Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sostenibilidad

Just another web-blogs Sites site

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Agriculture and Food Security
    • Climate change
    • Ecosystems and Biodiversity
    • Environmental and Social Safeguards
    • Infrastructure and Sustainable Landscapes
    • Institutionality
    • Responsible Production and Consumption
  • Authors
  • English
    • Español

Mangroves, the biological link between environmental protection and economic development

October 24, 2018 por Bruno Jacquet - Albaret Geraud Leave a Comment


Jane and Arturo enjoyed a tasty lobster and a pina colada while soaking their feet in the turquoise waters of Hispaniola Island, relaxing after a sightseeing trip where they spotted migratory birds and dived alongside manatees within green and thick mangroves. Little did they know that, throughout its life, that lobster had passed several phases of its growth in these amphibious forests resistant to salinity, which grow in estuaries and shallow waters.

The 483 km2 of mangroves on the island (225 km2 in Haiti and 258 km2 in the Dominican Republic) are fundamental for the reproduction of the spiny lobster (Panulirus argus), and they are also one of the most important shelters for coastal-marine biodiversity of the island, since they host hundreds of species of domestic and migratory birds, reptiles, fish, molluscs, crustaceans and mammals.

The majority of the 85,000 fishermen on the island (75,000 in Haiti and another 10,000 in the Dominican Republic) take all or part of their catch from species that depend on these humid forests. The manatee lives in shallow waters like the mangroves, and many of the thousands of tourists who visit Hispaniola dream of swimming with them, as can be done in Bayahibe or in the Santuario de Mamíferos Marinos de Estero Hondo. Without being a specialized activity as diving, mangroves are accessible to tourists of all ages.

Mangroves protect coastal areas and towns against tsunamis, winds and extreme waves, as their roots and branches dispel the energy of these elements. In Haiti, in October 2016, the mangroves (in green on the map) protected a large part of the town of Aquin against the 3 to 4-meter waves produced by Hurricane Matthew.

The mangroves are mostly made up by the woody species of Rhizophorae mangle (red mangrove), Avicennia germinans (black mangrove), Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove) and Conocarpus erectus (button mangrove), and therefore are an important uptake source of carbon dioxide. In 2016, a methodology was developed in Haiti to measure this carbon fixation potential through the use of satellite images, stereoscopy, field data and statistical models, proving mangroves in the protected area of ​​Les Anglais / Aquin can capture about 9,2-27.5 Teq CO2/ha/year.

The mangrove is a biological link, since it filters the muddy waters leaving them clean and clear so that the herbariums and coral reefs can carry out the photosynthesis and therefore develop. The mangrove is a link that connects North America with the Caribbean and the Latin American continent, since it supports the rest and feeding of numerous migratory birds. The mangrove is a link between the Haitian and Dominican fishermen on the north coast of the island, who exploit common resources from the mangroves of the natural parks of Tres Baías (Haiti) and Montecristi (Dominican Republic). The mangrove is a link between environmental protection and economic development, which favors the creation of oversaturated environments that allow saliculture and aquaculture out of the ground.

Even in Haiti, the mangrove is a link between the island and its history, since some red mangrove trees were installed between the tip of the Company and the Military Fort “Les Oliviers” on the peninsula of Saint Louis du Sud, built by the French in 1751 in full fight against the English for the control of the maritime routes of the Caribbean.

The mangrove is a link between sea and land, between nature and the human being, the mangrove feeds us, protects us, and cleans air and water for us.

Mangroves can represent an effective, efficient and sustainable alternative for green infrastructure, also innovative financing methods can be explored for their preservation and sustainable management (climate bonds, insurance with private and public capital such as for the coral reefs of Cancún, etc.). But time press forward, and the threats are increasing: urban and tourist development, coal mining, wastewater, solid waste, among others.

For a long time, mangroves have been considered unhealthy places and therefore mistreated, destroyed and neglected. The Caribbean is home to about 12% of the mangroves on the planet (22,000 km2) (Spalding et al., 2010). Let’s think of the importance of this ecosystem and the numerous ecosystem services it provides.

By chance, the publication of this blog coincided with the announcement of the new report of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands that warns about the accelerated disappearing of wetlands in the world. According to this report, these ecosystems are decreasing at a rate three times greater than that of forests, with serious consequences for our future.

Let’s rise with our roots in the water to preserve these important ecosystems for humanity.


Filed Under: Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Bruno Jacquet

Bruno Jacquet trabaja como Especialista en Desarrollo Rural para el BID desde 2011, donde se implica en el diseño y supervisión de programas de desarrollo agrícola, manejo de recursos naturales, gestión del riesgo de desastres y turismo. Antes de unirse al BID, trabajó en temas similares en América Latina y África para el Fondo Internacional para el Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA) y la Organización Mundial para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO). Bruno es diplomado del ISTOM (Escuela Superior de Agro-Desarrollo Internacional) y posee un MBA en Agribusiness del Instituto Agronómico Mediterráneo de Montpellier.

Albaret Geraud

Géraud is a natural resources management and protected areas specialist with 9 years of experience in developing and implementing strategies to improve environmental performance and governance in developing countries, particularly in Small Islands Developing States. He started his career as an environmental consultant working mainly on environmental and climate governance in the Indian Ocean Region with regional, national and local authorities. Before joining the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), he worked for the German Cooperation (GIZ) as an environmental advisor to the Ministry of Environment of Haiti in order to support the development and management of the National Protected Areas system. He is currently working as a Natural Resources Management specialist for the Environment, Rural Development and Disaster Risk Management Division of the IADB in Haiti and the Dominican Republic where he designs and manages operations that focus on integrating natural capital into productive sectors such as fisheries, agriculture and tourism.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

SEARCH

Sustainability

This blog is a space to reflect about the challenges, opportunities and the progress made by Latin American and Caribbean countries on the path towards the region’s sustainable development.

SIMILAR POSTS

  • The Fight of the Butterfly – Restoring Haiti’s Native Species
  • Why Haiti’s Economy Needs Parks
  • Mangroves could save the world
  • Back to the Mangroves – Wetlands and climate change
  • 5 Superpowers Mangroves Have

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

    Blog posts written by Bank employees:

    Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


    For blogs written by external parties:

    For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

    The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

    Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



    Privacy Policy

    Derechos de autor © 2025 · Magazine Pro en Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

    Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

    Aviso Legal

    Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

    facebook
    twitter
    youtube
    This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser.
    To learn more about cookies, click here
    x
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT