Cancun's vanishing mangroves hold climate promise

This famous beach resort, which will next week host international climate change talks, was itself born from the destruction of a potent resource to fight global warming.

Thick mangrove forests lined the canals and waterways here before developers dredged the land to make way for the upscale hotels that now draw several million tourists every year.

In the 40 years since Cancun was founded, countless acres of mangrove forests up and down Mexico's Caribbean Coast have been lost -- and the destruction continues.

Now many scientists say that mangrove forests can help slow climate change, and are desperate to save them.

FEATURE-Cancun's vanishing mangroves hold climate promise | Energy & Oil | Reuters