Tidal wetlands, occurring at the interface between terrestrial and marine systems, are important ecosystems in terms of biodiversity richness and productivity. These ecosystems provide fundamental ecosystem functioning and services such as the carbon sequestration, water and soil purification, support of fisheries and coastal protection.

Tidal wetlands are threatened by human activities. Assess and monitor the extent and distribution of the changes of tidal wetlands is fundamental for coastal communities and natural resource management. 

For African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, the loss in the last two decades was around 1818 square kilometers and the gain was 1092 square kilometers. The net change had was - 725 sqkm

Analysis performed by SImona Lippi

Source data: 

• Murray, N.J., Worthington, T.A., Bunting, P., Duce, S., Hagger, V., Lovelock, C.E., Lucas, R., Saunders, M.I., Sheaves, M., Spalding, M., Waltham, N.J., Lyons, M.B., 2022. High-resolution mapping of losses and gains of Earth's tidal wetlands. Science. doi:10.1126/science.abm9583