Mangroves, Why I Care

I have just been on a overnight field trip to a nature park in Kuala Selangor. Kuala Selangor is unique in that large amounts of pteroptyx tener, a species of firefly, congregate there on a nightly basis. The fireflies come because of a type of mangrove tree known as Sonneratia Caseolaris, locally known as the Berembang tree. So naturally the mangrove forests here are greatly valued by the community. During this stay my class and I planted some Rhizopora mangrove trees in an area that was in great need of environmental help. The society that arranged this opportunity has an aim to plant 200 mangrove trees per month.

So, each member of my class attempted to plant one of these trees. Some didn't, but that's another story. Now the fact that I planted this tree is rather important. It helped the society reach its aim of 200 trees a month, leading to an achievement that might help them get more donations to help the mangroves. Leading hopefully to a goal which helps the environment even more.

Now, you've seen the title and you probably prefer it if I actually answered the question of why I care about these mangroves. The first reason is the animals that live in these mangroves, which I don't think should become extinct. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a "tree-hugger", in fact I support urbanization in some areas of the world, but I think that no species should become extinct and that all species are equal. But it's still survival of the fittest and right now humans are the fittest.

Mangroves are extremely important when it comes to sea-based natural disasters. They prevent strong winds from hitting villages, as the mangroves are banded together and do not fly into the air. They also have a large amount of roots tangled through each other that go into the sea. This prevents large tidal waves from getting through. These two features combined lead to an ideal protection against large storms and hurricanes, saving lives and property.

This is why I care about mangroves, they save and support both animal and human lives. If you want to know more about mangroves, go to this website to find out more: http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/forests_main/the_malaysian_rainforest/types_of_forests/mangrove_forests/

This is
AlexK
Signing out