Survival of the mangroves

We continue our look this week at mangroves, which are among the planet's most threatened tropical ecosystems. We examine, exclusively, some of those threats below. Have questions, comments? Email Petre Williams at williamsp@jamaicaobserver.com.
THERE are a range of threats to mangrove forests in Jamaica and, by extension, the Caribbean and the world. They include over-harvesting, river changes, clearing, over-fishing, pollution, coral reef loss and climate change.Over-harvestingMangrove trees the world over are used for firewood charcoal production as well as for construction wood and wood chips. While harvesting is a practice that has been ongoing for hundreds of years, it has got out of hand in recent times. In some instances, faced with limited alternatives, if any, people in certain poor communities, such as St Thomas here in Jamaica, increasingly rely on mangroves for charcoal production, for example. The result is over-harvesting, which threatens the survivability of mangrove forests.www.jamaicaobserver.com