1. Mangroves in Asia-Pacific: A Review of Threats and Responses

The Asia-Pacific region is among the world’s most sensitive regions to climate change because of its topography and relatively high density of underprivileged population in low-lying coastal areas. It is estimated that 1-m sea-level rise by the end of this century would displace approximately 24 million people in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The scenario is further escalated by the loss of vital ecosystem services in coastal areas. Most important of all are, perhaps, the mangroves. Despite of hosting nearly half of the global mangroves, the region continues to loose mangrove forests faster than any other places in the world. While at present the loss is mostly aggregated by unsustainable human practices, climate change is also expected to play an adverse role in the near future. The potential consequences may lead to faster erosion, submergence under the rising sea, and discontinuation of a plethora of ecosystem services that are fundamental to coastal communities. This introductory chapter reviews the exiting conditions of Asia-Pacific mangroves with country-level analysis of threats and institutional response mechanism. The chapter also briefly narrates the scope and expectations from this book.