PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Ocean Sustain.
Sec. Sustainability in Marine Conservation Ecology
This article is part of the Research TopicInnovations and Research Applications for Marine Conservation and Maritime SustainabilityView all articles
The Role of Law in Coastal Ecosystem Conservation: A Case Study on Mangrove Protection in the U.S., Egypt, and Saudi Arabia
Provisionally accepted
Omar Almohammadi1*
Ibrahim Badawi2- 1National Center for Environmental Compliance, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 2Seattle University, Seattle, United States
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Word count: 201 Climate change poses escalating threats to coastal ecosystems through sea-level rise, intensified storms, and rising ocean acidification, placing global sustainability at risk. Mangrove ecosystems play a critical role in coastal protection, biodiversity conservation, and climate mitigation stabilizing shorelines, filtering pollutants, and acting as major carbon sinks. Sustainable mangrove management offers livelihood opportunities for local communities, such as fishing, shellfish gathering, and beekeeping. Despite their importance, mangroves have experienced significant decline, particularly in countries with extensive coastlines. This paper examines how legal frameworks and policy initiatives address mangrove protection in the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, with a focus on the role of law in mitigating coastal ecosystem degradation. Using a comparative legal analysis, the paper reviews mangrove-related legislation, regulatory approaches, and national initiatives in these three jurisdictions. The analysis finds that the United States employs more developed legal mechanisms for mangrove protection, including marine protected areas and scientific monitoring, while Saudi Arabia and Egypt rely more heavily on large-scale restoration initiatives and broader environmental laws rather than mangrove-specific legal frameworks. The paper concludes that strengthening targeted legal measures for mangrove protection, informed by comparative legal experience, can enhance coastal ecosystem resilience and support long-term environmental sustainability in regions vulnerable to climate change.
Keywords: coastal ecosystem, Coastal resilience, Environmental legislation (U.S., Saudi Arabia, Egypt), Mangrove conservation, marine and coastal governance, Sustainability strategies
Received: 23 Nov 2025; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Almohammadi and Badawi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Omar Almohammadi
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