Our ecosystems, plants and animals provide important ecological services including the protection of water quality, regulation of the hydrological cycle, soil generation, watershed protection, recycling of nutrients, carbon sequestration and oxygen release. The variety of biological organisms in ecosystems helps to stabilise the environment, providing a wide range of essential and basic amenities such as habitable environments, building materials, water supply, flood mitigation and productive soils as well as recreational opportunities. For example, coastal peat swamps, mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs all have their parts to play as nurseries for fishery resources as well as in preventing coastal erosion. Forests act as water catchments and increase the water retention capacity of soil so that water is released slowly into the streams and waterways during the dry season, thus ensuring water supply throughout the year.