Mangroves

The goal of this toolkit is to help promote environmental stewardship and increase awareness of marine and coastal ecosystems among schoolchildren in Asia through the use of creative, investigative approaches. Investigative approaches allow schools to make the local environment relevant and interesting to children in coastal communities and help to reinforce the need for wise and sustainable management of our coastal and marine resources.

This children's book describes mangroves and all the essential services they provide: livelihoods for coastal communities, shelter for rich biodiversity, absorption of CO2, providing clean water, and protection from storms, hurricanes and tsunamis.

This booklet documents the achievements of selected projects of the Mangroves for the Future (MFF) Small Grants Programme in Sri Lanka, with emphasis on drawing lessons to improve future project performance. The projects are presented under three thematic areas, namely Ecosystem restoration, Education and Awareness, and Livelihood enhancement. The contents are largely based on information gleaned from project progress reports and reviews, and notes of field monitoring visits.

Mangroves are among the most valuable ecosystems providing food and protection for a large number of marine and land-based organisms, livelihoods for coastal populations, and protection from ocean swell and other extreme weather events for low-lying coastal areas. In the wake of the 2004 Indian ocean tsunami there was a strong realization that much of the future devastation to human life and property could be avoided through the existence of healthy, properly-managed and conserved mangroves.

Mangroves are among the most important ecosystems on the planet. They provide food and protection for a huge variety of marine and land-based species, sustain livelihoods of coastal populations, and provide protection from ocean swell and extreme weather events. Today, however, the world’s mangroves are under threat from several sources including coastal development and the impacts of climate change.

This book presents the economic justification for including mangrove rehabilitation and restoration efforts in current tsunami reconstruction projects in Sri Lanka. The results provide a solid platform for the decision makers to select the best development strategies for the tsunami-affected communities by comparing the results provided by this study with the value of alternative uses of mangroves in these areas.

Building resilience into mangrove conservation plans requires an understanding of how mangroves will respond to climate changes, what factors help them survive these changes, and, consequently, which mangroves are most likely to survive these changes. This publication provides a welcome reference for all stakeholders in mangroves, especially coastal communities, to assist them in encouraging decision makers to apply resilience principles in all development and conservation programmes.