ONLINE CURRENTS VOL3 - Flipbook - Page 5
With the new Currents’ Environmental
Communication series, we’ll be
producing a series of infographics to
generate ideas on how we might all
work better around these obstacles.
Our first focus will relate to investment in
environmental and ecosystem protection,
in particular how investment in these
areas, or their undeveloped maintenance,
is generally regarded as not being
economically productive, using
mangroves as a case study.
Preserve & Regenerate Fish Stocks
Filtering Water
Mangrove's ability to filter harmful chemicals
from water provides an average saving of
US$1,193 per hectare per year over manmade filtering. [2]
An estimated 75% of commercially caught fish
spend some time in the mangroves or depend
on food webs that can be traced back to these
coastal forests, providing income and
sustenance to 4.1 million mangrove-associated
fishers globally.
These fisheries have a median annual economic
value of US$ 37,500 per hectare of
mangrove fringe. [1]
Flood Defences
Every year mangroves prevent more than
US$65 billion in property damage, and selfgenerate over time. Man-made sea walls
would cost over USD$80,000 per 100
meters of wall, and would need replacing
after 30 years. [3]
