ONLINE CURRENTS VOL3 - Flipbook - Page 4
Healthy Ecosystems Provide
Financial Returns
Case study: mangroves
Helping Coastal Communities Thrive
Over 200 million people live in areas within
10 meters of sea level and around mangrove
forests, generating a variety of opportunities
for sustainable economies, including:
Ecotourism: Bangladesh generates over
US$53 million per annum in income from
mangrove ecotourism.
Harnessing Resources for Sustainable
Development, such as Honey Production: In
Thailand, 300 hives provide 45 families with
an average of US$3700 in annual income. [1]
Conflict can feel like an existential rupture between
people, ideas, beliefs, but all too often the reality is
that there is more middle ground in play than we
realize, and that discussions can be better mediated
with different choices around language and focus.
Preventing Coastal Erosion
12% of the world’s coastline is mangrove reserve.
The dense roots of mangroves bind and build soils
whilst also encouraging deposition to reduce
erosion. Where there has been a loss of mangroves,
countries like Thailand have coasts retreating at
rates of 33.65 m per year. In the U.S. alone, coastal
erosion contributes to roughly
$500 million in coastal property loss per year
including damage to structures and loss of land. [4]
