Climate projections for coastal Kenya include an increase in atmospheric CO2; sea surface temperature rise; irregular precipitation; and an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather. The restoration of mangroves address these projections by enhancing coastal protection. Waves lose their power passing through dense mangrove forests,while mangrove roots – both above and below ground – help to bind and build sediments, meaning mangrove areas can grow vertically, all of which is vital in the face of rising sea levels. In addition, mangroves allocate carbon below-ground, and have higher below- to above-ground carbon mass ratios than terrestrial trees. As such, restoration of mangroves is vital in global efforts to sequester atmospheric CO2. Expanding and restoring mangrove forests prepares coastal Kenya to address climate projections, helping protect communities from the devastating effects of extreme weather that become more likely with climate change.
Mida Creek marine reserve is a tidal inlet that expands across an area of 32 km2. The ecosystem has a unique allay of habitats including mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and mudflats which support myriads of fauna. Majority of the local communities are dependent on fishing and tourism-related activities for their livelihoods. Mangrove deforestation and bait harvesting-driven fragmentation however threatens the whole basis of the creek ecosystem. Over 15 Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) are actively involved in reforestation and conservation of mangrove forests in the area. Despite registering some successes, majority of their projects are ecologically unsuccessful e.g. registering low survival rates of restored mangroves, whilst many lack comprehensive mechanisms for monitoring and reporting the ecological and socioeconomic functionality of the restored mangrove forests. The goal of this project is to improve the quality and size of the mangrove forests in Mida Creek by empowering Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and other stakeholders to apply an ecosystem based approach (EBA) when restoring, monitoring and conserving mangroves. The EBA is a scientific conceptual framework for resolving environmental issues e.g. deforestation/degradation through use of scientific reasoning. It comprises of 12 principles (CBD, 2004), which provide for integration of science-local knowledge, stakeholder involvement among other issues.
We have identified key sites around Mida Creek where we can partner with multiple stakeholders to contribute to the National Mangrove Forest Management Plan by developing and implementing site-specific plans. We adopt Participatory Forest Management approaches, to compliment Kenya Forest Service efforts in partnering with communities, Kenya Wildlife Service and other stakeholders to restore, conserve and sustainably manage mangrove forests.
Our long-term plans include cross-partnering with local communities and lead agencies in the restoration efforts to instill a sense of ownership, stewardship and pride. Further, the communities will be educated about the importance of healthy mangrove ecosystems and the need to conserve them to complement the restoration activities.
The project will be monitored for implementation of the project plan and evaluated for results delivery and for its contribution to higher-level goals especially the 17 global SDGs and the National Mangrove Forest Management Plan. Whereas monitoring will be done by our team, evaluation will be done by an external expert.
Outcome 1: Increased mangrove forest cover:
Monitoring for change in mangrove forest cover will be done as per the developed monitoring protocol and data capture forms (see objective 3) and the findings will be matched against predetermined reference sites. It will involve quarterly assessment/count of three major ecosystem attributes:
Diversity - determined by number of individual mangroves as well as mangrove associate species and their abundance in restored areas. In the long-term, it will be necessary to assess diversity of species within different functional groups to indirectly monitor the ecosystem resilience.
Vegetation structural integrity - Includes regeneration species and mangrove density per species restored in a site.
Growth / health- Including mortality/survival and growth rates
Outcome 2: Community is trained to integrate the EBA to mangrove restoration:
Evaluation of capacity building via transfer of knowledge and skills, or technology. This will be assessed by number of community members trained, groups adopting/uptake of the ecosystem-based approach in restoring. Further, the trained community members will be asked to fill assessment forms to evaluate: course relevance to their activities; performance of facilitators and; logistics.
Outcome 3: monitoring plan, team, and protocol.
Evaluating for development and piloting of monitoring plan will be assessed by identity of participants in making of the protocol. In the long term, assessment will be based on Community-level uptake i.e. adoption of protocol by CBOs and change in mangrove restoration approach.