Investing in Mangroves 2025

1.2 Challenges remain in capturing the full potential benefits offered by mangroves Half of all mangrove forests have been destroyed since 1950. Of the estimated 147,000 km² of mangroves that remain worldwide, half are under threat. Mangroves remain one of the planet’s most threatened ecosystems, despite their multitude of benefits for people, nature and climate. Half of the estimated 147,000 km2 of mangroves remaining worldwide are under threat;49,50 50% of mangrove forests have been destroyed since 195051 and 17% of mangroves lost between 1996 and 2016 are not restorable.52 While the pace of mangrove destruction has slowed down,53 significant threats to mangroves remain, especially from sea-level rise and more frequent and severe weather events resulting from climate change.54 Clearing for aquaculture, rice and palm oil collectively accounted for 43% of mangrove destruction between 2000 and 2020;55 40% of mangrove ecosystems are now in protected areas56 and efforts to scale- up mangrove conservation and restoration have been growing. To support and accelerate this work, blue-carbon stakeholders need to take the following priority actions, explored in more detail beneath: –Project investability should be enhanced by clarifying project economics –Government agencies should align on addressing land tenure issues –Best practice should be followed to navigate the complexity of coastal areas –Stakeholders should coordinate to enable action and mitigate risks –Investors’ expectations should align with local needs for project success –Investors should leverage expertise to mitigate reputational riskProject investability should be enhanced by clarifying project economics Mangrove conservation and restoration projects are not being designed in a commercially investable manner, due to a lack of clarified revenue streams and understanding of investability criteria at the various stages of project maturity. By clearly communicating commercial value proposition requirements to project developers, investors can encourage a more economically successful, and thus scalable, market. Clarification of what “investable” means at each project stage will support overall investability, as will clarification of available revenue models that can monetize the benefits that mangroves bring to people, nature and climate. Capacity building through investor-driven technical assistance programmes could work to enhance such clarification within project development. Government agencies should align on addressing land tenure issues Land tenure can be defined as “the relationship, whether legally or customarily defined, among people, as individuals or groups, with respect to land”.57 Land tenure is especially complicated along coastlines, due to the natural variance of the intertidal zone, multi-layered legal claims, interdependencies, and often unacknowledged customary and collective tenure58 – the latter of which is often a central issue shaping past injustices and conservation negotiations. In addition, governments do not have a standard approach to defining mangrove ecosystems, sometimes defining them as forests, sea-beds, neither or both, leading to misalignment of agency 11 Investing in Mangroves: The Corporate Playbook