The world's mangroves 1980-2005
Mangroves, commonly found along sheltered coastlines in the tropics and subropics, fulfil important socio-economic and envioronmental functions: providing wood and non-wood forest products, protecting shores against wind, waves and water currents; conserving biological diversity; protecting coral reefs, sea-grass beds and shipping lanes against siltation; and providing habitat, spawning grounds and nutrients for a variety of fish and shellfish, including many commercial species.