Coastal Mangroves in Eastern and Western Africa offer coastal communities much-needed ecosystem services and protection against key climate change risks, including risks to low-lying coastal-ecological systems, risks to terrestrial and ocean ecosystems, and as a result, risks to food security.
Coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts because of:
- Their location being highly exposed to sea level rise and erosion
- Poor socio-economic conditions
- Their high dependence on mangrove ecosystems
Coastal Mangroves however are highly threatened both by anthropogenic and climate change pressures. The main objective of the project (CoastMan) is co-production and uptake of a Multi-Criteria Decision Support System (DSS) that provides vulnerable communities and decision-makers a knowledge-based decision-making capacity for the restoration and conservation of socio-ecological systems.
An interdisciplinary and trans-sectoral team is established from researchers and stakeholders from across three continents (America, Europe,and Africa), in partnership with vulnerable groups to co-develop and uptake a DSS to promote mitigation and strategies that enhance the adaptive capacities of the mangrove socio-ecological systems in Eastern and Western Africa. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data from extensive field research in coastal Tanzania and Ghana, extensive literature, and remote sensing, the project will:
- Co-develop dynamic maps of drivers and risks of mangrove habitat loss
- Support locally-led social-ecological and climate resilience through coordinated management of mangrove resources
- Co-develop sustainable livelihood strategies for coastal communities
- Co-design a novel multi-criteria framework for mangrove restoration and conservation
- Co-develop a novel DSS for mangrove socio-ecological systems
We devised a co-production and dissemination strategy so that project outputs will assist in identifying mitigation strategies and enhancing adaptive capacities of the frontline coastal communities, including building their capacity needs in designing climate actions such as restoration and conservation of mangrove ecosystems. Furthermore, the project will lead to improved knowledge and capacity of partner institutions through supporting early career researchers and promoting strengthened collaboration between partners and vulnerable coastal mangrove-dependent communities.
