Context: Mangroves Amidst the Climate Crisis

As climate change intensifies—bringing rising sea levels, erratic weather, and environmental degradation—blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves have emerged as powerful natural assets.
They play a vital role in carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and sustaining community livelihoods.
Despite their immense ecological and economic value, mangroves remain absent from national financial accounts and underrepresented in policymaking.

To change this narrative, the Mangrove Coalition proposes a comprehensive approach involving technological advancements, community participation, and inclusive monitoring systems.

Key Measures to Realise the Full Potential of Mangroves

1. Leveraging Technology to Map Natural Capital

• Innovations in satellite imaging, drones, and geospatial AI now allow highly accurate mapping of mangrove forests.
• Such data is crucial for quantifying mangrove value, guiding restoration efforts, and shaping informed policies.
• Economic valuation showcases their worth:
• In India, mangrove value ranges from ₹3,535 million in Pichavaram (Tamil Nadu) to ₹664 billion in the Sundarbans (West Bengal).
• The carbon storage of the Sundarbans alone contributes ₹462 million per year.
• These figures demonstrate the urgent need to integrate mangroves into economic planning and development strategies.

2. Centering Local Communities in Conservation

• Technology alone cannot protect mangroves—community involvement is essential.
• Local populations, especially fishing communities, possess generational knowledge and rely directly on mangroves for livelihoods.
• Their inclusion in conservation and restoration efforts ensures:
• Equitable benefit-sharing,
• Stronger implementation through local stewardship,
• And resilience in ecosystem management.
• For fisherfolk, mangroves serve as nurseries for young fish, directly linking ecosystem health with food security and economic stability.
• In urban centers like Mumbai and Chennai, mangroves are threatened by pollution and neglect, reducing their ability to sustain biodiversity and support human wellbeing.
• Empowering communities can reverse degradation. When people see tangible benefits—cleaner air, flood mitigation, and better fish yields—they become active protectors of these ecosystems.

Promoting Citizen Science and Inclusive Monitoring

• Training locals to track and interpret environmental indicators complements formal science and democratizes conservation.
• Community-based monitoring fosters a culture of ecological responsibility and encourages evidence-based decision-making.
• Effective monitoring should evaluate both ecological and social parameters, such as:
• Mangrove cover changes,
• Freshwater flow patterns,
• Biodiversity indicators (birds, mollusks, fish),
• And community dependence on ecosystem services.
• These comprehensive insights help tailor conservation actions to specific needs.
• Initiatives like Mangrove Mitras (Friends of Mangroves) act as public engagement hubs, linking urban populations with wetlands and mangrove systems.
• Through hands-on experiences, these platforms build empathy, awareness, and a sense of responsibility.

Conclusion: A Collective Responsibility for Mangrove Stewardship

Protecting mangroves must go beyond top-down directives—it requires a collaborative, inclusive model where ecosystem health and community wellbeing reinforce one another.

For policymakers and businesses, the perspective must evolve:

• Mangroves are not just biodiversity zones; they are essential climate infrastructure.
• Their protection and restoration are economically sound, ecologically urgent, and socially just.

A successful future demands a coalition that bridges:

• Science and technology,
• Local knowledge and experience,
• And economic pragmatism.

By embracing innovation, empowering local actors, and nurturing broad-based engagement, we can secure the survival of mangroves—and, with them, a path to sustainable and climate-resilient development.