Societal and ecological feasibility of mangrove expansion: perspectives from Barú, Colombia, and Setiu Wetlands, Malaysia
The urgency of climate change mitigation is such that carbon dioxide removal methods need to be developed alongside emission reduction efforts, to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. The project sea4soCiety aims to establish a baseline for carbon quantity and quality currently stored in vegetated coastal ecosystems, and develop approaches for ecosystem expansion that are ecologically feasible, environmentally sound, legally and ethically unobjectionable, and based on societal requirements for additional benefits.
I will investigate the feasibility of mangrove expansion in Barú, Colombia, and Setiu Wetlands, Malaysia, both from a societal and ecological perspective. I will begin with a stakeholder analysis and in-depth qualitative interviews with the different coastal communities, investigating societal acceptance of ecosystem expansion, and exploring people’s perceptions of climate change, risks to ecosystems, and valued ecosystem services. Then, the limitations and strengths of ongoing re-planting efforts within the communities will be evaluated to identify potential synergies with sea4soCiety’s aims.
