SINGAPORE: Think of mangroves as a bank account, but instead of storing money, this account stores carbon and actively takes in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
“When people first started talking about using forests to store carbon and help against climate changethe focus was all on tropical forests and tundra and these other things. No one really thought about mangroves or seagrass,” said Dr Friess. Speaking to CNA, Earth Observatory Singapore director Benjamin Horton noted how carbon capture and storage technologies can often be “incredibly expensive” and need to be “cutting edge”. In comparison, natural systems such as mangroves provide a simpler solution, he added.
What is needed to tackle climate change is a “holistic approach” which incorporates different solutions, he said. “Before planting new mangroves, the first thing is to conserve what we already have,” said Prof Friess. “Once you've done that, then then you can think about the restoration and planting more mangroves.”Singapore’s mangroves grow in “very specific environments”, noted Associate Professor Adam Switzer, who is also from Nanyang Technological University’s EOS.
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