Improving coastal resilience in the project area has predominantly focused on stand-alone reactive interventions following climate disasters at both the formal and informal levels, but greater attention to the long-term maintenance of greenbelt ecosystems is needed. Although greenbelts of mangroves and mainland forests along the coastline would reduce loss of life and damages from climate-related impacts, important factors of sustainability in the context of emerging climate change risks have largely been ignored.
There is a clear requirement for active community participation and incentives for maintaining new mangrove plantations. As the frequency of extreme climatic events, such as cyclones and storm surges, as well as gradual climatic effects such as salinization, gradual erosion, and coastal inundation are projected to increase, there is concern that the technical range and geographical reach of current baseline interventions in the creation of coastal greenbelts will be insufficient to reduce vulnerability. Opportunities for reducing vulnerability through alternative climate-resilient livelihoods in the coastal area remain to be explored in their full potential. Without support from donors and organizations intervention, climate change will not be adequately factored into current and planned afforestation projects, and the potential of climate-resilient livelihood options will not be fully analyzed and exploited.
With Donor support and intervention, coastal communities will be actively involved in mangrove afforestation, and the development of climate-resilient livelihoods, which will improve the sustainability of ecosystems needed to protect against climate change-induced hazards. The project will implement risk reduction measures in communities exposed to climate change risks and ensure the sustainability and resilience of protective buffer zones. By ensuring that these buffer zones incorporate climate change projections (expected salinity, water tables, inundation times, etc.) into their design and implementation, this project will help reduce climate-induced coastal damages.
According to CIFOR research, community management is more effective for mangrove conservation than government managed efforts and management as ownership is so important for locals over enforcement. The outcomes of this process are expected to lead to improved relationships with the community and government implementing agencies, ability of communities to take on sustainable stewardship of mangroves, an increased awareness of the value of mangroves, and a set of pilot projects to improve livelihoods while also reducing harvest pressure on mangroves. It is anticipated that the programs developed could serve as a model in other parts of the West Indian Ocean.