Land Use
Participatory scenarios and spatial modelling to explore mangrove ecosystem services futures in Lamu, KenyaBackgroundLamu County, Kenya contains Kenya’s most extensive mangrove forests, which provide many vital ecosystem services (ES) for local communities (e.g., nutrition, building material, coastal protection, climate regulation). Land use and land cover change (LULCC), such as coastal development or infrastructure projects, threaten mangroves and their ES. Participatory scenario planning can help communities develop models of future LULCC grounded in both scientific evidence and local experience. Using these models in Lamu could inform future policy to preserve Lamu’s mangroves and balance country-level economic needs with local ES. Open access copy available |
Forest carbon in Amazonia: the unrecognized contribution of indigenous territories and protected natural areasBackgroundAmazonia stores an estimated 80–120 Pg of aboveground carbon, and changes in this stock have global climate implications. Indigenous territories (ITs) and protected natural areas (PNAs) together cover roughly one-third to one-half of the Amazon region, yet their specific contribution to maintaining forest carbon has often been overlooked in regional mitigation discussions. Quantifying their role is important for designing REDD+, climate finance, and land rights policies that reflect on-the-ground conservation performance. Open access copy available |
Ecosystem Services of Mangroves: A Systematic Review and Synthesis of Contemporary Scientific LiteratureBackgroundMangroves provide many ecosystem services, such as breeding grounds for aquatic organisms, sediment accumulation sites, coastal protection, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration. Beyond ecological functions, mangroves also sustain coastal livelihoods by providing natural resources and contributing to local economies. However, anthropogenic pressures from coastal development, agriculture, and aquaculture degrade mangrove ecosystems and the important ecosystem services they provide. Therefore, it is important to quantify and describe mangrove ecosystem services to better inform coastal policymakers and managers interested in mangrove conservation. Open access copy available |
Mangrove Forests: Protection Against and Resilience to Coastal DisturbancesBackgroundOpen access copy available |
A meta-analysis of the ecological and economic outcomes of mangrove restorationBackgroundMangrove forests provide many ecosystem services to local and global communities that are both ecologically and economically important. Global mangrove loss and degradation decrease the provision of ecosystem services; however, mangrove restoration projects can reverse these effects and support critical ecosystem services. Therefore, syntheses of different restoration project outcomes are necessary to encourage global political support and investment into preserving mangroves and their vital ecosystem services. Open access copy available |
Towards a modular multi ecosystem monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) framework for soil organic carbon stock change assessmentBackgroundSoils store roughly 1,500–2,400 petagrams (Pg) of organic carbon globally, more than the combined carbon in the atmosphere and vegetation, making soil organic carbon (SOC) a critical component of climate mitigation and land degradation neutrality targets. Many initiatives assume that relatively small annual increases in SOC across large areas could offset gigatonnes (Gt) of CO2, but these claims require robust, comparable monitoring systems. Current MRV approaches often focus on single sectors and use heterogeneous methods, limiting their usefulness for cross-ecosystem accounting and results-based finance. Open access copy available |
Emerging climate impact on carbon sinks in a consolidated carbon budgetBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Realizing the social value of impermanent carbon creditsBackgroundNature-based solutions (NbS) for carbon sequestration provide additional benefits outside of climate change mitigation, such as protecting biodiversity and local livelihoods. However, NbS projects struggle with financing due to challenges demonstrating additionality, avoiding overestimation of carbon storage, establishing metrics to compare NbS with technological projects, and accounting for project impermanence (i.e., the future risk of carbon being released into the atmosphere due to fires, deforestation, disease, or severe weather events). Open access copy available |
Assessing the Environmental and Socioeconomic Impacts of Mangrove Loss in Indonesia: A Synthesis for Science-Based PolicyBackgroundIndonesia’s rate of mangrove loss has accelerated to about 40% over the past 30 years. Despite the government’s policies and investments for mitigating mangrove degradation, low seedling survival, and poor site suitability have impeded restoration progress. This study aims to review mangrove loss in Indonesia and assess the negative impacts of mangrove loss on carbon stocks, local livelihoods, and ecosystem benefits (e.g., fisheries, coastal protection, biodiversity). Open access copy available |
Enhancing climate change mitigation in protected areasBackgroundProtected areas (PAs) cover roughly 15–17% of the Earth’s land surface and contain a large share of remaining intact ecosystems, many of which store high densities of carbon. With global terrestrial ecosystems absorbing about 3 GtC yr⁻¹, understanding how much of this sink is associated with PAs is important for integrating biodiversity and climate strategies. However, evidence on PA effectiveness for carbon protection, across thousands of sites and multiple biomes, is dispersed and unevenly synthesized. Open access copy available |
