Heart of Voh in 1990, Nouvelle Caledonia, France
Mangroves and swamps develop in muddy tropical soil exposed to alternated tides. They cover almost a quarter of tropical coastlines and 15 million hectares across the world, half of its original size. This fragile environment has continually regressed due to over-exploitation of natural resources, urbanization, prawn farming and pollution. Mangroves are as indispensable for marine wildlife and the equilibrium of the coastline as they are for the local economy. They are essential buffers for the impact of hazards such as cyclones, tsunamis and floods. New Caledonia, a group of Pacific islands covering 18 575 km2, has 200 km2 of fairly low but very dense mangroves, mainly on the west coast of the largest island, Grande-Terre. Inland, where water only reaches at high tide, vegetation gives way to bare and over salted water lands called “tannes”, such as near the city of Voh where nature has established a clearing in the shape of a heart.