Southeast Asia has the greatest diversity of mangrove species in the world, and mangrove forests provide multiple ecosystem services upon which millions of people depend. Mangroves enhance fisheries by providing habitat for young fishes and offer coastal protection against storms and floods. They also store substantially higher densities of carbon, as compared to most other ecosystems globally, thus playing an important role in soaking up carbon dioxide emissions and mitigating climate change. Despite their benefits, mangrove forests in Southeast Asia have experienced extensive deforestation over the last few decades due to global demand for commodities. This phenomenon is likely to persist, given the continued increase in population and global affluence.

Assistant Professor Daniel Friess from the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and Dr Daniel Richards, who was formerly with the Department and is now with the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at The University of Sheffield, recently concluded a study examining the factors leading to mangrove deforestation in Southeast Asia between 2000 and 2012. 

The researchers discovered that the mangrove deforestation rates in Southeast Asia were lower than previously thought. They also identified the rapid expansion of rice agriculture in Myanmar, and sustained conversion of mangroves to oil palm plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia, as increasing and under-recognised threats to the mangrove ecosystems.

The findings were published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in December 2015.