Ambitious global targets for mangrove and seagrass recovery

Christina A Buelow; Rod M Connolly; Mischa P Turschwell; Maria F Adame; Gabby N Ahmadia; Dominic A Andradi-Brown; Pete Bunting; Steven W J Canty; Jillian C Dunic; Daniel A Friess; Shing Yip Lee; Catherine E Lovelock; Eva C McClure; Ryan M Pearson; Michael Sievers; Ana I Sousa; Thomas A Worthington; Christopher J Brown

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.02.013

Ambitious global targets for mangrove and seagrass recovery

Curr Biol. 2022 Apr 11;32(7):1641-1649.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.02.013. Epub 2022 Feb 22.

Authors

Christina A Buelow¹, Rod M Connolly², Mischa P Turschwell², Maria F Adame², Gabby N Ahmadia³, Dominic A Andradi-Brown⁴, Pete Bunting⁵, Steven W J Canty⁶, Jillian C Dunic⁷, Daniel A Friess⁸, Shing Yip Lee⁹, Catherine E Lovelock¹⁰, Eva C McClure¹¹, Ryan M Pearson², Michael Sievers², Ana I Sousa¹², Thomas A Worthington¹³, Christopher J Brown²

Affiliations

¹ Coastal and Marine Research Centre, Australian Rivers Institute, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4222, Australia. Electronic address: c.buelow@griffith.edu.au.
² Coastal and Marine Research Centre, Australian Rivers Institute, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4222, Australia.
³ Ocean Conservation, World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037, USA.
⁴ Ocean Conservation, World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037, USA; Mangrove Specialist Group, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Conservation Programmes, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.
⁵ Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Wales SY23 3DB, UK.
⁶ Smithsonian Marine Station, 701 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce, FL 34949, USA; Working Land and Seascapes, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013, USA.
⁷ Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada.
⁸ Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570, Singapore; Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117558, Singapore; Mangrove Specialist Group, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Conservation Programmes, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.
⁹ Mangrove Specialist Group, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Conservation Programmes, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK; Simon F.S. Li Marine Science Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
¹⁰ Mangrove Specialist Group, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Conservation Programmes, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK; The University of Queensland, School of Biological Sciences, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.
¹¹ Coastal and Marine Research Centre, Australian Rivers Institute, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4222, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
¹² CESAM - Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro 3810-193, Portugal.
¹³ Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK.

PMID: 35196506
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.02.013

Abstract

There is an urgent need to halt and reverse loss of mangroves and seagrass to protect and increase the ecosystem services they provide to coastal communities, such as enhancing coastal resilience and contributing to climate stability.¹^,² Ambitious targets for their recovery can inspire public and private investment in conservation,³ but the expected outcomes of different protection and restoration strategies are unclear. We estimated potential recovery of mangroves and seagrass through gains in ecosystem extent to the year 2070 under a range of protection and restoration strategies implemented until the year 2050. Under a protection-only scenario, the current trajectories of net mangrove loss slowed, and a minor net gain in global seagrass extent (∼1%) was estimated. Protection alone is therefore unlikely to drive sufficient recovery. However, if action is taken to both protect and restore, net gains of up to 5% and 35% of mangroves and seagrasses, respectively, could be achieved by 2050. Further, protection and restoration can be complementary, as protection prevents losses that would otherwise occur post-2050, highlighting the importance of implementing protection measures. Our findings provide the scientific evidence required for setting strategic and ambitious targets to inspire significant global investment and effort in mangrove and seagrass conservation.

Keywords: Markov projection models; coastal wetlands; conservation optimism; conservation targets; ecosystem goals; protection; rehabilitation; scenarios.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Climate
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecosystem*
Wetlands*