Half of world’s mangrove forests are at risk due to human behaviour – study

Filipinos clean oil from mangroves on Mindoro after a spill. Pollution, extreme weather, rising sea levels, farming, development and dams all threaten mangroves. Photograph: FR Malasig/EPA

Half of all the world’s mangrove forests are at risk of collapse, according to the first-ever expert assessment of these crucial ecosystems and carbon stores.

Human behaviour is the primary cause of their decline, according to the analysis by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with mangroves in southern India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives most at risk.