Investing in Mangroves 2025

Conclusion Mangroves are a powerful, nature-based answer to sequester carbon, protect vulnerable coastlines, support biodiversity and sustain livelihoods that has been hiding in plain sight. The challenges faced by the global community – climate change, biodiversity loss and extreme poverty – are deeply interconnected and intensifying. The need for urgent action has never been greater, yet the complexity of these crises often makes solutions seem elusive. However, a powerful, nature-based answer has been hiding in plain sight: mangrove conservation and restoration. These ecosystems are unparalleled in their ability to sequester carbon, protect vulnerable coastal communities, support biodiversity and sustain livelihoods. For corporations seeking to align with global sustainability goals while ensuring long-term economic resilience, investing in mangrove conservation presents a unique opportunity. Mangroves offer a myriad of benefits – protecting coastal infrastructure and communities from extreme weather, enhancing fisheries, generating carbon credits, boosting biodiversity and strengthening local economies, to name a few. By integrating mangrove-positive strategies into their operations, businesses can drive tangible impact across climate, nature and society while generating economic gains within their own value chains. The path forward for corporations on mangrove- positive action is well-defined. Global principles and standards, such as the High-Quality Blue Carbon Principles and Guidance and the High-Quality Blue Carbon Practitioners Guide, provide a framework to ensure corporate investments in mangroves are effective, ethical and high-integrity. This report builds on these existing guidelines by introducing a new Systems Map, designed specifically to prepare corporations for their mangrove-positive journey and help them navigate and optimize their mangrove-positive actions along the way. This map enables businesses to assess their role within the broader system of mangrove conservation and restoration, facilitating strategic engagement and maximizing value and impact. Furthermore, organizations dedicated to identifying and creating high-quality investment opportunities are already in place, offering capacity to help corporations take that action successfully. Collaborations such as the Mangrove Breakthrough and the Global Mangrove Alliance provide robust global platforms rooted in local regions to reinforce mangrove-positive corporate action, ensuring that businesses can invest in mangrove restoration with confidence and credibility. This Playbook encapsulates these insights into a practical guide for corporate action. It outlines Four Avenues for engagement: sustainability credit buying, supply chain offtaking, project development and ancillary engagement. Each pathway offers a structured approach for businesses to integrate mangrove-positive strategies into their operations, balancing people, nature and climate impact with economic returns. The World Economic Forum’s Blue Carbon Action Partnership (BCAP) stands as a key enabler in this space, bridging the gap between national policies and high-quality corporate investment. Through BCAP , corporations can access expert networks, guidance and partnership opportunities that support meaningful mangrove conservation at scale. By leveraging BCAP’s resources, companies can take a leadership role in accelerating the transition towards sustainable blue carbon markets. The corporate sector has a unique and powerful role to play in protecting and restoring mangroves. Businesses that step up to this challenge will not only mitigate risks associated with climate change and ecosystem degradation but also position themselves as leaders in a future where food, water, nature, health, climate and economic growth are inextricably linked. This Playbook provides the tools, strategies and guidance needed to drive this transformation. What remains is for corporations to take bold, decisive action. By investing in mangroves, businesses can turn sustainability commitments into an economically- beneficial reality, safeguard their long-term interests and contribute to a thriving planet. The opportunity is clear: now is the time to lead. Investing in Mangroves: The Corporate Playbook 37