Mangroves are being destroyed at a rate 3-5 times greater than the average rates of forest loss, costing billions in economic damages and denying millions of people the ecosystem services they need to survive, according to this report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Importance of Mangroves: A Call to Action, launched September 29, 2014 at the 16th Global Meeting of the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans, describes how emissions resulting from mangrove losses make up nearly one-fifth of global emissions from deforestation, resulting in economic damages of some US$6-42 billion annually. Mangroves are also threatened by climate change, which could result in the loss of a further 10-15 percent of mangroves by 2100.