Mangrove restoration is becoming big business, but benefits don't always reach local people

Mangrove restoration has become a lucrative industry, generating carbon credits and selling them to distant buyers, but this does not always benefit the local communities living in these forests. These mangrove forests provide essential services such as storm protection, fish nurseries, wood, honey, and thatch. The issue lies in the fact that only the monetary value of mangroves is easily quantifiable and tradable, while the local environmental and cultural benefits are harder to measure and monetize.

At the upcoming UN climate summit COP31, the focus will be on the need for wealthy countries to triple adaptation finance by 2035 to help communities adapt to the effects of climate change, such as stronger cyclones and rising sea levels. While adaptation money could help protect these communities, research has shown that mangrove restoration often results in a loss of ecological functions compared to natural forests, and the benefits are often delayed, certain, and immediate for the local people.

This creates a situation where costs are immediate and local, while benefits are deferred, distant, and uncertain. The local knowledge and practices of communities living in mangroves, such as regulated use of these forests for generations, have been sidelined in favor of new priorities and definitions of success. This can lead to a scenario where restoration projects appear successful, but the benefits do not reach the local communities who are most affected.