Ecosystems of Hope
A game-changer for mangrove conservation and restoration
Old mangroves in the Saloum delta, Senegal
In 2022, the GMA published the second edition of its groundbreaking The State of the World’s Mangroves report
Wetlands International has been central to the rise of mangroves, through our collaborations with other environmental NGOs under the umbrella of the Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA), which we co-founded in 2018 with Conservation International, IUCN, The Nature Conservancy and WWF, and which now has more than 40 member organisations and a growing number of national chapters. In 2022, the GMA published the second edition of its groundbreaking The State of the World’s Mangroves report. Compiled by researchers from Aberystwyth University, with The Nature Conservancy and Wetlands International, it identifies 147,000 square kilometres of mangroves, pinpointing gains and losses in the past quarter- century and identifying more than 8,000 square kilometres of recently lost mangroves that the researchers identify as potentially restorable.
by 2030 to halt any further mangrove loss, to restore half of recent mangrove losses, and to double the area of mangroves within protected areas. Capturing carbon The GMA estimated during 2022 that achieving these targets should capture and secure more than 40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in the biomass of mangroves and a further 190 million tonnes in the soils and silt that their roots hold firm. “The Breakthrough could not be more timely,” said Wetlands International’s CEO Jane Madgwick. “Mangroves are now widely valued, the potential for conservation and restoration is clear, and the knowledge base is there to drive successful implementation. The opportunity to create momentum for mangrove action at scale and unlock the required finance is now.” Adapting to climate change Besides capturing carbon to mitigate climate change, the Breakthrough will help tropical countries confronted by rising sea levels and more intense storms to adapt to climate change -- what Mohieldin calls the “race for resilience” . The GMA says it should be able to reduce flood risks for 15 million or more people in coastal communities, while boosting their incomes by providing extra nursery habitat for an estimated 37 commercial marine species.
Game-changer The report is proving a game-changer for mangrove
conservation and restoration. The first edition, published in 2021, using data from the Global Mangrove Watch, an online platform of remote sensing information, underpins the Mangrove Breakthrough, announced by the UN High-Level Climate Champions, with the GMA and others, at COP27. The Breakthrough will “unlock public, private and philanthropic finance at scale,” says Climate Champion and UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda, Mahmoud Mohieldin. It aims to catalyze the investment of USD 4 billion
Presentation of mangrove breakthrough at UN Climate Change Conference COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
Wetlands International Annual Review 2022
Wetlands International Annual Review 2022
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