Coastal belts of mangroves contribute to security by reducing the impacts of severe storms and cyclones. Mangroves also provide food and building materials, especially to poor people. We work to reverse the rapid loss of mangrove forests.
The problem
Many
mangrove belts along the coasts of Latin America, Africa and Asia are degraded or completely gone. Shrimp farms in Asia have already cleared large tracts of mangroves and coral reefs along coasts. Urban development, pollution, over-harvesting of wood in coastal forests and dynamite fishing are also taking their toll.
Mangrove forests have some very important values. They protect coastal zones against erosion and extreme weather. They provide key nursery areas for fish and homes to other animal species, including waterbirds and an abundance of sea life. See more about mangrove areas and the threats they face.
Fieldwork
Our activities aim to achieve sustainable development that enhances the many benefits provided by mangroves. We support local communities in West Africa (Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone) and Asia (India, Thailand, Indonesia) in restoring these forests. Over the past decade we have restored thousands of hectares. We use the 'Bio-rights' microcredit scheme to enable communities to conduct this work. Currently, we lead restoration activities in Flores, Indonesia and Senegal.
We cannot restore the world's degrading mangrove coasts on our own, so we share the knowledge we have gained with others. The success of our field projects provides us with tools to inform governments and communities on how to reverse the loss of these important areas.
Science informs our advocacy
To maximise our impact, we need facts and figures to convince authorities to conserve mangrove forests in all development projects that are planned, such as coastal roads, tourist resorts and especially shrimp and fish farms. Together with research institutes, we conduct large-scale research in Indonesia to generate facts on the importance of mangroves for coastal protection and the maintenance of fish stocks, and use this information to advocate for mangrove conservation.
Certification
In Indonesia we work to certify sustainable shrimp farms, providing incentives to operate within mangrove forests instead of clearing them.