article · International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
Mangrove forests serve as nature-based solutions that sequester carbon dioxide at four times the rate of terrestrial forests, whilst reducing coastal flooding, stabilising shorelines, and supporting wildlife nurseries. In the Middle East and Egypt, harsh and arid conditions restrict mangrove diversity to two resilient species, Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata, with the former dominating the region. These forests typically appear as dwarf, dispersed stands with minimal freshwater inflow, spanning areas from 80 hectares in Bahrain to 20,400 hectares in Saudi Arabia. Major threats include uncontrolled camel grazing, oil spills, unsustainable tourism, waste pollution, microplastics, heavy metals, and climate-induced shifts in seawater salinity and temperature. Regional restoration programmes have established millions of new trees across Egypt, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, supported by policy frameworks aimed at greenhouse gas mitigation and coastal community livelihoods.
Mangroves capture substantially more carbon dioxide than conventional terrestrial forests and provide natural barriers against coastal flooding. Understanding their distribution, environmental stresses, and restoration requirements in arid regions helps policymakers and coastal planners protect vital marine nurseries, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and safeguard the livelihoods of vulnerable coastal communities facing worsening climatic pressures.
The findings relate to environmental restoration, carbon sequestration initiatives, and coastal management programmes. Government agencies, conservation bodies, and environmental offset developers can use the regional baseline and policy frameworks to structure large-scale afforestation and carbon crediting schemes. Because the work reviews existing plantings and proposes regulatory frameworks rather than testing proprietary technologies, it operates at a strategic and policy level rather than as a near-market commercial product.
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Abstract Mangrove forests are among the Nature Based Solutions (NBS) that help in mitigating climate change effects as they sequester carbon dioxide gas four times greater than normal forests. They stabilize coastlines, reduce coastal flooding, and provide nurseries to wildlife. Only two mangrove species exist in the Middle East: Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata , due to their high tolerance to the region’s harsh and dry environmental conditions. This paper presents a comprehensive review on the current mangrove status in these countries, threats facing them, and rehabilitation initiatives taken to increase mangrove plantations in the Middle East. The review showed that Middle Eastern mangroves are dwarves, grow in dispatched form, have limited access to freshwater inflow, and are dominated by Avicennia marina specie. The largest and smallest mangrove cover were 20,400 ha and 80 ha found in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain respectively. Uncontrolled camel grazing, oil spills, habitat destruction, irresponsible tourism, and solid waste accumulation are from the major threats facing mangrove ecosystems. Climate change impacts through increased seawater salinity and temperature, microplastics, and heavy metals introduction to seawater threaten mangroves health. Various mangrove rehabilitation initiatives have taken place in Oman, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt as they have planted 1.5 million, 140 thousand, 1 million, 4.3 million, and 0.3 million mangrove trees respectively. This research presents some regulatory framework and policies needed for mangrove plantations rehabilitation for the mitigation of Green House Gases (GHG) and improve the livelihood of the indigenous people living along the coastal areas of the world.
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DOI: 10.1007/s13762-024-05788-1
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