Mangroves not only provide a habitat for fish and other sea life that local communities eat, but also reduce the effects of rising tides and extreme weather that will become more intense with climate change. 

In Cuba, the loss and damage over several decades to mangroves, which are typically found on 70 per cent of its coasts, has made coastal communities increasingly vulnerable.

Read more here about coastal communities are using mangroves as a cost-effective way to protect the land and their future; and to find out more about conservation efforts, see the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, celebrated annually on 26 July.