香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播

Story 21 Feb, 2017

Mass mangrove restoration: Driven by good intentions but offering limited results

There is an听urgent need to address the global degradation of coastal ecosystems, but are mass mangrove planting initiatives sustainable?听

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Photo: Conservation International

In recent years, hundreds and sometimes thousands of volunteers have been involved in mass mangrove planting efforts, gaining and even earning entries into the . This has drawn attention to the urgent need to address the global degradation of coastal ecosystems. But are these planting initiatives sustainable? Do they have the desired impact? 听In short, do they work?

Coastal communities听are first to face the impacts of coastal degradation 鈥 reduced flood protection, decreased water quality, extreme soil erosion and a rapid decline in the variety and abundance of food sources (many of which come from mangroves in the tropics). Mass mangrove plantings should help address these challenges in certain areas, but instead many restoration efforts (for example, in the) are failing.听

What鈥檚 going wrong?

There are several issues. Restoring a mangrove is a complex process that needs to be founded on the . Often, fast-paced and large-scale 鈥榬estoration events鈥 are not necessarily scientifically robust in terms of which mangrove species should be restored, and where.

A common mistake in mangrove restoration is not choosing the right species for the right site. For example, mangroves are often planted in areas where they were not found previously, especially mudflats. Such sites are too exposed for saplings that cannot withstand soil erosion and wave action. Low oxygen availability due to constant moisture in mudflats results in high seedling mortality and stunted growth. This can be addressed by choosing local good quality seed for a suitable planting site.

Another element to consider is the 鈥榬ight mix鈥 of species 鈥 as some mangroves tolerate greater salt water flooding than others (an important consideration with sea level rise due to climate change). The diversity of species in an ecosystem influences its health, resilience and provision of ecosystem services. Restoration programmes that focus on planting a single species end up as a monocultures that have a low capacity for hosting biodiversity like fish and crabs and are vulnerable to . Those that do create a multi-species community need to combine species that complement one another. If these factors are not adequately considered, mangrove forests will not fulfil the ecological and physical functions for which they were planted, and will likely fail.

Another common error is not adequately involving the local communities in the process 鈥 beyond paid labour and photo opportunities. Adjacent rural communities often know much about successful mangrove management, and their involvement is key to long-term success in terms of听restoration, management and benefit flows. In addition, their incentives are strong 鈥 communities gain benefits from successful mangrove restoration in terms of livelihoods and storm surge protection, among others. But they must have clear rights and responsibilities in the process.

What can we do about it?

Sustainable solutions to coastal degradation are available. For example, to solve the problem of exposed coastlines, Wetlands International鈥檚 Project in Central Java () is using a soft technique to break waves and trap sediments to promote the rehabilitation of the mangrove ecosystem (read up on advantages of mangroves in EbA in our last blog).

Conservation International鈥檚 Suriname Project has witnessed great success following this technique. In fact, Wetlands International does not advocate for the planting of mangroves, but a restoration approach that facilitates their natural regrowth by creating ecologically suitable conditions. Questions on whether 鈥 are addressed in their guide.

Recognising the need for simple and accessible instructions for those keen to take action, (MAP) has produced a guide to MAP uses the Community Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration () approach, emphasising the importance of community participation. The holds 2000+ scientific articles concerning mangrove restoration 鈥 a resource not to be missed.

After planting, another involves monitoring and learning from what works or what does not work and why. Valuable publications to consider are a report on and a .

With the increasing wealth and availability of knowledge on mangroves and how to restore them, successful restoration projects are possible. But they shouldn鈥檛 be driven by photo opportunities and media coverage. Instead, a sound, science-based plan that follows the principles of EMR/CBEMR, using trained personnel and community participation and ownership from the planning stage through to successful establishment, and community management and monitoring听will lead to greater success.

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Starting February 22, the discusses means to use capital and the private sector to drive scalable, sustainable investment in the ocean. 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 along with its members and partners will be present to ensure mangrove restoration can also benefit from innovative financing solutions.听

This article series on听mangrove restoration听is written by Juliet Blum and Doroth茅e Herr from 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播's Global Marine and Polar Programme with the support of Germany's International Climate Initiative () through the听香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 Global Forest and Climate Change Programme.