‘To plant or not to plant’
ANTENEH WORKU PROGRAMME OFFICER-CRV
I am Anteneh Worku, an experienced professional with an MSc in Integrated Watershed Management and a BSc in Forestry. I have worked with governmental, national, and international organisations in the conservation field. At Wetlands International Ethiopia, I lead restoration and livelihood support projects in the Central Rift Valley landscape. I’ve cherished wetlands since my college days studying wetland ecology. Working at Wetlands International Ethiopia is a dream come true, allowing me to pursue my passion and contribute to wetland preservation. With a great team and inspiring leaders, I have the opportunity to engage communities and partners, raising awareness about the significance of wetlands. One of my key projects, Source to Sea, focuses on restoration and climate-resilient livelihoods. This involves implementing restoration measures, securing water resources at the catchment level, promoting income- generating activities, and introducing climate-smart agricultural practices. Collaborating with community- based organisations, NGOs, religious leaders, and government entities, we have achieved remarkable outcomes, such as reduced runoff, rehabilitation of degraded watersheds and wetlands, increased bird populations, sustainable fuelwood off-take, and the establishment of climate-smart villages. To ensure tangible restoration success, I emphasise public awareness, advocacy, integrating restoration efforts with livelihood enhancement, creating wetland buffer zones, implementing water use permits, mitigating overgrazing and unsustainable agriculture, and promoting integrated wetland management plans. A well-coordinated approach that harmonises agriculture and grazing management with wetland conservation is essential. My work has inspired me, enhancing my leadership skills and confidence in engaging stakeholders, partners, and the community. I deeply appreciate the recognition and support received from Wetlands International and the local community. Together, we strive to make a lasting positive impact on wetland ecosystems.
Bankable returns Raising billions of dollars will also require delivering bankable returns for investors, in terms of carbon capture or other environmental benefits, through developing a portfolio of “investable mangrove projects” , says Wetlands International’s Programme Head for Coasts and Deltas, Pieter van Eijk. Those projects must employ good science, while safeguarding the rights of the communities that host them. The aim is to showcase the first Breakthrough portfolio at the next UN climate conference in Dubai at the end of 2023. The actions implemented under these projects will take many forms. But based on our experience, Wetlands International is keen to steer the global community away from its focus on single-sided large-scale planting of mangroves, which has a high failure rate. Instead, we find better outcomes from stimulating natural mangrove regeneration via the principles of “ecological mangrove restoration” . Our “To Plant or Not to Plant” campaign is demonstrating best practice, while influencing and inspiring mangrove initiatives worldwide. In 2022, we submitted proposals for scaling up mangrove restoration on the Mahakam and Kayan Sembakung deltas in Indonesian Borneo; provided technical advice on a
project to offset losses of mangroves during the construction of the New Manila Airport in the Philippines; convened stakeholders in Tanzania’s Rufiji delta to protect East Africa’s largest area of mangroves; and pushed ahead with our own groundbreaking restoration work in and around the Cacheu National Park in Guinea-Bissau, a candidate to become a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The new initiatives will build on existing agreements, especially the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. The 2022 Conference of the Parties to this 50-year-old treaty advanced its mangrove agenda by approving the creation of a new International Mangrove Centre in southern China at Shenzhen, home of the Futian mangrove reserve. China is one of only a handful of countries to increase its mangrove cover in the past two decades. The Ramsar resolution establishing the centre “encourages close communication and cooperation with other organisations and ongoing mangrove initiatives”, indicating that it should become an international focus, and draw on the expertise of the GMA in its work.
Aerial shot of fishermen from Matondoni Village in Lamu, Kenya
Wetlands International Annual Review 2022
Wetlands International Annual Review 2022
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