Destruction Of Burma's Mangrove Forests Led To Recent Cyclone: Experts

Washington D.C. (AHN) - Destruction of Burma's mangrove forests may have contributed to the devastating impact of the recent cyclone that left thousands of citizens homeless or dead, an official of ASEAN said Tuesday.

Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member, is quoted by Agence France Presse as saying, "The impact is so severe because of the increase of the population."

"This has led to an encroachment into the mangrove forests which used to serve as buffer between the rising tide, between big waves and storms and the residential area," he added.

Burma's minister for relief and resettlement, Maung Maung Swe, has blamed more deaths on the cyclone's storm surge rather than the winds which reached 190km/h (120mph).

Mangroves act as a natural defence against storms.

The destruction of mangrove forests coupled with powerful storm surge and low-lying land is believed to have alllowed Cyclone Nargis to sweep into the southwest coast of Burma, one of the poorest nations on earth, killing at least 22,500 people, with another 41,000 missing.

Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics and have been long considered as "bio-guards" for coastal settlements.

According to BBC reports, a study published in December 2005 said it was because of the mangrove forests that many Sri Lankan villagers were saved during the Asian tsunami disaster, which left more than 200,000 people dead.

The Irrawaddy river in Burma is one of the most heavily silted rivers in the world, thanks to deforestation and intensive agriculture activities along its banks. Due to this, coastal land in that area has now been converted for agricultural use thus resulting in the rapid loss of mangrove forests within the reserve.

Mangrove ecosystems support many essential ecological functions, so significant losses of mangroves can and do have important consequences. In the past two decades, it has been recorded that 35 percent of mangrove forests have been lost. These losses exceed the rate of destruction for tropical rain forests and coral reefs.