When mangroves no longer protect the coastline in Guyana

Institut de recherche pour le developpement media centre: The mangroves of Guyana, in South America, are gradually disappearing. Contrary to the coastline of its near neighbour, French Guiana, which is still relatively protected, that of Guyana has been largely developed. In order to develop agriculture and aquaculture, earth dikes were built, destroying the greater part of the mangrove forest.

A study conducted by IRD researchers and the University of Aix-Marseille shows that the reduced protection provided by mangroves against the swell will lead to the large-scale erosion of 370 km of the country's coastline. Only one ecosystem restoration programme will help contain this phenomenon.

...The mangrove forests in the Guyanas (French Guiana, Surinam and Guyana), which spread across the Orinoco and Amazon deltas, are among the most extensive in the world. This particular ecosystem, between the earth and the sea, plays a major role in protecting the particularly unstable muddy coastline against erosion. However, most of the Guyana mangroves have been destroyed to develop the coastal plain. The retreating mangrove wall will result in large-scale coastal erosion, threatening populations and their economic activities, as demonstrated in a study conducted by researchers from IRD and the University of Aix-Marseille.

Although the French Guiana coastline remains protected by human developments for the time being, that of Guyana is already highly disrupted. The entire coastal strip is now inhabited*. In order to conquer this space and subsequently develop the aquaculture and agriculture - mainly rice cultivation - the coastal swamp areas have been transformed into polders. To this end, dikes have been built, reducing the 1km mangrove strip to just a few dozen metres wide. More than three quarters of Guyana's 450 km of coastline along the Atlantic are currently diked up. Coastal stability now depends on these earthen dikes.

...However, these dikes do not provide the same level of protection as mangroves against the swell, which is the main cause of erosion. Moreover, they would not withstand the strength of the waves if the mangroves were to disappear completely. Yet, they prevent the sedimentation of mud coming from the Amazon, which enables forest regeneration...