Mangrove forest in the context of "Biscayne National Park"

A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor (anoxic) processes taking place, especially in the soils. Wetlands form a transitional zone between waterbodies and dry lands, and are different from other terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems due to their vegetation's roots having adapted to oxygen-poor waterlogged soils. They are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as habitats to a wide range of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants and animals, with often improved water quality due to plant removal of excess nutrients such as nitrates and phosphorus.

Wetlands exist on every continent, except Antarctica. The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or saltwater. The main types of wetland are defined based on the dominant plants and the source of the water. For example, marshes are wetlands dominated by emergent herbaceous vegetation such as reeds, cattails and sedges. Swamps are dominated by woody vegetation such as trees and shrubs (although reed swamps in Europe are dominated by reeds, not trees). Mangrove forest are wetlands with mangroves and halophytic woody plants that have evolved to tolerate salty water.

Sumatra (/sʊˈmɑːtrə/) is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km (182,812 mi.), including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, Enggano, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago.

Sumatra is an elongated landmass spanning a diagonal northwest–southeast axis. The Indian Ocean borders the northwest, west, and southwest coasts of Sumatra, with the island chain of Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, and Enggano off the western coast. In the northeast, the narrow Strait of Malacca separates the island from the Malay Peninsula, which is an extension of the Eurasian continent. In the southeast, the narrow Sunda Strait, containing the Krakatoa archipelago, separates Sumatra from Java. The northern tip of Sumatra is near the Andaman Islands, while off the southeastern coast lie the islands of Bangka and Belitung, Karimata Strait and the Java Sea. The Bukit Barisan mountains, which contain several active volcanoes, form the backbone of the island, while the northeastern area contains large plains and lowlands with swamps, mangrove forest and complex river systems. The equator crosses the island at its centre in West Sumatra and Riau provinces. The climate of the island is tropical, hot, and humid. Lush tropical rain forest once dominated the landscape.

A marine coastal ecosystem is a marine ecosystem which occurs where the land meets the ocean. Worldwide there is about 620,000 kilometres (390,000 mi) of coastline. Coastal habitats extend to the margins of the continental shelves, occupying about 7 percent of the ocean surface area. Marine coastal ecosystems include many very different types of marine habitats, each with their own characteristics and species composition. They are characterized by high levels of biodiversity and productivity.

For example, estuaries are areas where freshwater rivers meet the saltwater of the ocean, creating an environment that is home to a wide variety of species, including fish, shellfish, and birds. Salt marshes are coastal wetlands which thrive on low-energy shorelines in temperate and high-latitude areas, populated with salt-tolerant plants such as cordgrass and marsh elder that provide important nursery areas for many species of fish and shellfish. Mangrove forests survive in the intertidal zones of tropical or subtropical coasts, populated by salt-tolerant trees that protect habitat for many marine species, including crabs, shrimp, and fish.

Sundarbans (Bengali: সুন্দরবন; pronounced /sʌnˈdɑːrbənz/) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal to the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's Khulna Division. It comprises closed and open mangrove forests, land used for agricultural purpose, mudflats and barren land, and is intersected by multiple tidal streams and channels. Spread across 10,000 km (3,900 sq mi), it is the world's largest mangrove forest. The islands are also of great economic importance as a storm barrier, shore stabiliser, nutrient and sediment trap, a source of timber and natural resources, and support a wide variety of aquatic, benthic and terrestrial organisms. They are an excellent example of the ecological processes of monsoon rain flooding, delta formation, tidal influence and plant colonisation. Covering 133,010 ha, the area is estimated to comprise about 55% forest land and 45% wetlands in the form of tidal rivers, creeks, canals and vast estuarine mouths of the river. About 66% of the entire mangrove forest area is estimated to occur in Bangladesh, with the remaining 34% in India.[1]

Four protected areas in the Sundarbans are enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, viz. Sundarbans West, Sundarbans South, Sundarbans East in Bangladesh and Sundarbans National Park in India.The Indian Sundarbans were considered endangered in a 2020 assessment under the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems framework. The most abundant tree species are sundri (Heritiera fomes) and gewa (Excoecaria agallocha). The forests provide habitat to 453 fauna wildlife, including 290 bird, 120 fish, 42 mammal, 35 reptile and eight amphibian species. Despite a total ban on all killing or capture of wildlife other than fish and some invertebrates, there has been a consistent pattern of depleted biodiversity or loss of species in the 20th century, with the ecological quality of the forest declining.

The Coral Triangle (CT) is a roughly triangular area in the tropical waters around Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. This area contains at least 500 species of reef-building corals in each ecoregion. The Coral Triangle is located between the Pacific and Indian oceans and encompasses portions of two biogeographic regions: the Indonesian-Philippines Region, and the Far Southwestern Pacific Region. As one of eight major coral reef zones in the world, the Coral Triangle is recognized as a global centre of marine biodiversity and a global priority for conservation. Its biological resources make it a global hotspot of marine biodiversity. Known as the "Amazon of the seas" (by analogy to the Amazon rainforest in South America), it covers 5.7 million square kilometres (2,200,000 sq mi) of ocean waters. It contains more than 76% of the world's shallow-water reef-building coral species, 37% of its reef fish species, 50% of its razor clam species, six out of seven of the world's sea turtle species, and the world's largest mangrove forest. The epicenter of that coral diversity is found in the Bird's Head Seascape of Indonesian Papua, which hosts 574 species (95% of the Coral Triangle, and 72% of the world's total). In 2014, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported that the gross domestic product of the marine ecosystem in the Coral Triangle is roughly $1.2 trillion per year and provides food to over 120 million people. According to the Coral Triangle Knowledge Network, the region annually brings in about $3 billion in foreign exchange income from fisheries exports, and another $3 billion from coastal tourism revenues.

The World Wide Fund for Nature considers the region a top priority for marine conservation, and is addressing ecological threats to the region through its Coral Triangle Program, launched in 2007. The center of biodiversity in the Triangle is the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines. Coral reef area in the region to have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site are Tubbataha Reef Natural Park in the Philippines and Raja Ampat UNESCO Global Geopark in Indonesia.

The Indus River Delta forms where the Indus River flows into the Arabian Sea, mostly in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan with a small portion in the Kutch Region of India. The delta covers an area of about 41,440 km (16,000 sq mi), and is approximately 210 km (130 mi) across where it meets the sea. The active part of the delta is 6,000 km in area (2,300 sq mi). The climate is arid, the region only receives between 25 and 50 centimetres (9.8 and 19.7 in) of rainfall in a normal year. The delta is home to the largest arid mangrove forests in the world, as well as many birds, fish and the Indus dolphin. The fifth largest in the world, the Indus Delta is a designated wetland and Ramsar site, containing seventeen major creeks or estuaries and numerous minor creeks. Major estuaries of the Indus are home to the Indian Ocean humpback dolphin.

The population of the active part of the delta was estimated at 900,000 in 2003. Most of the population depends on agriculture and fishing. Mangrove forests provide fuel wood. Many former settlements have been abandoned as result of lack of water in the Indus and the encroaching Arabian Sea.

Loíza (pronounced [loˈisa]) is a town and municipality on the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, located east of Carolina, west of Río Grande, and north of Canóvanas. An outer municipality within the San Juan metropolitan area, it is spread over 5 barrios and the downtown area and administrative center of Loíza Pueblo. Loíza is renowned for its rich Afro-Puerto Rican culture and heritage. The vendors of Puerto Rican street food in kiosks, the unrestricted beaches, and the Australian pine and mangrove state forest in the district of Piñones in the barrio of Torrecilla Baja are popular destinations among domestic and foreign tourists.