The study, which analyzed 40 years of satellite data, found that Southeast Asia accounted for nearly 60% of global mangrove losses between the 1980s and 2010. The region saw its highest rates of mangrove loss between 1990 and 2005. Since 2010, however, mangrove cover in the region has expanded, according to the study: Between 2010 and 2023, Southeast Asia accounted for roughly 43% of global mangrove gain.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoutheast Asia was a hotspot for deforestation and degradation in the late 1990s and 2000s,\u201d study co-author Zhen Zhang told Mongabay in a video call. \u201cBut after 2010, we see some very hopeful signals. It\u2019s a good story.\u201d<\/p>\n
The transition in Southeast Asia is mainly due to shifts in mangrove cover in Indonesia and Myanmar, the study found.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, the expansion of the agricultural industry and the construction of aquaculture ponds had been the major drivers of mangrove deforestation in the country, Zhang said. Yet, the world\u2019s most mangrove-rich nation, stopped seeing steep declines \u00a0\u00a0in its mangrove forest area after 2005.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Myanmar, historically the most severely deforested major mangrove country, has seen a 10% increase in area covered by mangrove since 2010, according to the study. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile some mangroves are still being lost, this could make them a rare conservation success story and an important source of optimism for climate action,\u201d study co-author Daniel Friess from Tulane University, U.S., said in a press release.<\/p>\n
Mangroves are critical ecosystems for carbon storage and protection against extreme weather such as storms and cyclones.<\/p>\n
Zhang said strengthened legal protections, increased public awareness of the importance of mangroves following disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and the intrinsic resilience of the trees themselves are likely reasons for the Southeast Asia\u2019s conservation success<\/a>.<\/p>\n In particular, mangrove trees are good at naturally recolonizing available habitats, such as abandoned aquaculture ponds, the study\u2019s authors write. They highlighted Indonesia\u2019s Mahakam Delta as an example where mangroves are regenerating in areas that were historically deforested for shrimp ponds. \u201cThese abandoned ponds actually provide a very suitable place for mangroves to recover,\u201d Zhang said.<\/p>\n Despite the gains, the study said that newly established mangrove forests are not yet functional equivalents to the ancient stands, groups of mangrove trees, they have replaced. Younger trees have underdeveloped root systems, making them more vulnerable to extreme weather, and they require decades to match the carbon storage capacity of mature forests.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most immediate and effective way to protect mangroves is to stop deforestation,\u201d Zhang said.<\/p>\n Banner image: Mangroves shown sprouting in Pulau Ubin, Singapore. Image courtesy of Daniel Friess\/Tulane University<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784260647_879_07799caa7cb21fcc7a5a3924abeb83cbd823d2475a9b7f7441f9db8cd14f391f.png\")
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