Mangrove forests grow naturally along the ocean and lagoons on the islands of Kiribati. Mangrove leaves and flowers are used in garlands and leis. Mangroves have other important roles. Mangrove forests are home to birds and aquatic marine life. The odd-looking mangrove root systems provide sheltered places for crabs, prawns, and fish to feed and to breed and protect the shoreline from erosion.
Mangroves also provide shelter from the sun, wind, and rain.
Mangrove trees are part of the food chain. Their leaves fall into the water where they supply food to small organisms, which in turn are eaten by fish. The many benefits provided by mangroves are being threatened. Development is removing the forests. Mangroves have been lost to land reclamation, and to construction of fishponds and inter-islet causeways.