'Mangroves help mitigate climate change'

Mangroves are highly effective in removing greenhouse gases from atmosphere and thus to mitigate global warming and climate change, a marine biologist said here on Tuesday.

According to Sujatha Varadharajulu, a scientist at the Environment Protection and Development Agency (EPDA) in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, an EPDA study revealed that coastal ecosystems including mangroves, sea grasses and tidal marshes were critical to mitigate the impact of climate change and to improve human life.

She was speaking on 'Blue Carbon in Climate Mitigation' at Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) here.

"These ecosystems remove human-caused carbons in the atmosphere and oceans, which are the most significant cause for the global climate change, and store it in plants and sediment," she said.

"These stored carbons are called 'Blue Carbons'. Mangroves, which provide a number of critical ecosystem services, are the most carbon-rich ecosystem on earth", said the scientist."

Varadharajulu also added that once these ecosystems were destroyed, their blue carbons stores are released as carbon dioxide and contribute to global climate change. Global warming and climate change could be mitigated to a greater extent by the restoration and conservation of mangroves.

"The conservation of mangroves will also help to protect the fisheries resources. A number of tropical fish species pass part of their lives in the mangroves and find it as nursery ground, shelter and food," she said.