Mangroves are an excellent carbon sink. It is Nature’s gift that can today mitigate global warming. Yet it has remained undervalued. The lure of short-term gains has led to its neglect and decay in several regions. It is time to reverse this trend.

    Thriving along tropical sea coasts with water-logged tree cover nurturing a unique ecosystem, mangroves have considerable capacity to store carbon dioxide. It has been estimated that worldwide only 0.7 per cent of all tropical forests are mangroves. But carbon emission from them accounts for 10 per cent of the global tropical emission.

   Living mangrove trees hold one-fifth of carbon dioxide, while the soil in them store 78 per cent. Even their dead wood retains 2 per cent. Mangroves are Nature’s integrated circuits combining nutrient cycling, soil formation and incubator for a variety of fish and invertebrate species at different stages of their life....