Niger Delta mangroves

Nigeria has extensive mangrove forests in the coastal region of the Niger Delta. Considered one of the most ecologically sensitive regions in the world, the Niger Delta mangrove forest is situated within a deltaic depositional environment. These mangrove forests serve a critical role in regional ecological and landscape composition, and support subsistence gathering practices, and market-based income opportunities. Anthropogenic development threatens the survival of Niger Delta mangrove populations.

Mangrove forests are found in 118 countries and territories worldwide, 75% of mangrove vegetation zones are located in intertidal tropic and sub-tropic habitats situated between 25° N and 25° S . Typically surrounding salient river deltas, mangrove regions support a variety of halophytes. These robust shrubs and trees, which have adapted to changing coastal conditions (such as inundation, sun exposure, anaerobic soil, and salinity concentration), play a substantive role in cultivating the biodiversity and wellbeing of the surrounding landscape.

Comprising the third largest mangrove forest in the world, Nigeria’s Niger Delta mangrove forest is situated along the Gulf of Guinea. The mangroves span 7 of Nigeria’s states: Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Delta, Edo, Ondo, and River. Nigeria’s mangrove forest is 105,000 hectares in area, making it the largest of the four ecological sub-zones in the Niger Delta.

Biologically, six mangrove species make up these forests, including three species in the family Rhizophoraceae (Rhizophora racemosa (red mangrove; tall), Rhizophora harrisonii (red mangrove; dwarf), Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove; dwarf)), and species in the family Avicenniaceae (white mangrove) and Combretaceae. Of these species, Rhizophora racemosa occupies the greatest density of the forest, accounting for approximately 90% of all mangrove biota. Despite expansive geographic coverage, the Niger Delta mangrove forest has approximately 80% of its vegetation distributed in three states (Bayelsa, Delta, and River states).

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