Mandai mangrove, Singapore: Lessons for the conservation of Southeast Asia's mangroves

Abstract

Vital for their diverse ecosystem services, Southeast Asian mangroves are the most biodiverse in the world and are critically threatened, yet they remain woefully understudied. A notable exception is Mandai mangrove in Northwest Singapore, a hotspot of research for decades, with an intensive contemporary research agenda. It provides not only a baseline of mangrove research for the region, but exemplifies the threats facing mangroves across Southeast Asia: changing sediments and currents, insect pests, genetic disconnection from other mangrove patches, land reclamation, and future sea level rise. Many of these threats are unique to mangrove ecosystems, but associated data gaps prohibit informed mangrove conservation across the region. Mandai mangrove is one of Southeast Asia's few mangrove sites with the baseline and contemporary research capable of elucidating these broad threats to the region's mangrove systems. © National University of Singapore.