical Pacific countries mentioned within this article. (158)
● Mangrove tree species diversity in the Eastern Tropical Pacific is relatively low compared to other regions around the world.
○ “Despite the high mangrove biomass found in the ETP... mangrove tree species diversity within the region is low relative to other regions... making it particularly vulnerable to species loss, and consequently, the effects on human livelihoods and ecosystem services are expected to be greater than in other regions with higher diversity (as systems with higher regional species richness are argued to be more stable)...” (158)
○ “Moreover, the ETP suffers from significant gaps in protected area coverage compared to other regions such as the Caribbean, as well as little connectivity between existing protected areas…” (158)
- There are a variety of protected areas in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.
- “According to our sources, there are fifty-one protected areas in the ETP that include mangroves and these cover a wide range of management categories and schemes..” (159)
- “Twenty-two occur in Costa Rica, 15 in Panama, 10 in Ecuador and 4 in Colombia…” (159)
- “Protection schemes range from national parks to wildlife refuges and ecological reserves managed by local communities.” (159)
- Each country manages their protected areas differently.
- “Costa Rica and Panama have a higher proportion of no-take protected areas than Ecuador and Colombia.” (159)
- “Costa Rica and Panama lead the region in mangrove protection, with 58.7% and 51.9% respectively, whereas Colombia, at 23.7%, has the lowest proportion of protected mangroves in the region.” (159)