"In Myanmar, mangroves have disappeared at an unprecedented clip. The rate of deforestation in the country is the highest in Southeast Asia, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2016. This is big news, both locally and worldwide, because mangroves are a crucial component of the fight against global warming. Scientists say it is extremely important to try to preserve mangrove forests or let degraded areas regrow, because a hectare of mangrove forest can buffer a lot more carbon than an equivalent area of tropical forest. Mangroves have a big impact on climate, because while they’re only found in tropical areas and cover around 140,000 square kilometers – less than 3% the extent of the Amazon rainforest – they are rated as powerhouses when it comes to carbon storage. Studies indicate that mangroves can store four times as much carbon as rainforests can, mostly in the soil beneath mangrove trees. Htay Lin, secretary of the Mangrove Service Network, an environmental organization based in Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial capital, estimates that only 20% of the mangroves in the Irrawaddy Delta remain. Most have been cleared for aquaculture or rice paddy fields. Those that survive are in forest and wildlife reserves near the city of Bogale..."