essential in preventing erosion and preserving the surrounding coastal landscape. UNEP research has demonstrated that the mangrove's robust build is efficient at reducing the total destructive capability of storms and wind surges by 70 to 90 percent. Mangroves also help protect the health and overall biodiversity of surrounding ecosystems by acting as a water filter. Filtration is enabled by the mangrove's capability to absorb and store heavy metals that would otherwise result in the release of metal pollution into nearshore water bodies. Mangroves are also efficient sites of carbon storage. Gail Chmura, scientist at McGill University, revealed a mangrove's carbon storing capability is greater than that of a terrestrial forest; per-year, mangroves are capable of storing 42 million tons of carbon/hectare. Threats to mangrove survival There are many environmental threats to the mangrove forests in the Niger Delta. Oil extraction is the largest threat to Nigeria's mangrove forests. Comprising 97 percent of Nigeria's total exports, the oil-rich Niger Delta produces up to two million barrels of crude oil a day, which has placed Nigeria as the 9th oil producing country in the world. Such extensive oil extraction has come at great environmental and social cost. Since 1958, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Environment has estimated 13 million barrels of oil have been spilled during extraction processes. These spills are the product of many factors, which include: unenforced drilling regulations, refinery leaks, pipeline corrosion, vandalism, and human error. The total number of annual spills has gradually increased since 1958, from approximately 250 spills per year to 500 spills per year. The Nigerian Oil Industry, which primarily extracts oil amongst the Niger Delta mangrove forests, has consequently deforested mangrove ecological zones for drilling purposes, and deteriorated the health of the surrounding mangroves. Petroleum has toxicological impacts on mangrove trees, but also causes direct physical damage. The toxic effects of both surface-level and sediment deposit oil exposure on mangrove health has been repeatedly scientifically documented. In 1986, scientists analyzing the impact of the Bahía las Minas oil spill on coastal vegetation reported clusters of dying mangroves in proximity to where oil had washed ashore. On average, studies revealed mangrove fatality rates were highest during the first six-months of a spill; thus, fresh crude oil spills had greater toxicity than “weathered” oil. Other natural experiments noted that factors such as mangrove exposure to water currents and spill contamination control plays a substantive role in