Daniel Friess
Cochran Family Professor
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Dan's research focuses on coastal ecosystems and their management. In particular, he researches 'blue' carbon stored in habitats such as mangrove forests, seagrasses and marshes as a strategy to mitigate climate change, through carbon crediting and the Paris Agreement. He also works on how coastal ecosystems can be protected and restored for climate change adaptation. Dan is a member of the international Blue Carbon Initiative and the IUCN Mangrove Specialist Group. He is the co-Editor in Chief for the journal WIREs Climate Change. For more information visit www.themangrovelab.com.
Articles
Saving our mangroves for planet-saving payoffs
Deforestation and removal of mangrove areas for conversion to aquaculture, agriculture, urban and coastal development have led to mangrove forests being once considered one of the most threatened habitats on the planet. Lesser known is how mangroves are actually one of the most productive and biologically diverse ecosystems in the world, with millions of people in coastal communities relying on them for fisheries, fuel wood, medicines and coastal protection. However, recent international efforts have turned this habitat into an emerging conservation success story. Joining in these efforts is Associate Professor Dan Friess and his research team from the Department of Geography at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. A coastal geographer, he is passionate about conserving mangroves and their ecosystems so that they may continue protecting delicate sea life, coastlines and help in the fight against climate change.
24 hours with… mangrove specialist Daniel Friess
Professor Daniel Friess’ 17 years of research in coastal ecosystems started with wanting to get away from his hometown Milton Keynes, in central England, about a hundred kilometres from the nearest seashore. His expertise in how wetlands respond to sea-level rise brought him from the United Kingdom to Singapore, where he has been based since 2009. Today, Friess focuses on how people interact with mangrove forests and seagrass meadows, such as the destruction we bring to these ecosystems, and the benefits we didn’t know we could get by conserving them. Mangroves – a collection of trees that grow on salty, coastal mud which gets flooded by the tides daily – have gained prominence as global warming has worsened in recent years. They can suck up larger amounts of Earth-heating carbon dioxide from the air than dryland trees, and tame storm surges before they reach human settlements.
Commentary: From fighting climate change to illnesses — why mangroves are worth celebrating
Every year, academics, non-governmental organizations, and the public come together to raise awareness of the importance and vulnerability of this important coastal forest. In Singapore, we have lost many of our mangroves since the 1950s due to land reclamation and the construction of freshwater reservoirs. While our remaining mangroves now cover only 8.1 sq km, they are prized for their rich biodiversity, and are gaining huge attention for their ability to help us mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Mangrove forests under climate change in a 2°C world
The world's nations are committed to keeping global temperature rises to less than 2°C to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Such a target is crucial for mangrove forests, because they are located primarily in tropical and subtropical regions that are expected to see large changes in climatic conditions; their intertidal location and sensitivity to changes in environmental conditions means that mangroves are expected to be on the front line of climate change impacts. We conceptualize what a 2°C world might look like for mangroves, and in particular the potential negative and positive responses of the mangrove ecosystem to anticipated changes in future atmospheric CO2 concentrations, temperature, sea level, cyclone activity, storminess and changes in the frequency, and magnitude of climatic oscillations.
