- Ecosystem goods and services provided by mangroves (5):
- Fuel: fuel wood, charcoal
- Construction: timber, scaffolding, heavy construction, railway sleepers, mining props, boat-building, dock pilings, beams and poles, flooring, paneling, thatch or matting, fence posts, chipboard
- Fishing: fishing stakes, fishing boats, wood for smoking fish, tannin for nets/lines, fish-attracting shelters
- Textile: leather, synthetic fibres (rayon), dye for cloth, tannin for leather preservation
- Other natural products: fish, crustaceans, honey, wax, birds, mammals, reptiles, other fauna
- Food, drugs and beverages: sugar, alcohol, cooking oil, vinegar, tea substitute, fermented drinks, dessert topping, condiments (bark), sweetmeats (propagules), vegetables (fruit/leaves)
- Agriculture: fodder [dried hay/feed for livestock]
- Household items: glue, hairdressing oil, tool handles, rice mortar, toys, match sticks, incense
- Other forest products: packing boxes, wood for smoking sheet rubber, medicines
- Paper products: paper – various
- Countries/areas from all over the world are tabulated with associated mangrove coverage (ha) and year (Table 3, 10-11).
- Indonesia has the highest area of mangrove coverage (19%), followed by Australia (10%) and Brazil and Nigeria (each with 7%). More countries are listed in Figure 3, page 12.
- Asia has experienced the greatest amount of mangrove forest change (Fig. 4, 12).
- See paper for specific regions regarding vegetation and species composition, mangrove resources: status and trends 1980–2005, main uses and threats, and mangrove conservation and management.
- Conclusions:
- “…the current mangrove area worldwide has fallen to about 15.2 million hectares, down from 18.8 million hectares in 1980. The world has thus lost some 3.6 million hectares of mangroves over the last 25 years, or 20 percent of the extent found in 1980” (55).
- “From about 185 000 ha lost every year in the 1980s, the net loss dropped to some 118 500 ha per year in the 1990s and to 102 000 ha per year (or a loss of 0.66 percent annually) during the 2000–2005 period, reflecting an increased awareness of the value of mangrove ecosystems” (55).
- “Human pressure on coastal ecosystems and thus competition for land for aquaculture, agriculture, infrastructure and tourism (coastal development) are often intense and are among the major causes of the reported decrease in these forest areas over time” (55).