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Mangroves — threatened species or invasive weed? |
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As a result of some cursury work based on South American mangals planners and conservators have decided that mangroves are a vital part of the tidal eco-system and must be protected almost at any cost. More recent work challenges these assumptions and finds that mangroves are newcomers to New Zealand and hence none of our species have had time to develop an "obligatory relationship" with the mangrove and that in fact mangroves are invading the breeding grounds of many of our genuinely threatened species. This new information means that mangroves may be legitimately removed to allow human activities in coastal waters.This good news has not been well received. Note that Mark Farnsworth, one of the authors of the scientific paper is Chairman of the Northland Regional Council. (more)
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