More than 35% of the world’s mangroves are already gone. Many of them are disappearing because of outside groups clearing mangrove forests in order to obtain land to build off of. Other times the land is cleared to build agricultural land off of. The Caribbean is currently losing mangroves at a rate of 1% per year and the Bahamas have lost about half of their mangroves in the past 10 years.
Many people also uses the trees for firewood, construction wood and many other purposes. The use of this wood is not sustainable and threatens the future of forests. It further threatens the species in that area of becoming extinct.
Toxic chemicals in river systems can cause animals to die and oil can cause the forests to also die.
Rising sea levels can have a tremendous effect on the forests because they need stable sea levels in order to survive.
The destruction of mangroves impacts reefs and shorelines. Overall, the productivity of the ecosystem decreases. Mangroves also take long periods of time to recuperate from being cut down and many species, for example the Red Mangrove do not re-grow. This means the only way for them to grow again, is if they are replanted.
“Mangrove Forests: Threats | WWF.” Accessed January 24, 2017. http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/coasts/mangroves/mangrove_threats/.