international task force investigating the swamps reaction to climate change.

The task force, comprising a 10-man team, will meet at the United Nations conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro next week.

One of the items on the agenda at the upcoming Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro is to append existing laws regarding the care and preservation of mangrove swamps.

"A big consideration of the summit is to get a whole sequence of statements regarding the swamps value and how they should be preserved and protected under the law,'' said Ms Joanna Ellison, who will be representing the Bermuda Mangrove Society.

"The purpose is to get official commitment from those who sign the charter.

Bermuda is protected but in some countries mangroves are not protected and they're pretty important.'' Ms Ellison is a former intern at the Bermuda Biological Station. Last year she prepared a paper on the need to better protect Hungry Bay, home of one of the world's oldest mangrove swamps.

She said the meeting next week was especially important for south-east Asian countries who rely on their large swamps for many items that those in the western hemisphere can obtain from supermarkets.

"The purpose is to form a research programme which will last over the next 20 to 30 years monitoring how mangroves respond to changes. Some in (other countries) are hundreds of thousands of miles long. Bermuda's are not that extensive and not very productive. But it's just incredible to study because it's dying.

"Countries from south-east Asia will get together with the Caribbean and American states to encourage Bermuda to develop more. It's quite an important mangrove and I got a lot of support from my work.'' "Countries which sign in Rio subsequently have a commitment to carry out what they sign,'' she added. "Mangroves are pretty important for these countries.

Signing will increase their protection and their status in conservation issues. It will aid in the protection of the natural ecosphere.''