Kenya has a large diversity of ecosystems, including grasslands, scrublands, inland aquatics, and highlands, but the south-eastern coast of Kenya has something special: mangrove forests.
Mangrove forests are critical ecosystems, providing goods and services of high economic value to coastal communities. Traditionally, coastal communities rely on the forests for their natural resources. From fuel wood, fishes, honey to materials for making boats and building houses. High value commercial fish species also depend on mangroves for nursery sites and shelters.
Apart from the goods and services mangroves provide, they also play a few other critical roles.
🌊 Mangroves act as a critical buffer against storm surges by slowing the flow of water,
🏝 The roots of mangrove species anchor soils and thereby prevent coastal erosion,
🌳 Mangrove forests are also very effective carbon sinks.
We’ve partnered up with EarthLungs Reforestation to help restore mangrove forests in Kenya, with a goal to empower the impoverished coastal community to break the poverty cycle. By restoring the mangrove estuary, which is rich in biodiversity, we can provide fishing grounds and sustainable harvests from the mangrove forests, which helps create additional income streams. The revitalized forest will contribute to the food security and livelihoods of the local communities, which in turn, ensures the longevity of the project.
