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International Day of the Tropics, which falls on 29 June, aims to raise awareness about the unique challenges tropical nations face from climate change, deforestation and urbanisation.

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) is drafting a roadmap for the management of wetlands for mangrove and peatland forests to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

A national framework is in development to protect the world’s fourth-largest swath of tropical peatlands

Peru’s peatlands, which harbor the world’s fourth-highest volume of tropical peat, are shrouded in mystery. They are hard to access, tough to map and historically understudied, making it difficult – but not impossible – to regulate and preserve the peatlands.

Tanzania’s Rufiji River Delta hosts the largest mangrove forest in Eastern Africa, a critical coastal ecosystem that provides habitat for migratory birds and diverse marine life, stabilizes the shoreline, and traps sediment and nutrients washing downstream in the Rufiji River.

In Gabriel García Márquez’s landmark 1967 novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, a character who loses touch with reality is described as disappearing into “the mangrove-swamp of delirium.” The metaphor was likely an obvious one for Márquez, who grew up amongst mangroves in the remote Colombian town of Aracataca and knew well the feeling of being ensconced in those forests’ braided, muddy tangles.

Forests News – In focus
Indonesian Wetlands

The backwaters of tropical peatlands snake through river islets of ancient soil, plant matter that’s been decaying for hundreds or thousands of years. It seeps into the water to turn it a black so inky that if you put your hand just centimeters below the surface, it disappears entirely from view.

The backwaters of tropical peatlands snake through river islets of ancient soil, plant matter that’s been decaying for hundreds or thousands of years. It seeps into the water to turn it a black so inky that if you put your hand just centimeters below the surface, it disappears entirely from view.

A network of programs promoting healthy mangrove forests has amassed valuable data on the state of mangroves in East Africa, built scientific capacity there to track the health of the forests, and now seeks to document and share sustainable management practices with local communities and governments.