A local fishermen took me in his canoe down the Ankobra river in the western region of Ghana to look for crocodiles. We did not see any crocs but the mangroves swallowed us up into a different world of dancing shadows and echoing sounds. 

Mangroves are tropical trees that sprawl in forests along coasts and estuaries, providing vital nurseries for many species. Able to deal with salt water, they also store a huge amount of carbon making them vital in the fight to counter climate change. Alarmingly they are under threat worldwide.