Mangroves Keeping Vietnam Afloat
By: Safwan Salleh
The rising of sea levels threaten to drown the Mekong Delta, which produces the majority of Vietnam’s rice. The only thing standing between the country and the ocean is a tree.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment predicts that the ocean will swallow more than a third of the region by the year 2100, taking a swath of Ho Chi Minh City with it. Halfway up the coast from the Mekong Delta, Hoi An’s prognosis is better, but it’s not immune. The city sits where the Thu Bon River meets the South China Sea. Its inhabitants are already used to hauling furniture upstairs during seasonal floods.
Mangroves are the climate superheroes of the natural world. They grow in swamps along the coasts with thin trunks and tangled, spidery roots submerged in dark, briny water. The roots filter saltwater and can expand eroded coastlines. They also create natural storm barriers and protect agricultural land from saltwater infiltration. And on top of everything else, mangroves are atmospheric vacuum cleaners, pulling unparalleled amounts of carbon dioxide from the air.
Sigit Sasmito, a researcher with the Center for International Forestry Research and Charles Darwin University in Australia said "The organic carbon stocks stored in mangrove ecosystems are three to five times larger than other forest types,"
Clearing land for shrimp farms might be beneficial, but it's only in the short term. But intact forests are hugely profitable to the fishing industry at large by keeping salinity levels in check, mangrove forests promote tremendous biodiversity, which means more kinds of fish to catch.
The rising of sea levels threaten to drown the Mekong Delta, which produces the majority of Vietnam’s rice. The only thing standing between the country and the ocean is a tree.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment predicts that the ocean will swallow more than a third of the region by the year 2100, taking a swath of Ho Chi Minh City with it. Halfway up the coast from the Mekong Delta, Hoi An’s prognosis is better, but it’s not immune. The city sits where the Thu Bon River meets the South China Sea. Its inhabitants are already used to hauling furniture upstairs during seasonal floods.
Mangroves are the climate superheroes of the natural world. They grow in swamps along the coasts with thin trunks and tangled, spidery roots submerged in dark, briny water. The roots filter saltwater and can expand eroded coastlines. They also create natural storm barriers and protect agricultural land from saltwater infiltration. And on top of everything else, mangroves are atmospheric vacuum cleaners, pulling unparalleled amounts of carbon dioxide from the air.
Sigit Sasmito, a researcher with the Center for International Forestry Research and Charles Darwin University in Australia said "The organic carbon stocks stored in mangrove ecosystems are three to five times larger than other forest types,"
Clearing land for shrimp farms might be beneficial, but it's only in the short term. But intact forests are hugely profitable to the fishing industry at large by keeping salinity levels in check, mangrove forests promote tremendous biodiversity, which means more kinds of fish to catch.
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