FAO Estimates Loss Of 20% Of Total Global Mangrove Areas Since 1980 - AFP

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Mangrove swamps have shrunk by an "alarming" rate though their disappearance is slowing with improved awareness of their importance to biodiversity, the UN food agency said on Thursday.

"The world has lost around 3.6 million hectares (8.9 million acres) of mangroves since 1980, equivalent to an alarming 20 percent loss of total mangrove area," the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation said in a report. The total area covered by mangroves dropped from 18.8 million hectares in 1980 to 15.2 million in 2005, according to the survey "The World's Mangroves."

"Mangroves are important forested wetlands, and most countries have now banned the conversion of mangroves for aquaculture," said Wulf Killmann, a forestry expert at the FAO.

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The main causes of the destruction of mangrove swampland include population pressure, conversion for aquaculture, agriculture, infrastructure and tourism, as well as pollution and natural disasters, FAO said. Asia showed the greatest loss of more than 1.9 million hectares over the 25-year period of the study, mainly through land use changes.

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http://www.terradaily.com/reports/FAO_warns_of_alarming_loss_of_mangroves_999.html