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Mangroves

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Myanmar Coast mangroves

Biome

Mangroves

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Biogeographic realm

Indomalayan

Mangrove fringe below a vegetated limestone karst wall, Ao Phang Nga National Park, Thailand.

Region photo - Deror Avi / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 3.0; attribution required.

Myanmar Coast mangroves

The Myanmar Coast mangroves fringe the eastern rim of the Bay of Bengal, spanning Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia, with the richest concentrations in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) delta and the Rakhine and Tanintharyi coasts. These tidal forests are dominated by classic Indo-Pacific mangrove genera such as Rhizophora, Bruguiera, Sonneratia, Avicennia, and Xylocarpus, alongside the nipa palm (Nypa fruticans) and the mangrove date palm (Phoenix paludosa). The setting is built on alluvial silt deposited by the Ayeyarwady, one of the world's most sediment-laden rivers, whose delta is composed largely of washed-down alluvium. Notably, the ecoregion holds one of the highest mangrove-tree species richnesses of any mangrove region in the Indian Ocean and serves as habitat for the critically endangered four-toed terrapin (Batagur baska), its flagship species. It is also one of Asia's most depleted mangrove areas, heavily reduced by logging and conversion to agriculture, making the surviving forests a conservation priority. For gardeners, the palms native here, the nipa and the mangrove date palm, are striking tropical, salt- and water-tolerant ornamentals.

RESOLVE 321

Indomalayan

8,249 sq mi

Mangroves

Landscape type

Mangroves

Plant region

Indomalayan

Region footprint

8,249 sq mi

Habitat pressure

Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)

Source & care

Plants that can handle this region

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Similar planting regions

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Nipa palms crowding a tidal channel in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

RESOLVE 319 - Indomalayan

Indochina mangroves

The Indochina mangroves fringe the tropical coasts of the Gulf of Thailand across Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and into Malaysia, with their largest surviving stands in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam. These are classic tidal mangrove forests shaped by regular flooding with brackish and saltwater, where vegetation sorts itself by salinity: pioneer Avicennia alba lines the open shore, giving way inland to Rhizophora apiculata and Bruguiera parviflora, while less-salty freshwater zones support Avicennia officinalis, Sonneratia caseolaris, and the palms Nypa fruticans and Phoenix paludosa. The estuarine, or saltwater, crocodile is the flagship species, and the remaining forests shelter rare waterbirds including the lesser adjutant, white-winged wood duck, and spot-billed pelican. Much of this habitat has been lost, however, from wartime defoliation of the Mekong Delta to ongoing conversion into shrimp ponds, so very little of the ecoregion is formally protected. For gardeners, the native mangrove palm Nypa fruticans is a notable horticultural relative of the broader Indomalayan palm flora.

RESOLVE 320 - Indomalayan

Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves

This mangrove ecoregion fringes the Arabian Sea coast of Sindh Province in Pakistan, where the Indus River builds a vast alluvial delta, and extends to the Gulfs of Kutch and Khambhat in Gujarat, India. Its forests are overwhelmingly dominated by the grey or white mangrove (Avicennia marina), a species that tolerates exceptionally high salinity, with red mangrove (Rhizophora mucronata) and Indian mangrove (Ceriops tagal) appearing on small patches of higher ground. The climate is harsh and arid, swinging from near-freezing winters to summer temperatures around 50 degrees Celsius, with most rain confined to the southwest monsoon between July and September and very high evaporation that keeps the tidal flats intensely saline. These mangroves form one of the world's largest such forests and serve as a critical staging area for tens of thousands of migratory birds, including greater flamingos and the ecoregion's flagship Dalmatian pelican. The habitat faces serious pressure from reduced Indus freshwater flow, pollution and oil spills near Karachi, and cutting for fuelwood and grazing.

RESOLVE 322 - Indomalayan

Sunda Shelf mangroves

The Sunda Shelf mangroves fringe the coasts of Borneo and eastern Sumatra, spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei in the Indomalayan realm. These tidal forests hold around 28 species of mangrove trees, organized into bands that shift with salinity: Avicennia and Sonneratia colonize the seaward sediments, Rhizophora and Bruguiera take the inland muds, and stands of the Nypa fruticans palm occupy fresher soils farther upstream. The coastline sits along the geologically active Ring of Fire, where earthquakes and volcanic activity are frequent and the mangroves serve as a first line of defense against erosion and wave surges. The forests are also notable habitat for the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), which is endemic to the Bornean mangroves and adjacent lowlands and absent from Sumatra. About half of the original mangroves remain, most of it degraded, with logging, shrimp farming, and clearance for agriculture the leading threats. For gardeners drawn to tropical waterside planting, the nipa palm (Nypa fruticans) is among the genera native to this region.

RESOLVE 323 - Indomalayan

Sundarbans mangroves

The Sundarbans mangroves form the world's largest contiguous mangrove forest, spanning the lower Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta across southern Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. The forest is dominated by the sundri tree (Heritiera fomes), from which it takes its name, alongside other salt-tolerant genera including Avicennia, Sonneratia, Xylocarpus, Bruguiera, Ceriops, and Rhizophora, with the nipa palm (Nypa fruticans) lining its tidal creeks. Its climate is governed by strong monsoons off the Bay of Bengal that deliver heavy rainfall and intense daytime heat, punctuated by destructive cyclones. The ecoregion is the only mangrove system that sustains a viable population of the Bengal tiger, which swims among its islands, and its protected areas are inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Gardeners drawn to its flora will recognize coastal genera such as Sonneratia and the architectural nipa palm, both native to these intertidal forests.

RESOLVE 611 - Neotropic

Amazon-Orinoco-Southern Caribbean mangroves

The Amazon-Orinoco-Southern Caribbean mangroves form a vast coastal ecoregion in the Neotropics, fringing the Caribbean shores of Colombia and Venezuela and the Atlantic coasts of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and northeastern Brazil, including the Brazilian states of Amapá, Pará, and Maranhão. Shaped by the outflow of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, its tidal wetlands are dominated by salt-tolerant mangroves such as Rhizophora racemosa and Avicennia schaueriana, alongside green buttonwood and the familiar red, white, and black mangroves. The climate is equatorial and fully humid, with year-round warmth roughly between 22 and 31 degrees Celsius and abundant rainfall averaging around 2,500 millimetres annually. These constantly flooded forests shelter rich birdlife and wildlife, from the scarlet ibis and American flamingo to giant otters, manatees, and nesting sea turtles, and the ecoregion's flagship is the critically endangered sapphire-bellied hummingbird. Though much of it remains relatively intact, mangrove stands here face mounting pressure from urbanization, pollution, and timber extraction.

RESOLVE 612 - Neotropic

Bahamian-Antillean mangroves

The Bahamian-Antillean mangroves form a Neotropical mangrove ecoregion scattered across the islands of the Caribbean and the western Atlantic, spanning jurisdictions that include Cuba, The Bahamas, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the Turks and Caicos, the Cayman Islands, and the US Virgin Islands. Its tidal forests are built from four characteristic salt-tolerant trees: red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa), and buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus). The climate is subtropical and strongly hurricane-exposed, with rainfall declining from the wetter northern islands toward the drier south. These shallow-water forests shelter notable wildlife, serving as habitat for West Indian manatees, marine turtles, and American flamingos, with the Northern Bahamian rock iguana recognized as the ecoregion's flagship species. Coastal tourism development and sea-level rise are leading threats, which matters to gardeners because buttonwood (Conocarpus) native here is among the region's hardiest salt- and wind-tolerant coastal plants.

Where this ecoregion reaches

The countries, US states, and Canadian provinces this ecoregion touches, from a spatial join of its RESOLVE polygon against Natural Earth boundaries.

Countries

Myanmar Thailand

Educator packet

Region packet

Myanmar Coast mangroves educator packet

The Myanmar Coast mangroves fringe the eastern rim of the Bay of Bengal, spanning Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia, with the richest concentrations in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) delta and the Rakhine and Tanintharyi coasts. These tidal forests are dominated by classic Indo-Pacific mangrove genera such as Rhizophora, Bruguiera, Sonneratia, Avicennia, and Xylocarpus, alongside the nipa palm (Nypa fruticans) and the mangrove date palm (Phoenix paludosa). The setting is built on alluvial silt deposited by the Ayeyarwady, one of the world's most sediment-laden rivers, whose delta is composed largely of washed-down alluvium. Notably, the ecoregion holds one of the highest mangrove-tree species richnesses of any mangrove region in the Indian Ocean and serves as habitat for the critically endangered four-toed terrapin (Batagur baska), its flagship species. It is also one of Asia's most depleted mangrove areas, heavily reduced by logging and conversion to agriculture, making the surviving forests a conservation priority. For gardeners, the palms native here, the nipa and the mangrove date palm, are striking tropical, salt- and water-tolerant ornamentals.

Realm

Indomalayan

Dominant biome

Mangroves

Approximate area

8,249 square miles

States / provinces

Not recorded

Climate descriptor

Not recorded

Classroom prompts

- Which climate and biome facts explain why this region supports its characteristic plants?

- How do native-plant and wildlife-support claims differ from a species-presence claim?

- Which source-backed facts would you cite before using this region in a classroom map activity?

Use the Sources & citations section below for page citation styles and region source links.

Sources & citations

Cite this page

For lesson plans, articles, or regional planting notes that use this Plotwright page. To cite the underlying ecoregion framework or a specific editorial profile, use the source cards below.

Plotwright. (n.d.). Myanmar Coast mangroves (Myanmar Coast mangroves). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/regions/resolve-321

Sources for this region

This page cites Plotwright first for the compiled view, then lists the upstream framework, climate, and editorial source pages so readers can cite the original material directly.

RESOLVE 2017 Terrestrial Ecoregions (Dinerstein et al.)

Primary ecoregion framework

One Earth

Wikipedia

Wikimedia Foundation

Open source

Source guide