What are the uses of mangroves?

Mangroves contribute all their parts to the other lives on the earth.

• They are our shore-line ‘guardian angels’ – guarding us from tsunamis, storms and cyclones.
• They are our beautiful recreation spots – soothe our hearts, quieten our minds, ‘cool’ us even during the hottest days.
• Protect underground water system – water-table – from salinization.
• They prevent soil erosion.
• Very good sources of medicines – both modern and traditional.
• Our best source of food – capture and culture fisheries.
• Good source for honey and facilitates apiculture.
• Useful products from their wood, leaves and roots such as firewood, timber, charcoal, boats, bottle stoppers, toys, match boxes, thatches, mats, baskets, hats, rain caps, cigarette wrapper, paper, fodder, besides many others.
• They are the best sanctuaries for birds.
• They provide shelter for the many food fish, shrimp, crab, molluscs, and sometimes crocodiles and dolphins.
• They help us reducing the CO2 from the atmosphere to a greater extent – carbon sequester.
• They trap the heavy metals within their substrata.
• They are ecologists’ or environmentalists’ paradise.
• They support and protect other ecosystems, such as coral reefs, seagrass beds and sand dune vegetation.
• Good revenue-source through tourism.

If we say, ‘their uses are endless’, it won’t be an exaggeration at all.