Edinburgh Napier University

  Mangroves are tropical and sub-tropical forests that grow in the inter-tidal zone. They are valuable for many reasons: they provide shelter for juvenile fish, they protect shorelines from erosion, they filter sediments and pollution out of rivers and their wood can be used for timber and fuel. They are also amongst the most productive ecosystems on earth and are capable of storing large quantities of carbon both above-ground (as wood) and below-ground (as dead roots and carbon particles derived from the sea, and eventually as peat). This means losing them could accelerate global warming. Despite their importance, mangroves are being lost rapidly, with 1-2% of these forests destroyed each year.

This project aims to help conserve and restore mangroves in East Africa. We will do this by developing the expertise and capacity needed to exploit new and emerging markets for 'ecosystem services'. In East Africa, most mangrove destruction occurs because of poverty; people need fuel and building materials and cannot afford to buy them from other sources, so use the mangroves despite often being aware of their importance. If money was available to communities for mangrove conservation and restoration this would provide a powerful conservation incentive. Our project consortium has experience in running community based forestry projects, including one in Mozambique that utilises voluntary payments for carbon sequestration by western companies and individuals to fund new tree planting and conservation. We will apply this experience to mangroves.