in Sri Lanka - Ministry of Environment

The list of true mangrove species recorded from Sri LankaSpecies Family CategoryAegiceras corniculatum (L.) Blanco Myrsinaceae LCAvicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh. Avicenniaceae LCAvicennia officinalis L. Avicenniaceae NTBruguiera cylindrica (L.) Blume Rhizophoraceae ENBruguiera gymnorrhiza (L.) Lamk. Rhizophoraceae VUBruguiera sexangula (Lour.) Poir. Rhizophoraceae VUCeriops tagal (Perr.) C.B. Robinson Rhizophoraceae NT*Ceriops decandra(Grifith) Ding Hou Rhizophoraceae CRExcoecaria agallocha L. Euphorbiaceae LCHeritiera littoralis Dryand. Sterculiaceae NTLumnitzera littorea (Jack) Voigt Combretaceae CRLumnitzera racemosa Willd. Combretaceae NTNypa fruticans (Thunb.) Wurmb Arecaceae VUPemphis acidula Forst. Lythraceae NTRhizophora apiculata BL. Rhizophoraceae NTRhizophora mucronata Lamk. Rhizophoraceae LCSapium indicum Willd. (Syn Excoecaria indica) Euphorbiaceae VUSonneratia alba J. Smith Sonneratiaceae ENSonneratia caseolaris (L.) Engler Sonneratiaceae LCXylocarpus granatum König Meliaceae ENScyphiphora hydrophyllacea Gaertn.f. Rubiaceae VU*Not reported in Jayatissa et al., 2002. This is a new addition by Jayatissa (pers.comm)Mangrove forests rank among the most threatened of coastal habitats, particularly fordeveloping countries in tropical regions (Saenger et al., 1983). The major human impacts havebeen identified as filling for land-based development, and deforestation for wood products, toaccommodate aquaculture or to established harbor facilities (Hather et al.,1989). It is reportedthat mangrove areas have been reduced by 20% to 75% in many developing tropical countriesin the northern Indian Ocean, South East Asia and the Caribbean during the last century.Hence, a figure of 1% decline per year has been given as a conservative estimate for theAsia Pacific region (Ong 1995). Due to continued disturbance, altered soil conditions andlimited dispersal, natural recovery may be slow (Kaly 1998). Mangrove preservation has beenrecognized as a high priority in local management plans for developing countries (Eong 1991).Although studies on mangroves particularly in Sri Lanka is comparatively low, a substantialamount of research on the mangrove forests in the world has been done over the last few198