Mangrove restoration is one of the most effective ways of rapid climate change mitigation. This is partly because much of the carbon found in such ecosystems is locked into the submarine sediments on which mangroves grow. For this reason it has been estimated that mangrove ecosystems are 4-5 times more effective at absorbing carbon than terrestrial tree-planting It is also a very important method of climate change adaptation as mangroves provide tropical coastal communities with increased protection against sea-level rises, cyclone damage and associated storm surges. Moreover, mangroves zones can be important employment locations and income sources for the local community. Thus, they provide an excellent example of how community development and environmental improvements are so closely interlinked at this present time of climate change crisis. It is not surprising therefore that The Commonwealth Blue Charter highlights mangrove restoration as one of its priority areas of action.
Click here for details concerning The Commonwealth Blue Charter.
Another source of useful information on this topic is the Blue Carbon Initiative website at www.thebluecarboninitiative.org, which provides basic data on the importance of coastal ecosystems, such as coral reefs, sea grass as well as mangroves, for climate change mitigation. Yet the website also gives details on the current destruction of these ecosystems. For example, it is estimated that up to 67% of the original mangrove cover may be lost, and the annual loss of this valuable ecosystem continues at a rate of 2% loss per year.
At present there does not seem to be a much attention to this issue among RGBI members. We are aware of one mangrove project in the Sundarbans, Bangla Desh with local Rotary support but with no support from within RGBI. On the Tanzanian coast there is also a women’s mangrove project. Thus, this featured project is not so much a celebration of Rotary projects already underway but a call for clubs interested in coastal ecosystems, carbon capture or promoting community development in locations vulnerable to climate change to come forward and help.
For details of Tanzanian mangrove planting see www.fairtree.org/wap-mangroves .

Click here for details of the Sundarbans mangrove project or visit Friendship website for more details https://friendship.ngo/mangroves-against-the-climate-crisis/
Click here to read about OCEAN INNOVATORS® Commonwealth Blue Charter & Rotary Mangrove restoration projects
If you want to become involved in mangrove restoration consider downloading the Treekly app https://www.treekly.org/the-app
Treekly aim to plant 5 million trees by the end of 2022, which will capture 250,000 tonnes of CO2 by 2030. With this app you can earn a free tree by walking 5000 steps/day for 5 days in a week. Keep fit and save the planet! The trees that Treekly are planting are mangroves in Madagascar.
You can go a step further and sign up to Treekly Plus to start planting trees every day you complete 5000 steps. Plant up to 365 trees a year. Just £3.99 a month. Cancel anytime. see https://www.treekly.org/treekly-plus
ACES is a Scottish-registered charity that support the Mikoko Pamoja and Vanga Blue Forest projects in project coordination and trading of carbon credits. As a charity supported by volunteers, ACES is able to devote most of the funds we raise to conservation and community development; on average 82% of the money we raise is spent inthe communities we serve.

Mikoko Pamoja is a pioneering Blue Carbon project on the southern coast of Kenya. It protects and restores 117ha of critically important mangrove forest under a community-based management approach, and delivers benefits for the climate, the environment and for people

Vanga Blue Forest was launched in 2019, building on the success of nearby Mikoko Pamoja to protect an even larger area of mangrove forest and support a bigger community living the villages of Vanga, Kiwegu and Jimbo on the Kenya-Tanzania border.