Use of mangroves in landfill management

Abstract

A chronic environmental problem in developing country is the proper disposal of an increasing amount of solid wastes generated by growing urban populations. In many urban centers along the tropics and subtropics, mangroves located at the periphery of the metropolitan area has been used for solid waste disposal. This is certainly one of the major impacts on mangroves in developing countries today, causing permanent destruction of mangrove forests and their inhabitants. Among environmental oriented governments, restoring mangroves along landfills has had a large success. Mangroves drastically reduce the aesthetic impact of solid waste disposal sites, and attracts large amount of animals, in particular birds, which also help to control rat and insect populations abundant in these areas. Recently, apart from these obvious benefits, mangroves have prove to be efficient biogeochemical barriers to the transfer of pollutants, generated in landfills, to adjacent coastal areas. Research carried in Australia and Brazil prove this so far unsuspected benefit from mangroves. On the other hand this will be a strong argument in favor of the restoration of damaged mangrove forests and conservation of those at the periphery of urban areas. [...]