Nature-Based Solutions in Mangrove Ecosystems: Exploring Best Practices and Approaches to Support Community-Based Initiatives

About

Organizations and community partners are working to restore and conserve vital mangrove ecosystems through a nature-based solutions (NbS) approach that seeks to support biodiversity, social, and economic co-benefits, and promotes sustainable conservation initiatives in coastal communities.

The Aga Khan Foundation Canada and IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) joined forces for an insightful event aimed at supporting capacity building for effective NbS initiatives in mangrove ecosystems. This session touched on:

• Key findings of the IUCN’s newly released Global Mangrove Assessment
• Best practices in mangrove conservation and restoration
• Case studies on NbS initiatives in mangrove ecosystems
• Application of Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) in mangrove ecosystems
• Financing options for mangrove conservation

• Public Consultations on Canada’s post-2025–2026 international climate and nature finance commitment
• NAbSA: Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation

Marcos Valderrábano, Program Manager, IUCN shared key findings from the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Mangrove Assessment to raise awareness of risks and help inform decisions on priority ecosystems:

• IUCN Press Release on Global Mangrove Assessment
• Red List of Mangrove Ecosystems

Francis Okalo, Program Manager, Coastal and Oceans Resilience, IUCN drew attention to efforts to restore and conserve mangrove habitats, restore biodiversity, build resilience and protect livelihoods with a focus on initiatives in the West Indian Ocean:

• Regenerative Seascapes for People, Climate and Planet (ReSea) – Mission Inclusion
• Save Our Mangroves Now! – Mangrove Alliance

Dominic Wodehouse, Executive Director, Mangrove Action Project demonstrated how training and education programs can support community-led efforts to effectively conserve and restore mangrove ecosystems and reduce the effects of climate change:

• Mangrove Action Project
• Return of the Mangroves: Mangrove restoration in the Bay of Jiquilisco, El Salvador
• Recovering Mangroves in the Bahamas: The Bahamas Mangrove Restoration Project undertaken after Hurricane Dorian

Didier Van Bignoot, Global Advisor, Sustainable Agriculture & Food Security, Aga Khan Foundation considered opportunities for scaling up mangrove initiatives in Mozambique based on community-led approaches to conservation and sustainable livelihoods in the Mel du Mar project in Mozambique’s Nampula province:

• Community-led mangrove conservation in Mozambique
• Aga Khan Foundation mangrove restoration initiatives globally

Frédérique Thomas, Senegal Director, Société de coopération pour le développement international (SOCODEVI) presented the Natur’ELLES project in Senegal, which is empowering women and their coastal communities through mangrove conservation and sustainable livelihood initiatives:

• SOCODEVI Projects
• Natur’ELLES Project: Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi)

Andrea Bassi, Senior Associate, International Institute for Sustainable Development illustrated how the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology can be utilized in community-based mangrove initiatives to support decisions through an integrated cost-benefit analysis that considers potential social, economic and ecological co-benefits:

• Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi)
• NBI Global Resource Center

Joseph Wong, Founder, Reach Alliance & Vice-President, International, University of Toronto offered insights on how communities are successfully utilizing Blue Carbon to support mangrove conservation based on examples from the Mikoko Pamoja and Vanga Blue Forest initiatives in Kenya:

• Reach Alliance
• Mangrove Conservation and Blue Carbon Initiatives in Coastal Kenya

Anete Berzina-Rodrigo, Project Manager, IUCN Oceans Team identified global initiatives and financing options to accelerate action and investment in mangrove conservation, highlighting the Mangrove Breakthrough as a call to action to conserve over 15 million hectares of mangroves globally by 2030, underpinned by $4bn of sustainable finance:

• The Mangrove Breakthrough: A call to action (launched at UNFCCC COP27)
• Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility (BNCFF): Nature-based solutions and business working for planet and people

Find more NbS-related events as part of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada’s Climate Resilience and Adaptation Speaker Series and IUCN’s NAbSA Dialogues.