New agricultural practices are trying to stop the decline of this amphibian forest, victim of overexploitation and climate change.
by
The ankles depressed in the vase, at low tide, Marianne Ndong scrutinized the half-hectare of mangrove that she participated in replanting three years earlier on the edge of his village, Dassilame Serer, in the Delta of Sine Saloum, in southern Senegal. “Without the mangrove who holds the water, our dwellings would disappear, and we with”, explains the oyster farmer of 39, wearing a blue and yellow Wax fabric.
In West Africa, 25% of the area of this amphibian forest disappeared between 1980 and 2006, according to a team of American researchers. At the origin of this decline: overexploitation (for firewood or construction) of the paleutues, these trees with aerial roots living in brackish water. In question also, climate change with the rise in temperatures, drought and water deficit that accelerate the evaporation of water and therefore increase the concentration of salt that kills the paletuviers.
With the erosion of the coastline and the wins away from the channels (called “bolongs”) that derive it, the fragile ecosystem deteriorates little by little. According to the United Nations, mangroves disappear five times faster than forests.
In the town of Toubakuta, five hectares were replanted by the communities in the last three years, with a survival rate of 87%. “All around the young paletuviers, we note a soil improvement: the crabs and molluscs circulate, the texture of the earth is richer. Next year, we can plant in areas that had become desert and sandy, and which Returned to reforestation, explains Mamadou Bakhoum, coordinator within the Inter-Village Development Association (AEVD). This allows us to continue the earth recovery process gently but surely. “
” My life has changed a lot “
But the damage are already there. “When I was little, we had trees and fruits that we do not find today,” Note Marianne Ndong, which involves salinization of agricultural land that has become incultivable. The mangrove is a protective zone between the earth and the sea, which has an impact on soil quality and therefore on its productivity. It also allows to capture and store carbon. In total, at the global level, 21 billion tonnes of CO 2 are stored in this vegetation, according to a report by the NGO Wetlands International of July 2021. “This space is vital for the species that ‘Feed and breed, but it is also important for us because it protects us and feeds us, “says Marianne Ndong, who draws his income from the operation of the mangrove.
You have 62.16% of this article to be read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.