Journal Article

Tackling the mangrove restoration challenge

Lovelock, Catherine E., Barbier, Edward, Duarte, Carlos M.

2022

Overview

Mangroves have been converted and degraded for decades. Rates of loss have declined over the past decades, but achieving resilient coastlines requires both conservation and restoration. Here, we outline the challenges for the global restoration of mangroves and what actions could enhance restoration. Ambitious global targets for mangrove restoration, if successful, could deliver global benefits of carbon sequestration, fisheries production, biodiversity, and coastal protection. However, large-scale mangrove planting efforts have often failed, and smaller projects may not deliver landscape-scale benefits, even though they are more suited to community management. Solutions to achieving global targets include reducing risks of large projects and increasing the uptake and effectiveness of smaller projects. Sustainable mangrove restoration requires investment in capacity building in communities and institutions, and mechanisms to match restoration opportunities with prospective supporters and investors. Global reporting standards will support adaptive management and help fully understand and monitor the benefits of mangrove restoration.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Adaptive management / Aquaculture / Biodiversity / Biology and Life Sciences / Capacity development / Carbon sequestration / Climate change / Coastal zone management / Commodities / Community support / Earth Sciences / Ecological restoration / Ecology and Environmental Sciences / Ecosystems / Engineering and Technology / Environment / Environmental protection / Evaluation / Fisheries / Infrastructure / Mangrove plants / Mangroves / Paris Agreement / Productivity / Protection and preservation / Restoration / Risk reduction / Social Sciences