River and mangrove forest in the Sarawak Mangrove Reserve, Borneo, Malaysia.

Credit: Tim Laman / Nature Picture Library

Mangroves

Call to action:

Protect and restore mangrove forests and the communities around them to preserve one of the most important and threatened ecosystems on the planet.

Mangroves are trees and shrubs uniquely adapted to tidal zones, where many varieties of fish, birds, and endangered animals shelter among their roots and branches. Many Indigenous communities steward their biodiversity and rely on them for subsistence living, wood, medicine, and flood protection. Although mangrove forests cover only 0.1 percent of all land, they are among the planet’s most effective carbon storage systems. However, over 50 percent of the world’s mangrove forest area has disappeared in the last fifty years, mostly due to urbanization, agriculture, and aquaculture. Other threats include rising sea levels and water temperatures caused by climate change. Although some mangrove forests can restore themselves naturally under the right conditions, rebuilding the world’s mangroves requires planting seeds and ensuring the people who care for them thrive, too.

Nexus Rating System^Beta

Solutions to the climate emergency have unique social and environmental effects, positive and negative. To develop a broader understanding of the solutions in Nexus, we rate each solution on five criteria.

Sources for each Nexus are graded numerically (-3 through 10), and the average is displayed as a letter grade. You can explore each source in depth by clicking “view sources” below. For more information, see our Nexus Ratings page.

Mangroves

8.69

8.27

9.42

7.33

Social Justice
Culture
Women
Biodiversity
Carbon

Reference	Social Justice	Culture	Women	Biodiversity	Carbon
Indigenous Stewardship Brings Restoration of Mangroves	9.0	10.0	8.0	10.0
An inside look at the beauty and benefits of mangroves	7.0			10.0
Reforested mangroves can save an Indigenous community from disappearing	9.0	8.0		10.0
The State of the Worlds Mangroves	8.0	8.0	8.0	10.0
Mothers of the Mangrove: Women lead project to preserve biodiversity of amazonian mangroves	9.0	9.0	9.0	10.0
Bulacans Coastal Guardians: A Tale of Mangrove Rehabilitation and Community Empowerment	9.0	9.0		9.0
Mangrove conservation: a global perspective	9.0	9.0		9.0
Challenging The Man In Mangroves: The Missing Role Of Women In Mangrove Conservation	7.0		7.0
Gender Issues within the Population-Environment Nexus in Philippine Coastal Areas	8.0		8.0
https://www.academia.edu/57516637/Interrelations_between_mangrove_ecosystem_local_economy_and_social_sustainability_in_Caet%C3%A9_Estuary_North_Brazil	7.0	8.0
Integrated mangrove-shrimp cultivation: Potential for blue carbon sequestration	7.0	7.0
Gender equity is key to mangrove restoration	9.0	9.0	9.0
How does mangrove restoration empower women in Madagascar?	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Biodiversity preservation: womens role in mangrove restoration	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Understanding the Nexus of Mangroves and Women in Guinea-Conakry	8.0		7.0
African Youth Are Getting Paid to Fight Climate Change by Restoring Mangrove Ecosystems	9.0
The Tiger Widows of India Conserving the Mangrove Forest Where Their Husbands Died	8.0		8.0	9.0
Women are leading the charge rewilding mangroves in Cambodia	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Legalization of Indigenous Territories in Colombia		9.0
UN honours Kenyas Mikoko Pamoja Mangrove conservation	9.0			9.0
Costs and Carbon Benefits of Mangrove Conservation and Restoration: A Global Analysis					8.0
Mangrove Forest Carbon Sequestration					7.0
Coastal Wetland Protection - Project Drawdown					7.0
	8.4	8.7	8.3	9.4	7.3

Action Items

Individuals

Learn why mangrove forests are important and why they are so threatened. Mangrove habitats are underappreciated and, therefore, vulnerable to degradation or destruction. They are declining under pressure from urban development, shrimp aquaculture, and palm oil plantations. About eighty species of mangroves live on tropical and semitropical coastlines where tides inundate their soil with salt water. Global Mangrove Watch has a map showing the extent of mangroves, current losses, and density of carbon storage.

Mangroves are uniquely adapted to their salty environment. Their roots stabilize them against frequent storms and trap sediment, protecting coastlines and providing habitat for wildlife.
Mangroves are some of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet. Endangered animals such as the Bengal tiger, the hawkbilled sea turtle, the pygmy three-toed sloth, and the Philippine cockatoo rely on them for survival.
Mangroves store up to four times more carbon per acre than tropical forests, more than any other type of forest. Called blue carbon, it is stored in their waterlogged soil, which means it stays put for long periods of time. Other types of coastal ecosystems operate in a similar fashion (see Tidal Salt Marshes Nexus and Seagrasses Nexus). The destruction of mangrove forests, conversely, releases large amount of stored greenhouse gases.
Mangroves protect up to 18 million people along the world’s coasts from flooding by reducing storm surges and preventing shoreline erosion. In Vietnam, a $1.1 million investment in protected mangrove forests saved the country $7.3 million in sea dike maintenance.
Mangrove forests are a “food basket” for juvenile fish and shrimp. As much as 80 percent of global fish catch depends on mangroves. They are also food baskets for coastal communities of people.
Mangroves filter excess nitrogen and phosphorus from runoff, as well as other pollutants. Every dollar invested in mangrove protection can provide five dollars or more in benefits.
While mangroves occur on every continent except Antarctica, just four countries host over 40 percent of the world’s mangroves, led by Indonesia. Africa and Southeast Asia are especially rich in mangroves and innovative ways to protect them.
Because of their role in food production, women are often affected by mangrove loss and are especially active in preserving and reforesting them.
Threats depend on the region. Aquaculture, rice paddies, and palm oil plantations are the greatest threats in Southeast Asia, while urbanization is a major threat in any region with a fast-expanding population see Aquaculture Nexus). Logging the rot-resistant wood for construction and charcoal also destroys mangroves. Fortunately, mangrove loss due to these threats has declined since 1996 as people better understand the contributions of these ecosystems (see Palm Oil Nexus and Tropical Forest Nexus).
Mangroves are highly vulnerable to climate change. Sea level rise threatens up to 25 percent of the world’s mangroves, and if it accelerates, all mangroves may be extinct by 2100. Extreme weather events like drought and heat can also kill mangrove forests.
Certain types of aquaculture, such as shrimp farming, put mangrove forests at risk, threatening the wild marine life they support.

Share information with others. One of the most important things you can do to protect mangroves is to share how valuable they are.

Write an op-ed supporting mangrove protection, nature-based infrastructure that includes mangroves, or sustainable shrimp.
Sign up for newsletters or follow the social media accounts of Key Players (below) so you can learn about campaigns for mangrove protection and spread the word. Global Mangrove Alliance and Mangrove Action Project cover mangroves worldwide. MangroveWatch has frequent updates on Australia’s mangroves. Blue Forests provides an Indonesian-language perspective in its Facebook and X feeds.
Share these award-winning mangrove photos that showcase the beauty of mangroves and the people and animals that rely on them.
Support the creation and management of Marine Protected Areas, which include estuaries and tidal zones. See Marine Protected Areas Nexus.

If you eat shrimp, do so sustainably. Mangrove forests are often destroyed to create shrimp farm ponds, which means farmed shrimp have one of the largest carbon footprints of any food. In just a few years, most shrimp ponds become unproductive and are abandoned, leaving barren areas. Shrimp aquaculture can displace Indigenous fisheries, and deforestation exposes local communities to floods while reducing habitat for wild shrimp (see Aquaculture Nexus).

Look for sustainable wild-caught shrimp or mangrove-safe farmed shrimp that either come from areas without mangroves or are farmed in ways that can coexist with mangroves. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch can help you choose environmentally and socially responsible shrimp.
Ask your grocer and your favorite restaurants for sustainable shrimp. Shrimp farmers are responsive to consumer demands.

Avoid products containing palm oil. Many mangrove forests have been destroyed in order to convert the land to palm oil plantations. Even palm oil that is claimed to be sustainable has likely been grown on recently deforested land. In 2020, palm oil plantations were the primary cause of mangrove deforestation in North Sumatra. See Palm Oil Nexus.

Support Indigenous communities and groups that assist them in doing mangrove protection and restoration work. Indigenous peoples and local communities are crucial in protecting mangroves and are the most harmed when cut down. Indigenous peoples depend on mangrove areas and often have effective methods of stewardship, such as maintaining some areas as sacred and restricting certain uses. The Global Mangrove Alliance lists effective projects with a number of partners (see Key Players).

Donate to groups that work on community-based mangrove projects or buy blue carbon credits that support them. Blue carbon credits fund carbon sequestration in ocean and coastal landscapes. They can improve the living standards of communities involved in conservation, as well as fund habitat restoration.
Choose restoration projects carefully. Although large numbers of mangrove trees planted or acres restored can be impressive, these efforts fail if local conditions aren’t taken into account. The most successful projects have high levels of community involvement, ecological understanding, and monitoring. Plan Vivo certifies community-based carbon projects and facilitates buying credits for them, including the successful Mikoko Pamoja project in Kenya.

Be a responsible tourist in mangrove regions. Visiting mangrove habitats, which have rich fauna and great food, can be a way to learn more about this fascinating ecosystem. Sustainable tourism can help protect mangroves, improve income and job opportunities, and even reduce gender inequality. However, tourism can also harm communities. This “eco-resort” from a company that says it is sustainable is actually cutting down mangroves in a sensitive area. Staying in places that adhere to sustainable tourism standards can help. So can locally-based ecotourism that doesn’t rely on cutting down mangroves to create resorts.

Prevent plastics pollution. Mangroves are efficient at accumulating floating trash, and the debris can suffocate their roots as well as harm wildlife. Plastics used within 30 miles (50 kilometers) of the coast are especially likely to end up in the water (see Plastics Nexus).

Avoid using single-use plastic items (bags, cutlery, food and beverage packaging) and support policies that reduce their use.
Participate in mangrove litter cleanups. Many cleanups around the world are held on International Coastal Cleanup Day in September. One man in Florida has picked up over fourteen thousand pounds of litter.

If you live near mangroves, act to protect them.

Prevent damage. Keep livestock out of mangrove areas, don’t ride off-road vehicles there, and don’t walk through mangroves at low tide. If harvesting mollusks, harvest at low tide and remove carefully so as not to damage roots.
Trim mangroves carefully. Help them maintain leaf cover so they can regrow after pruning.
Be a mangrove watcher. Based in Australia but active in the United States and looking to expand worldwide, MangroveWatch partners with citizen scientists to monitor mangroves.

Groups

Local Governments, Nonprofits, and Communities

Governments, nonprofits, and communities have all initiated successful mangrove restoration projects, and many involve collaboration among all three.

Implement best practices such as Community-Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR). Community support, careful site assessment, and ecological restoration can make the difference between a mudflat and a thriving forest. The following principles are common to successful projects.
Start with local community participation and input. Oceanium Dakar used the cinéma-débat method (film screenings with discussions on mangroves) and other community-centered work to stimulate discussion of mangrove restoration, thus seeding a network of four hundred villages that have successfully replanted mangroves and established community-managed marine protected areas. Communities may need education on the importance and ecology of mangroves, while they can provide detailed information on site history or topics like hydrology and seasons for collecting propagules (seeds that begin to sprout on the tree, drop off, and float to new sites). Involving communities in nursery tending, channel building, planting where necessary, monitoring, and sometimes law enforcement is key to success and can provide needed income.
Assess sites thoroughly. Knowing environmental characteristics such as hydrology, wind/wave exposure, substrate/soil type, mangrove stressors, and social characteristics (especially land tenure) is critical to success. The flow of water within the site may need to be changed, as in abandoned shrimp ponds, where the walls of the ponds need to be leveled or breached so water can flow in and out.
Plant only if needed. Given a good site and appropriate water flow, mangroves can restore themselves without needing to be planted. If seeding or replanting is necessary, assess nearby sites for appropriate species, understand their zones, and gather seeds locally. Different planting patterns depending on wind and wave energy can improve seedling success.
Monitor for three to five years. Not only does this provide data on whether the project was successful, but it can also provide early warning signs that allow troubleshooting the problems and can be a feedback tool for upgrading future projects.
Ensure that nearby communities can succeed economically while using mangrove areas sustainably. This may require developing alternative livelihoods. TRY Oyster Women’s Association in Gambia has improved oyster gathering and processing techniques for local women, worked out a management plan for the mangrove ecosystems where they harvest, successfully reforested mangroves in several communities, and improved the women’s financial security and quality of life. Mangrove beekeeping and honey production benefits mangroves and communities around them and can be done with local wild bees.

Companies

Rethink your plastic packaging. More than 400 million tons of plastic are produced every year, and plastic waste makes up 80 percent of all marine debris, from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Thick deposits of coastal plastic can kill mangroves (see Plastics Nexus).

Source sustainable shrimp. Corporations that buy shrimp can greatly improve their carbon footprint by buying certified, sustainably raised, or sustainably wild-caught shrimp, which can improve livelihoods while protecting mangroves (see Aquaculture Nexus)

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) standards prohibit the conversion of mangroves and other intact habitats while requiring fair labor practices and healthy treatment of the shrimp. They publish a frequently updated list of suppliers.
Naturland provides organic aquaculture certification. They partner with shrimp farmers in Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh to provide technical advice and ensure that mangroves are protected.
Selva Shrimp raises shrimp in integrated mangrove systems where they use no feed or chemicals and cause no widespread deforestation.
The Marine Stewardship Council can help you find suppliers for certified wild-caught shrimp.

Governance

Develop a robust inventory for mangroves. Creating a national inventory of mangroves is necessary for integrating mangroves into climate goals and policy.

For instance, an inventory of Brazil’s mangroves established that they are second only to the Amazon forest in Brazil’s carbon sequestration.
The Google Earth Engine Mangrove Mapping Methodology is an accessible tool requiring no specialized expertise with satellite imagery, data processing, or coding that allows local decision-makers to map and monitor mangrove ecosystems.

Set aside protected areas for mangroves. Protected areas are especially effective when regulations are lacking or difficult to enforce (see Marine Protected Areas Nexus).

Protected areas now contain about 42 percent of the world’s mangroves. Protected areas have reduced the rate of mangrove loss by about 28 percent in Indonesia, avoiding the release of approximately 13 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. Cuba’s new Marine Protected Area conserves associated habitat as well as mangroves and improves fisheries sustainability.

Collaborate with local communities to create community-based mangrove forest management agreements. The interests and knowledge of local communities need to be taken into account. Top-down science-based management that doesn’t integrate local concerns and understanding is likely to fail, whereas community-based mangrove forest management increases biodiversity and enables Indigenous people to benefit from the ecosystems they rely on and protect.

In Ecuador, the Socio Manglar program combines ecosystem-service payments with Sustainable Use and Mangrove Custody Agreements (AUSCM) that give communities rights to sustainable use and responsibilities for surveillance.
In Thailand, villages built on traditional management of village mangrove forests create village networks in collaboration with an NGO, leading to informal recognition from the government and improved forest structure compared to state-managed forests.
The Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project provided resources and capacity building to local communities, which monitor, restore, and raise awareness of mangroves, including a successful ecotourism program.
In Indonesia, communities with strong local leadership had the best mangrove restoration outcomes.

Regulate for regenerative use of mangroves. Where regulation is well enforced, large unfragmented areas of mangroves are more likely to survive. The most effective approaches depend on the national context. Options include the following:

Collaborate with NGOs to increase funding and capacity for mangrove capacity initiatives, as in Costa Rica and Madagascar.
Create strong policy on aquaculture to protect mangroves, including prohibiting conversion of mangroves to shrimp aquaculture and requiring abandoned ponds to be restored to mangroves, as in the Philippines, or requiring mangrove cover with aquaculture ponds, as in Vietnam.
Carefully craft policies on cutting or clearing mangroves to address a major driver of mangrove loss while honoring traditional subsistence activities. Policies may include permitting or a requirement to reforest, as in Mozambique and Vietnam. The Matang Mangrove Forest has been sustainably logged using rotational cutting for 120 years.
Integrate mangrove management across sectors and agencies for greater clarity and efficiency. Mangroves may be considered under forest, marine, or wetland regulations or a combination of the three. Options to integrate management include considering mangroves part of a nation’s national heritage (as Costa Rica) or national capital (Madagascar), prioritizing mangrove ecosystems as critical for climate change (Mexico), and mandating coordination of mangrove management.
Clarify land tenure and/or use rights to protect Indigenous and local subsistence rights and promote restoration. Mangrove deforestation is often driven by inequality in land tenure. In a survey of mangrove experts worldwide, all Southeast Asia respondents stated that land tenure issues were an obstacle to restoration.
Regulate pollution sources that especially need it, including shrimp aquaculture, pollution from urbanization (dumping can even change hydrology), oil spills, and plastics.
Ensure those affected by regulation also benefit from it to prevent perverse incentives and make regulation effective.

Incentivize mangrove protection and restoration.

Create a carbon accounting model for mangrove ecosystems to enable blue carbon credits, as in Australia.
Use Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) systems, such as carbon and nutrient trading credits, to raise living standards and reduce pressure on mangroves. In Madagascar, where community management of mangroves is usual, the Tahiry Honko initiative sells blue carbon credits that provide community development funds. Socio Manglar in Ecuador pays users of mangrove forests to conserve them. Here are three case studies in Vietnam.
End subsidies, tax breaks, and low-cost purchases of land that incentivize mangrove destruction, such as oil exploitation, aquaculture, and urban or industrial development. Incentivizing the oil industry is especially damaging because of CO₂ and methane release and the potential for oil spills, which are extraordinarily detrimental to mangroves and very difficult to clean up.

Conduct public information campaigns for fishers and other mangrove users on the ecology of mangroves and their flora and fauna. In Brazil, the Let the Crabs Date! Campaign reduces the catch of mangrove crabs during breeding season, thus improving the crab fishery. The Bakjuana mascot educates Filipinos on the importance of mangroves and strengthens Marine Protected Areas.

Key Players

Organizations

The Global Mangrove Alliance (Global) brings NGOs, governments, scientists, industry, local communities, and funders together towards a common goal of conserving and restoring mangrove ecosystems.

Mangrove Action Project (Global) partners with communities and organizations worldwide to conserve, manage, and restore mangrove forests.

Wetlands International (Global) is dedicated to the conservation and restoration of wetlands.

MangroveWatch (Australia) focuses on the research, education, and conservation of mangrove and tidal wetland environments globally.

The Mangrove Association (El Salvador) is a grassroots community organization that works to strengthen capacities, build skills, and advance agricultural practices to improve the quality of life,

Blue Forests (Indonesia) creates collaboration to examine how land and water usage along with cultural practices impact watersheds.

TRY Oyster Women's Association—Equator Initiative (Gambia) brings together 500 female oyster harvesters from across 15 villages in the Greater Banjul area and supports the reforestation of local mangroves.