Tropical wetlands—chiefly mangrove and peat forests—are critically important for protecting coastlines, nourishing wildlife and livelihoods, and mitigating climate change. For example, coastal mangrove forests store three times the amount of carbon of land-based tropical forests. Tropical peat forests, meanwhile, are home to some of the most iconic—and endangered—animals on Earth, including orangutans, tigers and rhinos.
Yet for all this, comparatively little is known about tropical wetlands, even as they face threats from human expansion. CIFOR is leading the charge to better understand these places, before it’s too late: Every 18 months, Indonesia loses an area of mangrove forests the size of New York City.
A new feature page brings together news, videos and the latest research from CIFOR on these rare places. Read more at forestsnews.cifor.org/wetlands.