Happy Day of the Mangroves!

Today, July 26, 2013, Panama will celebrate International Day of the Mangrove. Mangroves are an important habitat for marine life like crabs and shrimp. Mangroves also play a vital role in protecting shorelines from erosion. Without mangroves many species would be without home for their early stages of growth. The following is an excerpt of a press release by Panamanglar:PRESS RELEASE PANAMANGLAR Coalition warns of food security threat and mangrove destruction 26/07/2013 Today 39 organizations are calling on they authorities to fulfill their duty to protect mangroves.  We have the duty to implement environmental regulations, to take action against those responsible for destruction and detrition, and implement zoning laws. With this duty we must also restore these ecosystems to an extent to compensate for the existing developments.

Real estate projects being developed have the duty to ensure they are build in a secure area to avoid the risk of natural disasters such as floods.

We have the duty to apply this justice in a timely and preventative manner to avoid the further destruction of these ecosystems and above all ensure the welfare of the public by protecting this natural resource.

Panamanglar went on to express the social importance economic benefits of protecting the mangroves. “Panama’s main commerical marine species are born in mangroves. They are home to corvina the white shrimp and crabs, among many other species.”

In an article recently published in La Prensa the executive director of ANCON spoke to the challenge of educating people on the imporances of concerving the mangroves. “If we affect our mangroves we also affect the fishery in these zones, we also risk hindering revenuse from sectors such as ecotourism” he added.

Mangroves exsist all over Panama, covering approximately 180,000 hectares of the country. They can been seen lining the shores of the Punta Chame peninsula. To learn more about this important habitat visit http://panamanglar.org/en/