International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem
Next: July 26, 2027
Forests where the sea comes in.
The story
Where it comes from
UNESCO's General Conference proclaimed the day on 6 November 2015, at the request of Ecuador, and it was first marked on 26 July 2016. Mangroves are forests that grow in salt water where land meets sea, on stilt-like roots that the tide covers and uncovers. The proclamation called them a unique, special and vulnerable ecosystem: they shelter fish, feed coastal families, hold back storms and store carbon. Yet they are disappearing three to five times faster than forests overall.
How it's celebrated
UNESCO and environment groups hold talks, clean-ups and planting days, and biosphere reserves and World Heritage sites with mangroves, such as India's Sundarbans, share their work, and coastal communities restore mangroves by planting seedlings. If there is a mangrove boardwalk near you, it is a fine day for a slow walk among the roots, listening to the tide come in.
Did you know
- A belt of mangroves 500 metres wide can cut the height of incoming waves by 50 to 99%.
- Mangroves cover only about 0.7% of the world's land, yet their loss can cause up to 10% of the emissions from deforestation.
- Malaysia's Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve in Perak, about 40,000 hectares, has been managed for sustainable timber and charcoal since 1902, and is often described as one of the best-managed mangrove forests in the world.
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