Intervention
Mangrove Regeneration
Location
Madagascar
Developer
Eden Reforestation Projects
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Project information
Mangrove planting in Madagascar
This trail-blazing project run by Eden Reforestation Projects has reforestation and poverty alleviation at its heart. Mangroves pack some punch when it comes to carbon sequestration but also provide a whole load of other natural benefits such as storm surge protection and vital habitat for many species.
The Madagascar project that we support started in 2007. The project has already planted over 300 million trees and created over 3 million workdays.
To date, they have planted over 334 million trees across 8 countries. This has opened up 3.3 million days of work for local communities. By the year 2025, their goal is to plant 500 million trees each year.
Sustainable Goals
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Great for Earth
In Madagascar, forest restoration is a critical issue- the country has lost over 90% of its native forest cover today. This is a huge loss for biodiversity, since approximately 75% of its species are not found anywhere else in the world. It is our responsibility to protect what is left and help to reforest areas that have been destroyed.
Mangroves are an excellent forest type for restoration- it not only stores more carbon than traditional forests, it also provides multiple benefits to coastal communities like storm protection, water filtration and livelihood generation. Each mangrove tree removes around 308kg of CO2 from the atmosphere over the course of its life-cycle (approximately 25 years).
In Maroalika, the mangrove forests are also favored by native bird species. Replanting the mangrove forests is expected to bring back the once abundant bird diversity, but also restore the soil in the region which has been heavily degraded from charcoal harvesting.
Planting: A mix of four different mangrove species are planted as well as at least 10% agroforestry trees to provide an additional source of income to the local people. The mangroves are planted directly from propagules, and Eden have discovered that mortality becomes irrelevant as natural regeneration occurs (after the inevitable loss of some propagules). Typically regeneration exceeds 200% of the original number of mangroves planted – we know it’s cool.
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Positive for People
Healthy and thriving mangroves are linked with bountiful coastal communities, since mangrove health is closely tied with coastal socio-economic stability. On the flip side, degradation of mangroves brings loss of fish stocks, soil quality degradation, vulnerability to physical extreme events and income loss from charcoal production and timber logging.
To solve the double-edged problem, Eden Restoration is using a unique methodology of ‘employ to plant’ in order to target both of these problems. This aims to involve locals within the core project execution and provide fair employment to local people so that they may grow, plant, and guard to maturity native species forest on a massive scale.