Alarm as mangrove forests at the Kenyan Coast rapidly disappear

Mombasa is becoming hotter due to the depletion of mangrove forests, a vital ally in the fight against climate change, with the situation along the Kenyan coast projected to get worse with time.

A recent study carried out at Tudor Creek - the water body separating Mombasa Island from the mainland - shows that more than 80 per cent of mangroves along the Indian Ocean coast in the area have been wiped out.

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) assistant director of wetlands and marine conservation, Dr Mohamed Omar, says urgent intervention is required to conserve the disappearing forests.

“From the 1960s, the mangrove cover at the creek to date has diminished by 80 per cent if not more. This is a very serious situation because we foresee a situation without mangroves in Mombasa especially within Tudor Creek,” warned Dr Omar at the launch of the National Mangrove Ecosystem Management Plan in Mombasa Monday.

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/news/Mombasa-getting-hotter-as-mangrove-forests-disappear/539546-3997708-casykfz/index.html

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