Mangrove cover change between 1996 and 2016 near river-ocean outlets: A global analysis to identify priority rivers for conservation

Mangroves are commonly found near river-ocean outlets because rivers transport sediments and nutrients that support mangrove formation and habitat sustenance. Yet mangrove and river conservation efforts are often disjointed, minimizing the effectiveness of conservation efforts We argue that the extent and nature of the linkages between mangroves and rivers is a step forward in mangrove conservation and will promote the integrated management approaches mangroves require. This project demonstrates the importance of assessing river-mangrove linkages through a world-first combination of global datasets on rivers and their natural connectivity status (Grill et al. 2019) and global mangrove extent (Bunting et al. 2018) to identify and explore the effect of pressures in the river system on mangrove decline using spatial and statistical models.