Costs and Carbon Benefits of Mangrove Conservation and Restoration: A Global Analysis

Abstract

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Quantifying net loss of global mangrove carbon stocks from 20 years of land cover change

“…Mangrove conservation and restoration still requires considerable effort and investment, to maintain the low rates of net loss in mangrove carbon stocks, and perhaps increase those stocks through restoration 24 . The high densities of carbon present in mangroves provide good carbon returns per unit area conserved, and the low agricultural value of the land for many crops may make mangrove forests a suitable candidate ecosystem for carbon investment schemes 31 , although this is context-dependent and uncertain 32 . Furthermore, mangroves provide a range of other ecosystem services, such as protecting coastlines from natural disasters 33 , supporting fisheries 34 , and supporting recreation and tourism 35 .…”

Response of mangrove plant species to a saline gradient: Implications for ecological restoration

“…Extensive areas of mangroves and salt marshes were cleared to install culture ponds, resulting loss of a significant extent of healthy mangrove forests, effecting on ecosystem services (Harkes et al 2015;Perera et al 2018). Clearing mangrove forests, therefore, negatively affects important ecological functions and services such as carbon sequestration, primary production, coastal protection, and the provisioning of habitats (Jakovac et al 2020). However, due to unsustainable culture practices that led to disease outbreaks in shrimp cultures, large scale shrimp farming was abandoned in the late 1990s, with most of the abandoned shrimp ponds now containing highly saline and acidic soils (Stevenson et al 1999 ;Tho et al 2008).…”

A meta-analysis of the ecological and economic outcomes of mangrove restoration

“…recreation and tourism) may be prohibitively low for several years following restoration due to strict management and monitoring 57 . As discussed below, this might affect benefit-cost ratios, at least in the short-term, and should be factored in restoration decision-making, especially in relation to the opportunity cost of alternative land use options 58 .…”