Governments around the world that are seeking to fight climate change while providing other significant benefits to ecosystems and coastal communities should consider protecting and restoring mangrove forests. Like seagrasses and salt marshes, mangroves are coastal wetlands that serve as nursery and feeding grounds for a broad range of species, storm buffers for communities, and highly efficient carbon sinks—a big draw for countries looking to implement nature-based climate action.

Yet, despite the numerous benefits that mangroves provide, they are some of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. Experts estimate that half of the world’s mangroves have been lost in the past 50 years because of habitat destruction, coastal development, and pollution.

1. Mangroves can store three to five times more carbon in the same area of soil compared with other types of forests.

In fact, a healthy mangrove forest can sequester an estimated 2,016 pounds of carbon per acre per year. Read more