Mangroves, mudflats, saltmarshes and sea grasses in deltas and along coasts provide millions of people with a vital source of income and protect their communities and cities from the ravages of storms, floods and sea level rise. Connecting land and sea, they are also home to an extraordinary wealth of plant and animal species.

We work with partners to protect and restore coastal wetland ecosystems as essential features of resilient and productive coastal landscapes.

Threats and challenges

Coastal wetlands are being converted, fragmented and degraded by infrastructure projects, coastal protection schemes, sand mining, agriculture and aquaculture. As well as damaging ecosystems, such projects disturb sediment and water flows, causing cascading effects along hundreds of kilometres of coasts. Climate change and sea level rise is now exacerbating the challenges.

To safeguard and restore coastal wetlands requires decision makers to fully appreciate the values they provide to communities, cities and economies as well as to biodiversity and climate action.

Our work to build resilience coasts and deltas

Momentum built among development banks, government agencies and engineering firms can promote combined green-grey coastal engineering approaches, in line with Building with Nature principles. Strengthening the recognition of coastal wetland values in climate policies and plans plays an important role in scaling up the safeguarding and restoration of coastal wetlands. For instance, incentivising companies and government agencies interested in the carbon values of wetlands, to upscale conservation.

We work with partners on some of the world’s most important and vulnerable deltas and coastlines from Indonesia to Kenya, from Guinea Bissau to Argentina.

Partnerships and platforms for change

• We work closely with the four other founding partners of the Global Mangrove Alliance: Conservation International, IUCN, The Nature Conservancy and WWF; as well as the broader membership base of the Alliance, including the Red Cross movement, Wildlife Conservation Society and the Zoological Society of London.
• We are a core partner of the Mangrove Breakthrough.
• We are an active partner of the Ecoshape Building with Nature Consortium, in which we collaborate with water engineering companies, knowledge institutes and governments.