Mangrove restoration: Local solutions, global impacts

The often-misunderstood mangrove is an ecosystem at the centre of efforts to adapt to climate change in West African coastal and island communities. Mangroves protect communities from storms, filter pollutants from the water, shelter reproducing wildlife, and sequester carbon. 

But climate change is a threat to mangroves as well. 

Inter Pares is working with our counterparts in Togo, Senegal, and Guinea-Bissau to restore mangroves by organizing all-day education and mobilization activities to help reduce human impact on these ecosystems. 

Inades-Formation Togo planted no less than 10,210 mangrove trees and 850 coconut palms in local mangroves. In the Senegalese village of Palmarin, Enda Pronat restored two hectares of mangroves through training and community action. These efforts encourage fish reproduction, countering the loss of certain species, while slowing coastal erosion. 

Women are largely responsible for these initiatives, which speaks to their crucial role in preserving these ecosystems. Located as they are on the front lines of mangrove deterioration, women can see the direct threat this poses to their natural resource-based subsistence activities of fishing, oyster cultivation, and shellfish harvesting, all of which take place within mangrove forests.  

Climate change forces women to travel increasingly long distances to fish, reducing the time they have available for other activities and worsening their financial circumstances. 

By recognizing women’s role in conserving mangrove forests, we are highlighting the importance of community engagement and including the most vulnerable people in climate change adaptation. Together, we can take action to preserve and restore these vital ecosystems for the planet.