Brazil's mangroves on the front line of climate change
By Nacho Doce
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Globally, scientists have warned that water temperatures are increasing far faster than expected, which drives rising sea levels. Climate change and human development are putting 1 million species, a large share of which live in marine environments, at risk of extinction, according to a report published this year.
These changes in turn are threatening the dozen or so families in [fisherman Jose da] Cruz's village that depend on the coastal ecosystem.
His unofficial community is known as "The Train" because the mud houses are arranged single file along the edge of the Caratingui river like train cars. The low-lying island, otherwise covered in mangroves, is quickly receding under the water.
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Mangroves cover 13,989 square kilometers along Brazil's coast - an area larger than the U.S. state of Maryland - and are a vital protection against climate change, according to biologist Renato de Almeida with the nearby Federal University of Reconcavo da Bahia.
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They protect the coast from eroding as intense storms grow more frequent as climates shift [...] The plants themselves are resilient, following water levels as they rise, but creatures like the crabs and oysters that Cruz harvests less so.
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