Figure 27. Gilgel Gibe III – a controversial hydroelectric dam in Ethiopia
Source: Abebayehu (n.d.).
3.6 Mangrove trends
coverage lost since 1996 (The Nature Conservancy, n.d. a) and an additional significant
Mangrove swamps are forested inter-tidal
proportion either fragmented or degraded.
ecosystems which perform critical landscape-
Significant drivers of change include their
level functions related to the regulation of fresh
removal for aquaculture, agriculture, energy
water, nutrients and sediment inputs into marine
exploitation and other industrial development,
areas. They also help control the quality of
though they are also sensitive to climate change-
marine coastal waters and are of critical
induced sea level rise and changes in hydrology
importance as breeding and nursery sites for
(Goldberg and others, 2020).
birds, fish and crustaceans. Mangrove soils hold over 6 billion tons of carbon Once abundant along the world’s tropical and
and, despite being categorized as forests within
subtropical coastlines, mangroves are now
the UNFCCC Reducing Emissions from
declining at a rate similar to that of terrestrial
Deforestation and Forest Degradation in
(natural) forests, with 4–5 per cent of the global
Developing Countries (REDD+) scheme, can
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