Protecting the mangroves of the Casamance through remote sensing data In the village of Séleki, deep in Senegal’s Casamance region, mangroves were quietly disappearing — not from logging, but from a less visible threat. Through the alert functionality of Global Mangrove Watch, our local team — Boubacar Sagna and Khadim Diop — were notified of the loss – an area of 2 hectares. Together with Marine Protected Area officer Capitaine Agustin Sadio, they travelled to the site and uncovered the source of the degradation: dikes. Mangrove loss alerts detected by Global Mangrove Watch The mangroves of the Casamance are more than just trees. They are a vital buffer against floods and sea level rise. They provide valuable products that form the livelihoods of many such as fish, oysters, and honey. Unfortunately, these ecosystems are under constant pressure from both human activity and natural shifts. The good news is that solutions to restore mangroves exist. But to implement them, we need to know exactly where degradation has happened. The Marine Protected Areas of this region are vast, and it is impossible for a small group of rangers to patrol the entire area. What if satellites out in space could monitor mangroves? What if there were a way for us to know, almost in real time, where we should direct our limited time and resources to conserve this ecosystem? This is exactly what Global Mangrove Watch does. It is an online platform that provides remote sensing data and tools for monitoring mangroves. With hi-res information on mangrove loss, Global Mangrove Watch gives Marine Protected Area managers, conservationists, policymakers and practitioners the evidence needed to respond to illegal logging, pinpoint the causes of local mangrove loss and track restoration progress. Global Mangrove Watch training ©Wetlands International Under Wetlands International’s Rooted Resilience project, supported by The Swedish Postcode Lottery Foundation, we trained various stakeholders including local authorities and students to use Global Mangrove Watch in the Casamance. Rangers can now monitor their whole area, allowing them to dedicate their limited time to work with communities to conserve mangroves. The Story of Séleki: from aquaculture ponds to mangrove-based sustainable livelihoods In Séleki, located within the UKB Marine Protected Area (Ufoyaal Kassa-Bandial), we found that the dikes were built to create ponds for aquaculture. But these dikes blocked the natural flow of the brackish water, and over time, deprived of the tidal rhythm they needed to survive, the mangroves began to wither. Degradation caused by dikes blocking water flow ©Wetlands International Conservation is not just about the environment; it’s about people. Wetlands International Afrique are currently facilitating the exchange between the Séleki community, the National Aquaculture Agency, and the owner of the dike to develop alternative sustainable livelihoods. By finding new ways to support food security that don’t require blocking the tides, we can reopen the dikes and allow the ecosystem to heal. Our focus is on Community-Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration, a method that aims to jointly with communities to restore the conditions for mangroves to regrow naturally. Alternative livelihoods include harvesting mangrove honey from restored areas ©Wetlands International Kalone-Bliss Kassa Not all degradation is caused by humans. In the KBK Marine Protected Area (Kalone-Bliss Kassa), GMW detected a different kind of mangrove loss. Roughly 16 hectares of mangroves are currently dying off due to a natural phenomenon: the shifting of a large sand dune. This dune has acted as a natural plug, cutting off the vital water inflow that the forest depends on. This case serves as a stark reminder that even in protected areas, mangroves are vulnerable to the physical changes of a shifting coastline. This site is very important for several species of birds such as cormorants and egrets. An impact study is currently needed to assess outcomes of potential interventions. Natural degradation caused by sand dunes ©Wetlands International Niamone-Kalounayes A third alert was noted in the MPA Niamone-Kalounayes. It is clear that mangroves have been cut here, but the reason for cutting is not completely known (therefore we don’t know the legality of these actions). We assume this could be done for fencing vegetable gardens in the region or to use the wood for product transformation. Because of the alerts by Global Mangrove Watch, the MPA is patrolling the area regularly to make sure there isn’t further degradation. Mangroves cut by humans ©Wetlands International By combining satellite technology with deep community engagement and government partnerships, we are ensuring that the mangroves of the Casamance region continue to protect the coast for generations to come. The journey from a digital alert to a restored mangrove forest is long, but in places like Séleki, the first steps toward recovery have already begun, bringing hope to the communities that depend on mangrove ecosystems.

The GMA Policy Working Group The Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA) unites more than 100 member organizations across 40+ countries around its 2030 goals: halting mangrove loss, restoring half of all degraded mangroves, and doubling protection of what remains. The GMA’s Policy Working Group (PWG), connecting over 40 member organizations and all 14 national chapters, advances the enabling policy frameworks these goals require, from local governance to international agreements. In August 2026, the PWG held its second peer-learning call of the year, bringing members together to focus on blue carbon policy and finance, one of the topics members identified as a priority in last year's survey. Building on the group's first call in March, which launched the 2026 work program, this session moved from introductions into substance: an anchor presentation on blue carbon financing and project development, diverse country- and subnational-level case studies from PWG members, and an open exchange on the policy and governance conditions that determine whether blue carbon ambition translates into action on the ground. The call opened with a presentation from Lisa Schindler Murray of Rare, who leads the organization's blue carbon and nature-based financing work. She walked through the full landscape of blue carbon financing, carbon markets and the wide range of non-carbon market instruments now emerging, including payment for ecosystem services, parametric insurance, outcome-based finance, and enterprise-based approaches, and stressed that each depends on distinct enabling policy conditions, from tenure and resource-use rights to government engagement. She closed by highlighting two tools worth knowing: the High-Quality Blue Carbon Practitioners' Guide, recently updated to its second edition and organized around five pillars (safeguarding nature, empowering people, employing the best information, operating locally and contextually, and mobilizing high-integrity capital), and the new Blue Carbon Cost Tool from TNC and partners, which helps project developers estimate full costs from the outset. Her key takeaways for the group: No single financing tool is sufficient on its own, so a resilient strategy draws on several; Local leadership and context, ecology, policy, community priorities, and risk tolerance, should drive which tools get used Existing project support tools are there to be learned from rather than reinvented Local action, protecting one mangrove and empowering one community at a time, adds up to a planetary-scale response to climate and biodiversity loss. Three brief case studies followed, offering a snapshot of blue carbon policy in practice. In Jamaica, more than two years of work by The Nature Conservancy with Pew Charitable Trusts and the University of the West Indies, combining legislative review, strengthened baseline science, and stakeholder engagement, helped secure stronger blue carbon commitments in the country's latest NDC, including targets to protect 67% of the island's mangroves by 2033 and restore 7,000 hectares by 2027. In Papua New Guinea, The Nature Conservancy and partners supported a new blue carbon policy roadmap, launched at COP30, that clarifies institutional roles across government and names communities as key stakeholders and implementers alongside financing mechanisms, with a full policy targeted for 2030. And in São Paulo State, Brazil, Fundação Florestal, working with the University of São Paulo, has built a subnational blue carbon inventory on soil carbon sampling, now covering more than 2,000 samples, creating an internationally aligned baseline ahead of any future market project, alongside a new payment-for-ecosystem-services initiative addressing an invasive oyster species harming local mangroves and fishing communities. The discussion that followed surfaced themes cutting across all three presentations. Several members pointed to the same underlying policy conditions, tenure clarity, data-sharing rules, and early government engagement, as prerequisites regardless of financing instrument. On the gap between frameworks and practice, members highlighted the lack of guidance on free, prior, and informed consent and rights-based community engagement in voluntary blue carbon projects, noting several existing tools to support carbon market standards. Members also touched on how blue carbon commitments increasingly align with broader climate and biodiversity frameworks, including NDCs, national biodiversity strategies, and 30x30 targets, reinforcing blue carbon's role as a bridge among climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity, and community livelihoods. The PWG's next peer-learning call is planned for Q3 2026. In the meantime, catch up on the group's first peer-learning call of the year or watch the recording of this session on YouTube. Interested in learning more? Dive into the recent PWG publication, Mangrove Law and Policy in Practice: 2026 Case Studies, building on the 2023 Mangrove Law and Policy Brief. Developed collaboratively by PWG members and partners around the world, it brings together 16 case studies across restoration protocols, NDCs, blue carbon tools, biodiversity strategies, and governance frameworks, offering practical guidance for translating commitments into outcomes on the ground. ---- If you are a GMA member working on mangrove policy and are not yet part of the Policy Working Group, reach out to the PWG lead, Adriana Vidal (Adriana.vidal@iucn.org), to get involved.

From Forensics to Action: The Evolution of GMW Lammert Hilarides, Wetlands International Lagune de la Somone, Senegal For years, tracking global mangrove loss has felt a bit like performing historical forensics. When early versions of the Global Mangrove Watch (GMW) platform launched, we were looking at broad, retrospective snapshots of the world's coastlines. We could see where mangroves had been, but by the time the maps were published, the loggers had moved on, the shrimp ponds were built, or the restoration planting had already succeeded or failed on the ground. Data was treated as a finished monument, built by scientists, published in journals, and left static until the next major funding cycle. With the release of the GMW 4.1 dataset and our latest batch of platform updates, that era is officially over. We are introducing a continuous, unbroken annual time-series stretching from 1985 all the way to 2025, complemented by near real-time monthly alerts of mangrove loss until June 2026. Aerial photograph from Senegal 2023 taken during GMW training. "This update isn't just a deeper archive or a minor technical patch. It represents a fundamental shift in how the Global Mangrove Alliance operates: moving away from treating data as a static scientific product, and embracing it as an active, living operational framework driven by people who use it for conservation and restoration on the ground." Lammert Hilarides, Wetlands International Our journey since publishing version 2.0, the first publicly available version, in 2018 has taught us that data is only as good as its responsiveness to reality. Science shouldn't happen in a vacuum. By listening to feedback from hundreds of people over many years, whether through formal website channels or informal feedback during trainings, we have deliberately evolved GMW into a tool built for real-world application. New features and updates The GMW version 4.1 dataset provides a new foundation for our work by providing the most stable, reliable time series of mangrove extent and change yet. The dataset now accurately separates gross loss and gross gain into individually usable layers. Instead of looking at a "net change" figure that hides massive local clear-cutting behind a wall of natural growth elsewhere, practitioners can now isolate exactly where destruction is happening versus where recovery is taking root. When you combine this deep historical backdrop with our monthly mangrove loss alerts, which now feature a temporal visualization color-coded by the recency of the alert, local teams can immediately spot and react to illegal clearing as it happens. Users can now distinguish exactly where mangroves are being lost versus where recovery is taking root. To support making this data truly actionable, the platform itself has undergone a transformation. For the first time, we are introducing much requested features of user accounts, subscriptions, and customizable areas of interest. Users no longer have to navigate from the global map from scratch every time they visit but instead can now draw a boundary around their own areas of interest, revisit those and receive tailored updates when new data comes in. This localized, user-driven approach is already changing how stakeholders manage their mangrove forests. Take Ecuador, where the national GMA Chapter is building its very own national mangrove monitoring system based on GMW data and empowering local stakeholders to directly track and defend their forests. Similarly, in Kenya, the Kenya Forest Service is utilizing these tailored insights to make an immediate difference in how regional marine resources are governed and restored. To bridge the gap between data and direct action even further, the platform now features a much closer integration with the Mangrove Restoration Tracker Tool (MRTT). Rather than just viewing loss from a distance, practitioners can now seamlessly transition from monitoring a site to tracking the actual progress and health of restoration projects over time. The monthly mangrove loss alerts are now enhanced with color-coded visualizations, showing the recency of each alert. Local teams can immediately spot and react to potential illegal clearing as it happens. Crucially, version 4.1 acts as a rock-solid foundation for an entire ecosystem of derived datasets. While today we launch the update to GMW extent and change data, it paves the way for a complete refresh of our most critical diagnostic layers. Over the next twelve months, updates will roll out for our global datasets on mangrove biomass, blue carbon stocks, restoration potential and many others. The Global Mangrove Alliance was founded on the idea that no single organization can protect the world's coastlines alone. By turning our scientific data into an open, community-driven process, we are ensuring that the tools to defend these vital ecosystems belong to everyone. The maps are sharper, the alert system is live, and the infrastructure is ready. We invite conservationists, policymakers, and researchers to create an account, subscribe to your regions of interest, and help us refine this platform even further by sharing your feedback through the GMW contact form, via email or by flagging data issues directly on GitHub. The latest data is in your hands. Now, let’s continue to use it to make measurable differences on the ground. And we will measure them!

“We are excited to be part of this process, ensuring we continue to catalyze the adoption of blue carbon ecosystems and ocean actions into NDCs. To achieve lasting and enduring impact, community-led solutions, sustainable finance, and enabling conditions are needed to drive action. This plan will help bridge the existing gap between climate ambitions and action,” said George Maina, Africa Fisheries Strategy Manager at TNC. The Launch The Government of Kenya officially launched the Blue Carbon Ecosystems NDC Implementation and Investment Plan 2025–2035 at the 11th Our Ocean Conference (OOC11), marking a milestone in the country's commitment to climate action and blue economy development. Developed through a multi-agency Technical Working Group led by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, and the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, the plan provides an actionable, investable framework for deploying mangroves, seagrasses, and coastal wetlands to deliver Kenya's climate commitments through 2035. It consolidates NDC obligations across two cycles (2020–2030 and 2031–2035) into a single national strategy. From Left to Right: Dr. Eng. Festus K. Ng’eno, Principal Secretary, State Department For Environment and Climate Change; Hon. Dr Deborah Mlongo Barasa, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry.; Hon. Hassan Ali Joho (Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy & Maritime Affairs); Ms. Betsy Njagi, Principal Secretary State Department for The Blue Economy and Fisheries. From Left to Right: Dr. Eng. Festus K. Ng’eno, Principal Secretary, State Department For Environment and Climate Change; Hon. Dr Deborah Mlongo Barasa, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry.; Hon. Hassan Ali Joho (Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy & Maritime Affairs); Ms. Betsy Njagi, Principal Secretary State Department for The Blue Economy and Fisheries. Key targets include: restoring at least 75% of degraded mangroves, creating up to 70,000 jobs, and mobilizing USD 620 million in investment by 2035. Why it matters We envision a climate-resilient coastal Kenya where blue carbon ecosystems thrive, supporting the well-being of people, nature, and the economy. “This initiative reaffirms Kenya’s commitment to the Paris Agreement’s transparency framework and strengthens our position as a regional leader in ocean-climate resilience and sustainable development,” said Dr. Deborah Barasa the Cabinet Secretary in charge of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry. Kenya's 61,000 ha of mangroves and 39,000 ha of seagrass beds store over 75 million tCO₂e — sequestering 5–10 times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial forests — while supporting 80% of coastal fisheries and more than 800,000 artisanal fishers. Yet, mangrove cover has declined by 40%, with ongoing losses of 0.57% per year — equivalent to thousands of hectares lost annually. Seagrass beds are shrinking at 0.26% per year. Together, degradation costs the economy an estimated KES 6 billion annually through erosion, biodiversity loss, and coastal instability. Representatives of the Development Partners that provided Funding and Technical Support, all being members of GMA-Kenya Chapter. From Left to Right: Abdul Hazeez (Wetlands International Eastern Africa); Lenice Ojwang (Fauna & Flora); Nancy Ogonje (East African Wildlife Society); Louisa Chinyavu (Wetlands International Eastern Africa); Priscilla Kagwa, (Wetlands International Eastern Africa:; Damaris Kinyua (The Nature Conservancy) The Blue Carbon Ecosystems plan is structured around five Key Result Areas that aim to: Conserve and restore all intact mangroves, restore at least 30% of degraded BCE areas, and protect 20,000+ ha of seagrass — reducing emissions by ~0.5 million tCO₂e by 2030 and generating tradable blue carbon credits at USD 30–50/tonne. Create 15,000–30,000 jobs by 2030 and 40,000–70,000 by 2035 through seaweed farming, mariculture, ecotourism, and other ventures, raising household incomes by 15–30% and generating USD 30–100 million in community revenues. Establish rigorous MRV systems integrating digital platforms, indigenous knowledge, and high-integrity carbon accounting aligned with Paris Agreement Article 6. Strengthen governance by clarifying mandates across national and county institutions, harmonizing benefit-sharing, and developing a national seagrass restoration framework. Mobilize USD 620 million (KES 80.1 billion) over 10 years through a four-tiered financing architecture spanning public grants, results-based finance, carbon, and biodiversity markets, green bonds, GCF, GEF, and bilateral donors — with commercial returns of 8–25% IRR. "This Plan is an important step because it brings together what Kenya has been building over the years: science, policy, community knowledge, and partnerships into one clear roadmap for action. We know that protecting mangroves and seagrass is not only about conserving nature. It is about supporting fisheries, strengthening livelihoods, building resilience to climate change and creating opportunities for coastal communities. The real work now is implementing the Plan in partnership with the people who are already stewarding these ecosystems every day," said Dr. Julie Mulonga, Regional Director, Wetlands International Eastern Africa. "This plan is critical for mobilizing the science, partnerships and financial resources required to protect and restore BCEs, ensuring they align seamlessly with Kenya's climate and development goals. By advancing BCEs investments, Kenya can drive meaningful climate action and promote sustainable development," said Dr. James Kairo, Chief Scientist at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute and a Member of the International Blue Carbon Scientific Working Group. 2035 Outcomes By 2035, the plan aims to reduce 0.68–0.69 million tCO₂e in emissions, avert USD 200–500 million in coastal damages, increase fisheries productivity by 25% for 300,000–600,000 households, and position Kenya as a regional and global leader in ocean-based climate action. “We commend the collaboration between government, research institutions, partners, civil society, and coastal communities in developing this plan. We urge all stakeholders to continue supporting its implementation to protect and sustainably manage Kenya’s Blue Carbon Ecosystems,” said Hon. Hassan Ali Joho, Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy & Maritime Affairs. Credit: Crab fisherman on Pate Island Lamu. Photo Credit Roshni Lodhia and TNC ​ Partners Thank you to the support from the Government of Kenya and various development partners and regional organizations, including Fauna & Flora, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Wetlands International Eastern Africa, World Wide Fund (WWF) Kenya, The Nature Conservancy, Global Mangrove Alliance, The East African Wildlife Society, GIZ, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Government of Canada, among others, for their technical expertise and financial support throughout the formulation process.

A global effort to conserve and restore mangroves, together. World Mangrove Day is a day to raise awareness about mangrove ecosystems and their vital importance. These coastal forests bridge land and sea, supporting biodiversity and the livelihoods that depend on them. The Global Mangrove Alliance is a global network committed to restoring and conserving mangroves. We work in partnership with 100+ members and 14 national chapters who are implementing best practice on the ground. We often speak about the work of our community, but today we are lifting their voices to share their local stories of impact. Winning Member Story Submission - Projects to Commitments Photo © Valentin Giebel In the North of Sulawesi, Indonesia, NABU is working with local communities to protect and restore vital mangrove forests. A key person is Pak Umar, a member of the Bajo ethnic group. For over 20 years, he has been a passionate advocate for mangrove conservation. With deep knowledge of coastal ecosystems and a strong connection to nature, he inspires many young people in the region. For the Bajo, mangroves are more than just an ecosystem – they are a way of life, a source of identity, and a vital foundation for their future. People like Pak Umar and their extraordinary cultural and ecological knowledge are vital to turn a temporary conservation project into a lasting commitment. His presence in the photo reflects this deep commitment. Learn more about the project and our work here. Member Stories from India TERRE Policy Centre: Empowering Women in Maharashtra In this coastal Indian village, local women are at the heart of ecological restoration. Through focused capacity-building sessions, women from local Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are being trained in the importance of mangroves. What began as an awareness initiative has evolved into hands-on conservation action. The efforts don’t stop at restoration. The women have also established and now manage a fully functional mangrove nursery. It stands as a symbol of sustainable livelihood and environmental stewardship, where women are not only restoring nature but also generating income and gaining recognition within their communities. Through their efforts, mangrove ecosystems are being revived, coastal resilience is being strengthened, and the link between gender equity and environmental sustainability is being forged — one sapling at a time. Integrated Village Development Trust (IVDT) and Chale Chalo CHALE CHALO is a grassroots NGO that has been collaborating with the Integrated Village Development Trust (IVDT)-UK, in Bhitarkanika National Park (BKNP) for the last two decades. Bhitarkanika Mangrove Wetland Forest is India’s second-largest mangrove habitat and was designated as a Ramsar site in 2002. We have brought together 840 local community members to restore and conserve mangrove habitats. We have educated 200 students from 10 high schools on the restoration and conservation of mangroves, local birds, and topsoil fertility. We also convened 400 Eco-Club students to participate in events such as drawing, painting, poster and scroll making, debates, one-act plays, songs, and slogan writing focussing on the wetland mangrove habitat restoration. Member Stories from Africa We Forest – Senegal In the heart of Casamance, where the river intertwines with the mangroves, a canoeist named Vieux fixed his eyes on a green islet in the middle of the water. He has personally witnessed how restoration and conservation efforts have allowed his once sparse island to now teem with life. Biodiversity, once so rich, had suffered. But today, a smile lit up his wrinkled face. “Truly, there is a gradual restoration of biodiversity in Casamance.” He saw in every bird that returned and in every new leaf that budded on the mangroves, a sign of hope. Wetlands International Eastern Africa – Kenya Fuelwood collection from mangrove forests has long been essential for communities in Lamu, Kenya—but it has also contributed to severe forest degradation. To address this, Wetlands International launched a community-led initiative to introduce energy-efficient cookstoves. These new stoves use significantly less wood, reduce indoor air pollution, lower household costs, and create safer cooking environments. Already benefiting over 3,000 people in Lamu Delta, the initiative has generated strong demand for replication across the region and beyond. For more information click here. Photo credit Priscilla Kagwa, Wetlands International Eastern Africa. SOA Tanzania Since 2020, at SOA Tanzania has been leading mangrove restoration efforts and building a generation of restoration youth champions and coastal guardians. We’re working with over 695 youth and local community members to protect and restore mangrove ecosystems along the Tanzanian coast. Together, we have adopted 5,000 hectares of mangrove forest. Through this work, we also empower people in the sustainable blue economy, linking conservation with livelihoods. A Light for Nature (LINAT) – Cameroon Our work is rooted in community, culture, and climate action. Along the coast of Cameroon, mangroves were once vanishing quickly, taking with them our fish, our protection from storms and the deep cultural stories tied to the land. To combat this, we launched a locally led mangrove restoration project. Our mangroves carry the memory of our ancestors. They hold our stories and shape our identity. As Mr. Yana Asokwo, a local resident, says, “our mangroves are like a home for fish and crayfish. They give us food and money to support our families. They also protect us from floods and strong waves that can damage our homes.” GMA National Chapter – Kenya The collaboration between GMA–Kenya Chapter and NMMC is more than a policy alignment, it’s a platform for real change on the ground. Through joint efforts, the partnership is enhancing knowledge exchange, improving policy coherence, and optimizing the use of financial and technical resources. Local communities, often the first to feel the impacts of environmental degradation, are now better equipped to participate in and benefit from conservation efforts. Capacity-building programs are empowering community forest associations, youth groups, and women-led initiatives to take active roles in mangrove restoration. Scientific monitoring is helping track ecosystem health and inform adaptive management. And public awareness campaigns are shifting perceptions, helping more people understand the value of mangroves not just as trees, but as life-sustaining ecosystems. Photo credit Judith Okello KMFRI. World Wildlife Fund (WWF), IUCN Mozambique & Save Our Mangroves Now – Mozambique Mozambique faces substantial challenges in balancing development and environmental conservation. To protect biodiversity and address climate change, the country has adopted the ambitious 30×30 goals, safeguarding 30% of its terrestrial and marine ecosystems by 2030. In response, Mozambique’s Government, supported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has launched a campaign to raise awareness and build consensus. This collaboration has produced a forward-looking framework within the National Territorial Development Plan (PNDT 2020-2040), which aims for a “prosperous, competitive, sustainable, safe, and inclusive” country. Pilot projects in two areas have proven innovative strategies and offer best practices for wider application. Read more here. Member Stories from the Bahamas Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) began planting mangroves in The Bahamas in 2020, restoring areas of Grand Bahama and Abaco so badly damaged by Hurricane Dorian that they were beyond natural recovery. Last December, BTT celebrated the planting of the 100,000th mangrove seedling with the bonefishing guides and volunteers, students and teachers, government officials, and local conservation partners whose hard work and dedication made achieving this milestone possible. The restoration project continues to grow! Our education programs engage students across the islands of The Bahamas through presentations and field trips that teach the cultural and economic importance of healthy mangroves. A new mangrove nursery will jumpstart restoration projects on Crooked and Acklins Islands. And as a founding member of the Bahamas Mangrove Alliance (BMA), BTT is pushing for increased protections for mangroves nationwide and accelerating restoration efforts. This World Mangrove Day, we are busily collecting red mangrove propagules, the seeds that will propel us towards our next goal with our BMA partners: 1 million mangroves planted. Member Stories from Central America MAR Alliance Mangroves are true pillars of marine biodiversity. At MarAlliance, we work in Panama and Belize to protect these critical ecosystems through participatory science, evidence-based conservation and the strengthening of local knowledge. Photo credit Rachel Graham. Read more here. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) – Guatemala The Mangrove Roundtable of Tiquisate and Nueva Concepción launched the “Sembrando Huella 2025” program, reinforcing strategic alliances with public and private sector entities, non-governmental organizations and educational institutions. Member Stories from South America Rare – Brazil In the Brazilian Amazon, traditional extractive communities are partnering with scientists, NGOs and private sector to co-develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool that helps them adapt to increasing climate variability. Led by the Marine Environmental Monitoring Research Group (LAPMAR) at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), with support from Rare Brazil and Accenture, the initiative translates environmental data — such as tide and lunar cycles — into daily WhatsApp audio alerts to guide safer and more productive harvesting of oysters and crabs. These value chains depend directly on healthy mangrove ecosystems, and the tool supports their sustainable management by integrating science, traditional knowledge, and community needs. Photo credit Jessica Wandscheer, Rare. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) – Ecuador Puerto El Morro depends on mangroves for livelihoods. Don Adolfo Ávila has spent half a century working in the mangroves in Puerto El Morro. Alongside his fellow members of the Manglares Porteños Artisanal Fishers Cooperative, he sets out for the day’s work. “My father used to say, ‘We have to go fishing,’ and that was it—I’d go. The mangrove gave us our income and food for the family,” says Don Adolfo as he digs through the mud with his tool to collect shells. This work, which has long been the economic backbone of Puerto El Morro, has declined over the years due to various factors such as pollution and mangrove deforestation. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) works with several coastal communities in Ecuador, providing training on monitoring and surveillance, mangrove conservation, proper shellfish and crab harvesting, community governance, and promoting sustainable livelihoods—such as in the case of Puerto El Morro. Member Stories from Southeast Asia Planète Urgence – Indonesia These photos were taken in the intervention zones of our mangrove planting project in East Kalimantan, where reforestation efforts—carried out in collaboration with local communities—are focused on restoring degraded riparian. Photo credit Alexandra, Planète Urgence. Wetlands International – Indonesia Onggojoyo Jaya, one of the community groups in coastal Demak, Central Java, Indonesia is currently developing a mud crab (Scylla serrata) fattening business in their eroding and prone to tidal floods ponds. The fattening process takes approximately 15–20 days before the crabs are ready for harvest. This GMA supported initiative through the Mangrove for Food Security (MFS) project aims to improve the local coastal economy by utilizing previously unproductive pond areas. In addition, the project aims to restore the eroding ponds by creating a mangrove greenbelt along the pond dikes adjacent to the intertidal river. Fauna & Flora – Cambodia Fauna & Flora and partners are working in Cambodia towards the establishment of a national network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), building on our critical support for the designation of Cambodia’s first Marine National Park in the Koh Rong Archipelago in 2018. We support the conservation and restoration of mangroves in collaboration with the Cambodian Government and our partners Fishing Cat Ecological Enterprise (FCEE) and Children and Women’s Development in Cambodia (CWDCC). Fishing Cat Ecological Enterprise and Fauna & Flora work in the largest mangrove area in mainland Southeast Asia. In 2023, FCEE, Fauna & Flora and several collaborators and contributors conducted the first comprehensive biodiversity assessment of this mangrove ecosystem, recording over 700 species. Photo credit Kieran Murray, Fauna & Flora.

GMA Chapters Gather in Ecuador Members from GMA National Chapters and the GMA Global team convened in Guayaquil, Ecuador this month for a workshop that spotlighted the importance of knowledge-sharing in mangrove restoration. Members from ten different countries around the globe -- Ecuador, Malaysia, Belize, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia, Bahamas, Panama, Costa Rica, and Brazil. At the heart of the meeting was a simple question: how can we better support and coordinate with one another to strengthen the GMA? Throughout the week, participants shared their own experiences, the successes they are proud of, the challenges they continue to navigate, and the lessons they have learned along the way. Passing on these critical lessons allowed members of other Chapters to bring back new practices to their own home countries and projects. Our conversations sparked new ideas, uncovered common priorities, and opened the door to stronger collaboration. The meeting provided space for the GMA Global team to share updates and resources, answer questions, and hear directly from Chapter leaders and representatives. It also provided the forum for feedback and improved communication between teams. “During these five days of exchange among the different countries, we are seeing that we face common challenges that we would like to tackle together, seeking alternatives to ensure the financial sustainability of mangrove conservation and restoration activities, by combining scientific knowledge with the work done by communities and the information that citizens can also provide.” Carolina Rosero, Vice President and Executive Director, Conservation International Ecuador One of the most memorable moments of the week was the visit to the Puerto Hondo Mangrove site, supported by Conservation International Ecuador and the GMA Ecuador National Chapter. Seeing community-led conservation efforts first hand brought many of the themes discussed during the meeting to life. Participants learned about area mangrove restoration efforts, a women-led mangrove and houseplant nursery program, and innovative waste management and circular economy initiatives that are benefiting both ecosystems and livelihoods. Field visit to the Puerto Hondo mangrove restoration site The visit also offered a chance to hear from community members about their work to improve access to clean water, strengthens community wellbeing, and fosters environmental stewardship through education and recycling. “The purpose of this place is first and foremost to grow mangroves, but also to provide a livelihood for women -- because it has to be sustainable; there has to be this economic sustainability so that they are truly motivated to restore and maintain this very important ecosystem.” Marina Flor, Representative of the Holcim Ecuador Foundation As the meeting came to a close, participants left with new relationships, fresh perspectives, and a stronger sense of what can be achieved when Chapters learn from and support one another. More than anything, the week reinforced the strength of the GMA network and the shared commitment that unites us as we support healthy mangrove ecosystems and thriving coastal communities around the world. Photo Credit: Dom Wodehouse, MAP “We know that we can be stronger together, we can achieve more, and we're more likely to have funding success when we join forces and design bigger and more impactful programs.” Mark Beeston, GMA Finance Working Group. A sincere thank you to the GMA Ecuador National Chapter for their warm hospitality and for supporting the National Chapter Working Group in hosting such a meaningful and inspiring event. We are also grateful to everyone who traveled from near and far to take part. While visa and travel challenges prevented some Chapter representatives from joining us in person, we made every effort to ensure their perspectives were reflected throughout the meeting. Photo credit: Laura Lozano, Conservation International Ecuador

Reflections From the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue at UNFCCC SBSTA 64 By Susanna Tol, Wetlands International, and Anelise Zimmer, The Pew Charitable Trusts There is a growing recognition that the ocean is an essential component of climate action, as demonstrated during the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue (“the Dialogue”), held 10-11 June during the sixty-fourth session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 64) in Bonn, Germany. As countries look ahead to the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP31) in November, discussions increasingly focused on how to accelerate implementation at the scale required. Mangroves on the Caribbean coast of Panama. © Kate Meyer, The Pew Charitable Trusts Across the Dialogue’s three themes – ocean-based measures in nationally determined contributions (NDCs), means of implementation and ocean-climate-biodiversity synergies – a common message emerged that countries are making significant progress in integrating ocean priorities into climate policy, but substantial barriers remain to translating commitments into action. Mangroves and other coastal wetlands were central to the Dialogue and recognized throughout as proven solutions that simultaneously deliver climate mitigation, adaptation, biodiversity conservation, food security and community resilience. Ocean-based measures in NDCs: From inclusion to implementation The first theme of the Dialogue examined how ocean-based climate action is reflected in NDCs. Participants highlighted substantial progress in recent years. The share of coastal and island countries including ocean-based measures in their NDCs has risen, reflecting growing recognition of the ocean-climate nexus. For mangroves, the momentum is encouraging: 15 Mangrove Breakthrough-endorsing governments have already included mangrove-specific targets or references in their NDCs. The Mangrove Breakthrough mobilizes collective action from governments and non-governmental actors to advance mangrove conservation and finance. Countries and observers emphasized that ocean-related commitments are often focused on adaptation rather than mitigation and are not consistently translated into clear, measurable targets. During discussions, participants also stressed that implementation readiness is required for investment readiness. To lay the foundation for successful implementation, countries highlighted the need to overcome several barriers, including improved access to data and robust monitoring systems, technical guidance and capacity, strategic partnerships and stakeholder engagement platforms, and improved institutional coordination. Panama included science-based and measurable targets to conserve mangroves within their NDC 3.0, demonstrating the role that mangroves can play within countries climate action plans. © Kate Meyer, The Pew Charitable Trusts Means of implementation: Closing the gap between ambition and delivery The second theme focused on one of the most pressing challenges: the implementation of commitments. Across regions, countries described a persistent mismatch between the scale of ocean-related commitments and the resources available to deliver them. For many developing countries, Small Island Developing States and developing coastal nations, implementation remains heavily dependent on external support. As a result, finance emerged as the dominant issue throughout the discussions. Participants repeatedly highlighted the difficulty of accessing climate finance, developing investable project pipelines and navigating fragmented funding mechanisms. Countries called for stronger support to develop investment-ready projects, improve access to existing climate and biodiversity funds, and build the technical capacity needed to prepare, implement and monitor large-scale initiatives. For the Mangrove Breakthrough and its co-founder, the Global Mangrove Alliance – a worldwide coalition of non-governmental organizations, governments, scientists and local communities dedicated to protecting and restoring mangrove ecosystems – this call for support reinforces the importance of several of the Mangrove Breakthrough’s tools, resources and initiatives, such as its Financial Roadmap, Mangrove Catalytic Facility and Regional Readiness Reports, as well as country-level investment propositions. These efforts are designed to help bridge the gap between national ambition and practical implementation by supporting governments and partners in developing fundable, high-integrity mangrove programs. Existing tools and resources such as the Global Mangrove Watch and the Global Mangrove Alliance’s Best Practice Guidelines for Mangrove Restoration are also well positioned to help countries identify priority mangrove areas, track progress and design mangrove restoration efforts that deliver long-term ecological and social benefits. A particularly promising development discussed during the Dialogue was the upcoming UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) Forum on Oceans and Water Systems. The SCF is responsible for assisting countries to coordinate and mobilize finance for climate action. In September, the SCF Forum will focus on ocean and water systems, which are historically underfunded but vitally important for climate action. Participants expressed hope that the Forum could help to elevate ocean finance within broader climate finance discussions and identify pathways to scale investment in coastal ecosystems and resilience. Ocean-climate-biodiversity synergies: Breaking down silos The Dialogue’s third theme explored synergies between climate, biodiversity and ocean agendas. Participants repeatedly stressed that mangroves, seagrasses and other coastal wetlands are uniquely positioned to deliver multiple benefits simultaneously. Despite this obvious overlap, many countries continue to struggle with fragmented governance systems, separate reporting requirements and institutional silos. In many countries, multiple agencies remain responsible for different aspects of marine and coastal management, making coordination difficult. Throughout the Dialogue, participants emphasized the need for stronger coherence between NDCs, National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and implementation plans under other multilateral environmental agreements such as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework featured prominently in discussions, particularly Target 2 and Target 3, relating to ecosystem restoration and conservation. Dialogue participants highlighted that mangroves provide a powerful example of what integrated action can look like in practice. By protecting and restoring mangrove ecosystems, countries can simultaneously advance their climate commitments under the UNFCCC, biodiversity goals under the Global Biodiversity Framework and wetland conservation objectives under the Ramsar Convention. Monitoring and reporting emerged as a practical entry point for enhancing coherence. Several discussions focused on opportunities to harmonize indicators, improve data-sharing and reuse information across conventions. Participants noted that many countries face severe capacity constraints and would benefit from more integrated approaches that reduce reporting burdens. Participants also highlighted the important role that civil society, scientific institutions and non-state actors can play in facilitating collaboration across National Focal Points – the designated government representatives – of the different conventions, ministries and sectors. Platforms such as the Global Mangrove Watch, alongside national mangrove or blue carbon strategies and cross-ministerial coordination mechanisms, were cited as examples of practical ways that can support integrated implementation. Looking towards COP31 As the Dialogue concluded, participants expressed optimism about the growing prominence of ocean issues within the UNFCCC process. Incoming COP31 leadership signalled strong interest in elevating ocean-climate action and ensuring that the outcomes of the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue inform preparations for both pre-COP and COP31 itself. Looking ahead, participants called for the Dialogue process to become more closely aligned with the Paris Agreement ambition cycle. Future dialogues could progressively support countries through the different stages of climate action – from integrating ocean priorities into NDCs to strengthening implementation, improving transparency and reporting, and informing future UNFCCC Global Stocktakes, the assessments of the world’s collective progress towards achieving global climate goals that take place every five years. The discussions in Bonn made clear that many of the tools, knowledge and partnerships already exist. The task ahead is to mobilize them at the scale and speed required to secure resilient ecosystems for the people and biodiversity that depend on them. The Mangrove Breakthrough NDC Task Force – a global coalition of experts that helps countries to design and implement their mangrove NDCs – stands ready to support Mangrove Breakthrough-endorsing governments in advancing implementation and investment planning for their mangrove NDCs. Susanna Tol is a senior communications and advocacy officer on the Coasts and Deltas team at Wetlands International. Anelise Zimmer is a policy officer on The Pew Charitable Trusts’ advancing coastal wetlands conservation project.

What Works and What to Avoid Dr. Laura Michie, Mangrove Action Project World Ocean Day is a celebration of 71% of Earth's surface. The ocean plays a vital role in providing oxygen, food, and climate regulation. What bridges land and sea, buffering against flooding as sea levels rise? Mangrove ecosystems. The 15 million hectares of mangroves across the globe play a vital role in supporting biodiversity, protecting coastlines, sustaining fisheries, and storing large amounts of carbon. Yet, 50% of mangroves are at risk of collapse by 2050. Mangrove restoration has gained increasing attention over the past two decades. As interest in blue carbon projects continues to grow, so does the number of restoration initiatives being implemented around the world. However, successful mangrove restoration requires more than simply planting trees. While well-intentioned, many restoration projects fail because they overlook the ecological processes that allow mangrove ecosystems to establish and thrive naturally. © Diego-Vivanco_L Common Restoration Mistakes One of the most frequent mistakes in mangrove restoration is planting in unsuitable locations. Mangroves are often planted on mudflats, in seagrass meadows, or in areas where environmental conditions cannot support long-term growth. In many cases, projects focus on achieving ambitious planting targets rather than understanding why mangroves were lost in the first place. If conditions are not suitable, planted seedlings are unlikely to survive regardless of the effort invested. Another common challenge is the planting of a single species across large areas. This approach often results in the wrong species being planted in the wrong place and can result in forests that lack the biodiversity and resilience of natural mangrove ecosystems. © Diego-Vivanco_L Restoration That Works There is no single solution to mangrove restoration. Successful restoration begins with understanding the site being restored. Before any intervention takes place, it is essential to identify the factors that caused degradation and determine whether natural recovery is possible. One approach that has gained widespread recognition is Community-Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR). CBEMR works by identifying and addressing the factors that prevent mangroves from naturally regenerating, such as disrupted hydrology, elevation changes, or ongoing human pressures. Rather than focusing primarily on planting, the approach seeks to restore the environmental conditions that allow mangroves to recover on their own. CBEMR also places strong emphasis on community led projects. By involving local stakeholders in site assessment, planning, implementation, and monitoring, restoration efforts are more likely to address local needs and remain sustainable over the long term. This combination of ecological understanding and community stewardship often results in more biodiverse, resilient, and self-sustaining mangrove ecosystems. Therefore when beginning a restoration project, and before planting, practitioners should understand site hydrology, elevation, salinity, and sediment dynamics, as well as how the site has changed over time. Historical maps, aerial imagery, and local ecological knowledge can help identify mangrove use and any disturbances that may have caused stressors. Equally important is understanding the social context. Land tenure, resource use, governance, and community priorities can all influence restoration outcomes. Understanding community needs and building local capacity helps ensure that restored ecosystems continue to provide environmental, social, and economic benefits well into the future. Restoration activities can then focus on removing the local stressors, this may include improving tidal flow (such as introducing culverts under roads, or removing sediment and debris from blocked channels), removing or reshaping shrimp pond walls, managing grazing animals or reducing wood harvesting pressure. Removing the stressors will allow nature to thrive. Natural regeneration can produce more diverse and resilient forests while reducing the costs associated with nursery development and large-scale planting. Where planting is required, it should be used strategically and based on site-specific ecological assessments. © Mangrove Action Project Restoration in Action In El Salvador, Asociación Mangle and local communities have restored large areas of degraded mangrove in Jiquilisco Bay by addressing hydrological barriers that prevented natural regeneration. Sedimentation coming from upstream areas had gradually blocked tidal channels, reducing water exchange and leading to widespread mangrove diebacks. Local community members reopened approximately three kilometers of blocked channels, restoring water flow to previously degraded areas. Once hydrology was re-established, mangroves regenerated naturally across extensive areas, improving habitat quality, fisheries productivity, and biodiversity. Similarly, in Kenya's Lamu County, Wetlands International and local communities restored degraded mangrove areas by addressing the hydrological barriers that were preventing natural regeneration. By reopening channels and restoring natural tidal flows, the project created the conditions needed for mangroves to recover naturally. Within six months, monitoring showed improved water circulation and clear signs of mangrove regrowth, demonstrating how ecological restoration approaches can support the recovery of degraded mangroves. Protect Existing Mangroves First While restoration is important, protecting existing mangrove forests remains one of the most effective climate and conservation actions. Healthy mangrove forests already provide critical ecosystem services, including carbon storage, coastal protection, biodiversity habitat, and support for local livelihoods. Once lost, these functions can take decades to recover, even with successful restoration. Protecting existing mangroves is often more cost-effective and delivers greater environmental benefits than restoring degraded areas. Restoration should therefore complement, not replace, efforts to conserve intact mangroves. Thinking Long Term Every mangrove site has unique environmental, social, and economic conditions that must be considered for restoration. By prioritizing ecological processes, engaging local communities, and protecting existing forests, restoration projects can create more diverse, resilient, and sustainable mangrove ecosystems. Ultimately, the most successful projects work with nature rather than against it.

Dan Friess & Zhen Zhang Tulane University www.themangrovelab.com Email: dfriess@tulane.edu; zzhang58@tulane.edu Mangrove forests have long been considered one of the world’s most threatened ecosystems, to the extent that in 2007 a world-leading group of scientists concluded that by the end of the century we might see “a world without mangroves”. Mangrove areas have long been converted to human land uses such as aquaculture and agriculture, have been damaged by infrastructure development, and impacted by pollution. This is on top of the myriad natural processes that affect mangroves, such as tropical cyclones and shoreline erosion. Mangrove loss has caused substantial loss of biodiversity alongside losses of the important ecosystem benefits that they provide to coastal communities across the tropics. Photo by Dan Friess, Tulane University. Turning the Tide on Mangrove Loss While we have generally considered mangroves to be heavily threatened, our recent research published in the journal Science suggests that we may have turned the tide on mangrove loss and degradation. We showed that mangrove loss rates have slowed since 2000, and a large proportion of mangrove loss has been offset by the regeneration and expansion of new mangroves, particularly in river estuaries and along accreting shorelines. As a result, mangroves globally have in fact shown an overall net gain since around 2010. We also quantified rates of mangrove degradation, which while higher than rates of deforestation, have also shown a substantial drop over time. We also showed that many of the world’s remaining mangroves are growing and getting thicker through time. Photo by Dan Friess, Tulane University. Mapping Global Dynamics To uncover these new global mangrove dynamics, we created a novel global mangrove canopy cover dataset. This dataset provides us annual information on mangrove extent and covers approximately 40 years, from the early- to mid-1980s until 2023. Traditional remote sensing approaches treat mangrove maps as binary e.g., a pixel is either mangrove or not mangrove. Our approach using canopy cover gives us a more nuanced understanding of both habitat quantity and habitat quality. We can use this dataset for two purposes. Firstly, it shows annual change in mangrove area, to monitor broad changes in extent driven by deforestation and loss, or regeneration and expansion of mangroves into new locations. Secondly, it shows us more subtle changes in canopy cover within the persistent mangrove area, which helps us to decode areas of degradation or canopy thickening. This annual dataset is freely available for all countries here for anyone to use and download. Building on Our Conservation Gains While this could be seen as a sign of conservation optimism, the hard work to protect the world’s mangroves is not yet done, and there are many locations around the world where mangroves are being lost. The results of this study show the importance of mangrove conservation to achieving the Global Mangrove Alliance’s goals of (1) Halting Loss; (2) Restoring Half; and (3) Doubling Protection. Mangroves around the world already show great capacity to regenerate and expand, so if we can stop remaining deforestation then mangroves would show an even greater net gain around the world. New mangroves take time to grow to a level that they can provide the same ecosystem benefits as a mature mangrove forest, so it’s important that we protect these important mature forests now. The rapid regeneration and expansion of mangroves also shows that they can colonise new areas quickly if physical conditions are right, so we need to prioritise restoration techniques that restore the physical conditions that mangroves need. This is an exciting time for mangroves, and we have seen huge momentum behind their conservation and restoration around the world. Understanding mangrove dynamics is important for guiding suitable conservation and restoration; at Tulane University’s Mangrove Lab we are proud to be a member of the Global Mangrove Alliance, helping provide the information that can inform effective conservation decision making. Dive Deeper Download the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aec9773 Access the data here: https://zhenzhang.users.earthengine.app/view/globalmangrovedynamic Lukas Lamb-Wotton, Tulane University

World Migratory Bird Day 2026 Bar-tailed Godwit 1764 on mudflat in West Africa © Rokyatou Thiam / Wetlands International West Africa Mangrove landscapes are among the most valuable ecosystems on Earth. They protect coastal communities from flooding and erosion, support fisheries by acting as nursery grounds for commercially important fish and crustaceans, store enormous amounts of carbon, provide harvestable resources, create opportunities for ecotourism, and hold deep cultural significance for coastal people. But mangroves are not just valuable for people. They are also biodiversity hotspots. What makes mangrove systems so ecologically rich is the interaction between mangrove forests, tidal creeks, mudflats, salt flats, and open intertidal areas, and in many cases also rivers. Together they form a constantly shifting habitat mosaic shaped by tides, sediment movement, elevation, and salinity. These dynamic landscapes are especially important for migratory shorebirds, which depend on them for feeding, resting, and shelter during some of the longest migrations on the planet. Why Shorebirds Depend on Mangroves One of the strongest links between mangroves and shorebirds is food. Mangroves are highly productive ecosystems. Their dense root systems trap sediments and organic matter, creating ideal conditions for benthic invertebrates such as worms, mollusks, and small crabs. These animals form the foundation of the food web that supports migratory shorebirds. Most shorebirds do not feed inside dense mangrove forests themselves. Instead, they forage on adjacent mudflats exposed during low tide. Mangroves indirectly sustain these feeding grounds by stabilizing sediments, cycling nutrients, and fueling biological productivity. Mangroves also function as nurseries for fish and crustaceans, strengthening the broader coastal food web. Shelter, Safety, and Roosting Habitat Mangroves are important not only for feeding, but also for shelter. During high tide, when mudflats disappear under water, shorebirds often roost in or near mangroves. The vegetation provides protection from predators, wind, and extreme weather. Birds may gather in open spaces within the mangroves, perch on branches, or rest on pneumatophores — the aerial roots characteristic of many mangrove species. The real ecological value lies in the balance: open areas for feeding combined with vegetated areas for refuge and productivity. The Hidden Importance of “Tannes” One particularly important habitat feature for shorebirds in mangrove systems is the presence of tannes — naturally open areas within mangrove landscapes. From a boat in a creek or from the edge of a mudflat, mangroves can appear as an unbroken wall of forest. But inside these systems there are often extensive open zones, or large areas where mangroves occur only as narrow fringes along channels and creeks. These openings exist because local conditions — especially extreme salinity or poor drainage — prevent mangrove trees from growing in those particular spots. Some tannes are fully enclosed by mangroves, while others form open bays connected to the wider intertidal landscape. For shorebirds, these open spaces are extremely valuable. Birds frequently use them for roosting between feeding periods, provided they remain above water during the tidal cycle. As tides rise further, birds move to higher open ground or perch directly on mangrove trees. Shorebirds using mangrove landscape on Bubaque, Bijagos. The distribution clearly shows that the birds mainly use the open areas Too Many Mangroves for Shorebirds? Mangroves are vital ecosystems, but more mangroves are not always better for shorebirds. If mangroves expand into open mudflats — whether naturally or through poorly planned restoration — they can reduce the amount of feeding habitat available to species that depend on bare, unvegetated sediment. Many shorebirds require open visibility to detect predators and access soft sediments rich in prey. Species such as godwits, plovers, curlews, knots, and sandpipers generally avoid dense vegetation when feeding. As a result, different shorebird species respond differently to increasing mangrove cover. Some benefit from additional shelter and productivity, while others lose critical feeding habitat.This means the relationship between mangroves and shorebirds is not a simple one-way benefit. It is a balance. West Africa: a globally important flyway region In 2025, Wetlands International — together with partners including BirdEyes, NIOZ and BirdLife International, and in close collaboration with local organisations — began work on a range of coastal wetland sites in West Africa as part of the Climate Resilient East Atlantic Flyway initiative. Across West Africa, the most important shorebird areas are places where mangroves and intertidal mudflats occur together, such as the Saloum Delta and Casamance in Senegal; the River Gambia estuary; the Bijagós Archipelago in Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s most important shorebird sites; the estuaries and coastal plains of Guinea and Sierra Leone; and the Niger Delta in Nigeria. In parts of the Saloum Delta and Guinea-Bissau, for example, mangrove expansion into tidal flats has already been linked to reduced feeding opportunities for some shorebird species. The evidence increasingly shows that what works best is maintaining a spatial balance: extensive open mudflats for feeding, combined with mangrove belts and patches that sustain productivity, stabilise shorelines, and provide shelter. This is the approach Wetlands International and partners are promoting as the foundation for safeguarding both migratory flyways and local livelihoods in key landscapes, such as the Bijagós Archipelago and the Saloum Delta. Habitat use pattern of shorebirds on Bubaque, Bijagos. The dots represent location fixes for 3 Curlew Sandpipers (yellow, purple and blue), 2 Grey Plovers (lightgreen and black) and 2 Common Redshanks (pink and red) A Healthy Balance is the Key In coastal West Africa, mangroves are essential because they power the food web that supports migratory shorebirds. But the birds themselves depend most directly on the open mudflats beside them. The system only works when both habitats coexist in balance. Lose the mangroves, and the ecosystem loses productivity. Lose the mudflats, and the birds lose their feeding grounds. Protecting migratory shorebirds therefore means protecting the dynamic relationship between the two. This blog was developed as part of the 'Climate-Resilient East Atlantic Flyway' (CREAF) programme, implemented by Wetlands International, Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS), BirdLife International, BirdEyes, and PRCM amongst other partners, and supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI), funded by the Federal Government of Germany. More information about the project.

By Rocky Sanchez Tirona, Rare This month marks a pivotal moment for locally-led coastal protection – Coastal 500, the world’s largest network of local government leaders committed to thriving seas and prosperous coastal communities, has surpassed its 500-member goal, with the addition of 105 local government leaders from Indonesia’s Sangihe Islands in North Sulawesi.  As Coastal 500 reaches this pivotal moment, its significance is not just numerical. It reflects a growing global recognition that the future of coastal resilience will be decided not only in national capitals or at international summits, but in municipalities, districts, and villages where people live closest to the sea. Coastal 500, launched by Rare in 2021, now spans local government leaders across the developing tropics and was created on a simple but powerful premise: local leaders are indispensable to building thriving, prosperous coastal communities. That is especially true for the protection and restoration of mangrove forests, one of the network’s central areas of focus.   Mangroves are often described through the lens of carbon, and rightly so. But for coastal communities, their value is even more immediate. Mangroves buffer shorelines from storm surges, erosion, and flooding. They provide nursery habitat for economically important fish and shellfish. They support biodiversity, improve water quality, and help sustain local food systems and incomes. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization notes that mangrove ecosystems provide a food base for fish, shellfish, and other species that feed millions of people, while the United Nations Environmental Programme highlights their role as both coastal protection and essential habitat for fisheries. In other words, mangrove protection and restoration is not just an environmental agenda. It is a public safety agenda, a food security agenda, and an economic resilience agenda.   Fishers in Resex Soure, Pará, Brazil. July 2024. That is why local governments matter so much. Mayors, district heads, and village leaders are the institutions closest to the tradeoffs that shape mangrove futures: coastal development, fisheries access, enforcement, budget allocation, disaster planning, and community trust. Coastal 500’s own framing is explicit: even where policies exist, local political leadership and political will are often the decisive factors in implementation. Local leaders can align community priorities with restoration, translate big commitments into practical action, and ensure that conservation is not done to communities but with them.   Indonesia, from which Coastal 500’s most recent and largest delegation of members hail, demonstrates why local government is the link between ambition and action. The country holds the world’s largest mangrove ecosystem, with recent official estimates putting its mangrove area at roughly 3.46 million hectares, or around a fifth to a quarter of the global total. At the same time, Indonesia’s governance reality is deeply local. In 2025, Coastal 500 expanded through a Village Head Partnership in Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, explicitly recognizing village heads as frontline leaders, in addition to the mayors. Our work through Rare shows village governments in Southwest Sulawesi committing public funds to co-led marine surveillance and management. That matters because restoration succeeds when local authorities can do more than endorse it: they must budget for it, organize it, defend it, and connect it to local livelihoods.   Sugba Lagoon in Del Carmen, Philippines. This focus on global mangrove restoration reaches far across Coastal 500 geographies. Along the Amazon coast in Brazil, municipalities sit beside the world’s largest continuous mangrove belt. Recent endorsements of the Mangrove Breakthrough by Brazilian states and cities show how multilevel governance can create momentum, but those same announcements emphasize that local leaders drive implementation on the ground. In the state of Pará, where a section of this vast mangrove system stretches across roughly 3,900 square kilometers, municipal leadership is helping align local policy with long-term mangrove protection and coastal resilience. For communities whose economies depend on fishing, shellfish, and other mangrove-linked livelihoods, local stewardship is inseparable from both climate adaptation and community prosperity.   The Philippines offers perhaps the most vivid proof that mangrove restoration pays back communities in moments of crisis. In Del Carmen, which holds the largest continuous stretch of mangrove forests in the Philippines, Mayor Alfredo Coro II has spent more than a decade rehabilitating and preserving the mangroves in his municipality. After Super Typhoon Rai struck in 2021, he argued that those restored ecosystems helped the municipality prepare, reduced losses, and provided a stable food source during recovery. Rare and UNEP reporting on the Philippines echoes this broader point: healthy mangroves and adjacent marine ecosystems can blunt storm impacts while sustaining fisheries that families rely on when formal systems are under stress. This is what resilience looks like in practice. It is not abstract. It is fewer lives lost, less property damaged, and more food on the table after a disaster hits.   Rocky Sanchez Tirona, Managing Director of Rare, speaking at a Coastal 500 event in Siargao, Philippines, August 2023. In Honduras, the Coastal 500 story shows something else: local leadership is contagious. Former Mayor Juan Ramon Manaiza of Limón describes how lessons from the Philippines helped spark a movement for coastal protection in Honduras. That kind of peer exchange is one of the network’s most important forms of infrastructure. Honduras’s coastal municipalities are now leading collaborative efforts to restore mangrove forests and strengthen fisheries governance in landscapes tied to the Mesoamerican Reef. Rare’s Honduras work is built around partnerships with municipal governments and communities, recognizing that mangroves, reefs, and seagrass are part of one connected food and livelihood system. When local governments help protect these systems, they are not only restoring habitat; they are helping fishers withstand climate shocks and defend their food security.   The lesson across all four countries is the same. Mangrove protection and restoration work best when they are locally owned, politically backed, and woven into the everyday priorities of coastal governance. International initiatives can set ambitious goals, including mobilizing $4 billion to protect and restore 15 million hectares of mangroves by 2030. But those goals will remain aspirational unless financing, authority, and technical support reach the local governments and communities who are best placed to deliver results.   Sandra Cárdenas among some young mangroves. Sandra is a Rare partner and Regional Coordinator for El Centro de Estudios Marinos (CEM) in Omoa and Puerto Cortés. Born and raised in Omoa, she now works to strengthen Omoa’s fisher association and make science accessible to community members of all ages. Location: Omoa, Honduras. February 2023. Coastal 500’s 500-member moment should therefore be read as a challenge as much as a celebration. The world does not need more rhetoric about the value of mangroves. It needs more trust in the leaders closest to them. If we want coastlines that can withstand storms, fisheries that can feed families, and climate strategies that hold at the water’s edge, then mangrove restoration must start where accountability is strongest and stakes are highest: in local governments and communities.     About Coastal 500   Coastal 500 is the world’s largest network of local government leaders committed to thriving seas and prosperous coastal communities. With over 500 members across 8 countries, Coastal 500 represents over 2,000 communities that steward almost 100,000 square kilometers of coastline and marine ecosystems on which nearly 4 million people depend for food security, livelihoods, and climate resilience. When local leaders join Coastal 500, they commit to empowering their communities with clear access rights to their fisheries, while promoting sustainable fishing practices, building resilience, advancing transparent, effective and collaborative governance and sharing best practices with peers across the globe.   About Rare   Rare is a global leader in community-led solutions to protect nature, fight climate change, and build resilient communities. Rare serves as the Secretariat for Coastal 500 and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the network. Rare supports members by coordinating network activities and communications, helping deliver programs, tools, and learning opportunities, and supporting engagement with partners and at international fora.   Author Bio   Rocky is the Managing Director of Regional Programs at Rare. In this role, Rocky leads Rare’s work to support community-led conservation of vital natural resources. Based in Manila, Rocky oversees all country teams encompassing Rare’s regenerative agriculture and coastal fisheries work. Previously, Rocky led Rare’s flagship program designed to revitalize coastal fisheries and improve livelihoods in coastal communities, building on the work she led in the Philippines. She has a background in strategic communications and marketing.

The Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA) brings together more than 100 member organizations across 40+ countries in support of its 2030 goals: to halt mangrove loss, restore half of all degraded mangroves, and double long-term protection of remaining mangrove areas. Achieving these goals requires enabling policy frameworks at every level, from local governance to international agreements. The GMA Policy Working Group (PWG) is a community of practice advancing these kinds of policies — connecting more than 40 member organizations and all 14 national chapters to facilitate exchange and learning, support the development of policy guidance and knowledge products, and drive mangrove policy uptake in both national frameworks and international processes. In late March 2026, the PWG held its first peer-learning call of the year, marking the launch of an ambitious 2026 work program and bringing together members from North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, East and West Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and international organizations working across multiple regions. For many, it was the first opportunity to meet as a group this year, and for the PWG, a meaningful step in reactivating as a collaborative platform for the year ahead. The sessions opened with a structured networking segment in which members presented their organizations, their geographic focus, and the policy work they are currently advancing. These snapshots, which have since been compiled into a shared PWG member resource, offered a vivid picture of the breadth of mangrove policy work currently underway across the Alliance, from national legislation and blue carbon strategies to community stewardship frameworks and international convention engagement. The networking segment was followed by a presentation of the PWG's 2026 work program, developed in coordination with the GMA’s other policy workstreams, including the Mangrove Breakthrough and the NDC Task Force. The program is organized around priority themes that members identified as central to their work: cross-sectoral integration, legal and governance frameworks, and financing and scaling models. Planned outputs for the year include a quarterly peer-learning call series, an update to the 2023 Mangrove Law and Policy Brief incorporating new case studies, improvements to the GMA Policy Knowledge Hub, and a set of policy briefs addressing the upcoming Rio Convention COPs and synergies between these frameworks, as well as contribution to an e-learning course on mangrove governance. The diversity of policy work presented by members was one of the most striking features of the calls. Geographically, the group spans nearly every major mangrove region in the world. In Latin America and the Caribbean, multiple organizations presented work in Ecuador around sustainable aquaculture policy and community stewardship agreements, while WWF Mexico shared progress on the GMA Mexico Chapter, working on national climate policy, legal protection, and blue carbon mainstreaming. The Ocean Foundation presented blue carbon and market development work across Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Cuba, and Rare's Coastal500 initiative has already contributed to landmark national policies in Honduras and the Philippines. In Africa, Conservation International Liberia and Nature for Mangroves (Sierra Leone) described advances in national mangrove governance and youth-led advocacy respectively. In Asia, Wetlands International Philippines shared recent progress on a National Blue Carbon Action Plan and coastal zone management legislation, while SACIWaters described emerging policy advocacy efforts in India. In the Middle East, Goumbook's MENA Oceans Initiative is building a regional knowledge hub and developing restoration guidelines to support NDC integration across eight countries, and Landesa shared tenure reform advisory work spanning Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, and India. Across the presentations, several thematic convergences emerged, pointing to shared priorities and opportunities for collaboration. Blue carbon policy is advancing simultaneously across multiple regions: Fauna & Flora is supporting Kenya's national blue carbon strategy, Wetlands International Philippines recently launched a National Blue Carbon Action Plan, Conservation International Liberia is working to integrate blue carbon into a national carbon market framework, and The Ocean Foundation is advancing blue carbon legislation and market development in Puerto Rico and Mexico. NDC integration runs through the work of members across nearly every region, from Pew's science-based NDC support programs in Latin America and the Western Indian Ocean, to Wetlands International's role in the global NDC Task Force, to Goumbook's regional hub in the Middle East. Sustainable aquaculture, as a policy lever for mangrove conservation, is featured in the work of both Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy in Ecuador, as well as Conservation International’s work in Liberia and Landesa’s advisory work in Cambodia. Science-policy linkages were central to presentations from Pew, Wetlands International Eastern Africa, IUCN, and New York Botanical Garden, while land tenure and community-based management framed the work of Landesa and Nature for Mangroves. Marine and coastal spatial planning, locally-led coastal management (Rare's Coastal500), monitoring and data for policy (Wetlands International, Fundação Florestal), and cross-sectoral integration into climate, biodiversity, and development planning (WWF Mexico, Wetlands International Philippines, IUCN) all featured prominently across presentations. The range of themes reflects both the complexity of the mangrove policy landscape and the complementarity of approaches within the group, making the PWG a well-positioned platform for cross-regional learning and the co-development of practical policy guidance. The 2026 work program is already underway. The next quarterly call, planned for Q2, will dive deeper into some of our members’ work on legal and governance frameworks at the national level. In the coming weeks, members will provide inputs, contributions, and case studies as we begin developing our planned knowledge products. If you are a GMA member working on mangrove policy and are not yet part of the Policy Working Group, we encourage you to get involved — reach out to the PWG lead, Adriana Vidal (Adriana.vidal@iucn.org), to learn more about how to participate and contribute to the work planned for 2026.