Research shows that conversion of environmentally important land for homes or agriculture is occurring particularly rapidly in Asia.
Estuaries – places where rivers flow into oceans are often called “nurseries of the sea.” They are home to many of the fish we eat, as well as a large number of birds. The salt marshes that form around them help stabilize coastlines and absorb flooding. However, a new study has found that nearly half of the world's estuaries have been lost to disturbance.
This is stated in the material of The Guardian.
Using satellite data, the researchers measured changes in 2,396 estuaries between 1984 and 2019. The results, published in the journal Earth's Future, showed that over the past 35 years, more than 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of the estuary have been converted to urban or agricultural land, with the majority of losses (90%) occurring in fast-developing countries in Asia .
In contrast, in high-income countries, estuaries have suffered very little damage over the past 35 years, largely because major changes to them occurred many decades earlier, during the countries' rapid development phase .
Many high-income countries are now recognizing and repairing the damage. Places like the Tees Estuary in northern England are investing in returning the area to mudflats and salt marshes to reduce the risk of flooding, build resilience to the climate crisis, replenish fish populations and let nature recover.
The phenomenon is especially intense in Asia.
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