Venezuela’s moriche palms store carbon, support communities
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Miguel Ángel Sánchez-Mercado, a Venezuelan biologist, studies morichales, ecosystems dominated by the moriche palm (Mauritia flexuosa), and advocates for their conservation.
These forests in Venezuela’s savannas and floodplains capture up to 590.8 metric tons of carbon per hectare, rivaling mangroves in their ability to absorb carbon dioxide. Sánchez-Mercado emphasizes that morichales also regulate water, preventing erosion and releasing water slowly during droughts through their extensive root systems.
The moriche palm is central to the culture of the Warao people, who use every part of the plant for food, shelter, and crafts, calling it their “tree of life.” However, urbanization, industrial activity, and weak environmental laws threaten both the morichales and the Warao way of life. Sánchez-Mercado believes current legislation offers insufficient protection, limiting safeguards to 300 meters around the ecosystem. Sánchez-Mercado promotes “socioconservation,” a method that combines biological research with ethnographic work alongside local communities.
He hopes to build awareness of the morichal’s value, integrating people into its preservation as active participants rather than seeing them as a threat. He and his team have already worked with over 16 communities in Monagas state to understand the benefits of protecting these important ecosystems.
