Researcher: Destroyed mangroves in Espiritu Santo have already released more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere: an ‘anomalous’ | Globo Reporter

“It gives a bad feeling, even melancholy. What is more, the mangrove forest, which we have always heard is a nursery, is a place where life begins … and here it looks like a cemetery,” he said.

In 2016, this phenomenon El Nino Pushed to the extreme by climate change, An unprecedented storm is born. It rained in the place.

“Ice balls the size of a ping-pong ball. There are no reports of it, neither in Espírito Santo nor in Brazil. An anomaly. It destroyed about 500 football fields. We can’t imagine losing almost an entire ecosystem in a few years,” said marine ecologist Angelo. Bernardino: “We hear stories about it, we read it, but when we see it, we’re there and we’re going in a place like this, devastated by climate change, it’s scary.”

dead mangrove Released more than one million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. equivalent to one A city with 100,000 Brazilians a year.

“Mangroves, among the many other services they provide us with, contain a lot of carbon. They sequester a lot of carbon in their soils. So, with the death of this forest, they stop locking it up and become a carbon source. The carbon that has accumulated here for hundreds of years,” Angelou explained. The years, when this forest was healthy, begins to get lost, and is re-emerged into the atmosphere.

“At the same time that the mangrove swamp died here in Espiritu Santo, there was a severe death of the mangrove swamps in Australiafor example, for reasons that are probably very similar,” he added.

For 30 years, he’s been the leaders 178 countries gathered in Rio de Janeiroin United Nations Environment Conference: a ECO-92. Scientists have warned of the danger of global warming. This was pointed out by researcher Angelo Bernardino If we take what was discussed at the time more seriously, we probably wouldn’t have such an intense scenario today..

“We had the hope that the planet would become aware very quickly, which unfortunately did not happen. But there is still time, we cannot give up. We have to use these examples to make people and governments aware of the required action.”

According to Angelou, destroyed mangroves can be restored: “There are techniques for replanting and revegetation. In fact, the best way to restore a lost ecosystem is to use the same ecosystem for that area.”

Watch the full interview in the video below.