Date: Saturday, 26 July 2025, 10th Annual Day
Full Name: International Day of the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem
Convener: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Objectives:
World Mangrove Day is observed each year for the following goals:
- To increase public awareness about the critical importance of mangrove ecosystems, which are unique, special, and vulnerable.
- To promote sustainable management, conservation, and use of mangrove ecosystems.
Inception:
The first World Mangrove Day was officially held on 26 July 2016.
History:
On November 6, 2015, during the 38th session of the General Conference in Paris, UNESCO adopted resolution 38C/66 to officially declare July 26th of each year as the International Day of the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, responding to Ecuador’s request. This day is also known as World Mangrove Day.
The date was selected to honor Greenpeace activist Hayhow Daniel Nanoto, who tragically passed away from a heart attack on July 26, 1998, during a massive protest to restore the mangrove wetlands in Muisne, Ecuador.
Background
Mangrove is one of the few trees that grow in saltwater. Mangrove forest is a rare but spectacular and prolific ecosystem, usually found along sheltered coastlines in the tropical and subtropical regions. Globally, mangrove forests represent less than 1% of all tropical forests and less than 0.4% of the total forest estate. However, mangrove forests are extraordinary, with some featured and even unique functions:
- Mangroves can offer a considerable array of ecosystem goods and services, contributing to the well-being, food security, and protection of coastal communities.
- Mangroves can protect coastlines from storm surges, tsunamis, and rising sea levels. They also protect coral reefs, seagrass beds, and shipping lanes against siltation and erosion. Thus, mangroves increase resilience to natural hazards.
- Mangroves can support or conserve rich biodiversity by providing nursery habitats, spawning grounds, and nutrients for various fish, shellfish, migratory birds, insects, and countless endangered mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.
- Mangroves are also an important tool in the fight against climate change. They take up to five times more carbon out of the atmosphere than forests on land.
Globally, mangroves are at a high risk of being destroyed altogether. Exploitation and pollution are important drivers of mangrove loss. According to the Global Mangrove Alliance, an estimated 67% of mangroves have been lost or degraded, and an additional 1% is lost annually. Overall, mangroves are disappearing 3 to 5 times faster than global forest losses. Thus, it is important to protect or conserve the mangrove ecosystem.
Significance of World Mangrove Day
Numerous organizations have joined to form the Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA) to promote large-scale mangrove conservation, restoration, and sustainable use. This alliance brings together NGOs, governments, industries, and local communities to not only stop mangrove degradation but also increase mangrove cover by 20% by 2030.
World Mangrove Day is a reminder of the vital role of mangroves in preserving ecosystems. Since 2015, different parties, non-governmental organizations, and interested stakeholders have celebrated this day with outreach activities worldwide on 26 July each year to raise and spread awareness of the need for international cooperation to conserve the mangrove ecosystem and promote innovative solutions for its sustainable management, conservation, and uses. Unlike other international days, there is no annual theme for each International Day of the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem.
Official website:
https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/mangroveday
