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Developing Participatory Mangrove Ecosystem Restoration Model as a Nature-Based Solution to Climate Change (MERS)

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Species

114 species

a) Avicennia marina (A. marina)

b) Rhizophora mucronata (R. mucronata)

Location

Tropics and subtropics

in 120 countries around the world; most abundant in Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, and Australia

a) Along the Red Sea coast, Red Sea Islands, and Gulf of Aqaba

b) Occurs only in the southern section of the Red Sea coast starting from Shalatein southward to Mersa Halaib

Mangroves Worldwide vs. Egypt

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Occupied Area

512 Hectares

Average biomass/hectare

  • A. marina: 74,997.1 (kg/h)
  • R. mucronata: 22,536.8 (kg/h)

Carbon Sequestration/tree

12.3 (kg/year)

Total Organic Carbon Content

23.7 Gg C.

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Average Age

They can live up to 100 years

Egyptian Mangroves

Rhizophora mucronata

Avicennia marina

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Mangroves Economic Values

Direct Use Values:

  1. Forest products
    • Wood fuel
    • Animal browsing
    • Traditional medicines and tannins
    • Pharmaceuticals & genetic resources
    • Apiculture
  2. Fish & shellfish resources
  3. Other wildlife resources
  4. Aquaculture
  5. Recreation & Tourism
  6. Bird watching
  7. Landscape value
  8. Education & research
  9. Conservation funds.

Direct Use

Recreation

Education

Research

Landscape

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Mangroves Economic Values

Indirect Use Values:

  1. External support of fish & habitats
  2. Biological support of off-site habitats & species
  3. Shoreline protection function
  4. Sediment regulation & accretion
  5. Other mangrove functions
    • Water quality control
    • Waste assimilation function
    • Storm protection
    • Nutrient retention
    • Groundwater control
    • Microclimatic stabilization
    • Carbon storage.

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Coastal Protection

    • Reduce wind and waves height
    • Serve as first-line-defense against erosion & flooding

Carbon Sequestration

    • 25% of global coastal carbon sequestration
    • 10% of net primary production

Biodiversity

    • Provide habitat for 341 threatened species across the world

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Adopting nature-based solutions to address climate change challenges

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About MERS

Developing a Participatory Mangrove Ecosystem Restoration Model as a Nature-Based Solution to Climate Change (MERS)

Enhance the environmental, social, and economic resilience of the local communities

Restoration and rehabilitation of the mangrove ecosystem in Egypt.

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MERS Activities

Mangroves Plantation

Climate Smart Agri-Hub

GIS Based Knowledge Platform

Community Participation

Capacity Building

Economic empowerment

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Seeds Plantation

A. Marina

R. Mucronata

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Seedlings at Nursery

A. Marina

R. Mucronata

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Plantation

  • Suitable environmental conditions for mangrove Plantation are as follows:
  • Air temperature: 8 - 47 oC.
  • Water temperature: 22 - 34 oC.
  • Wave energy and tidal range: Low.
  • Likelihood of sudden flooding: Low.
  • Soil type: Sandy to silty clay.

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Plantation

  • In 2022: Planted a total no. of 5,000 seedlings of Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata

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  • In 2023: Planted a total no. of 10,100 seedlings of Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronate.
  • The plantation is conducted in 2 sites, Safaga and Hamata.
  • The project target is to plant 50,000 seedlings by the end of the project duration.

MERS Plantations

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Plantation with Local Community

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Plantation

  • The monitoring and surveillance steps are as follows:
  • Determining the location of the planted area using GPS devices.
  • Determining the planted area's size.
  • Recording all relevant agricultural data (such as planting date, number of trees, location, notes).
  • Collecting semi-annual data from the planted area (percentage of remaining seedlings, plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves).
  • Evaluating the agriculture based on the percentage of remaining seedlings and their health.

Monitoring and Surveillance

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Plantation

  • According to our plantations overview, we found that the survival rates are as follows:

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Seeds Survival Rate

Seedling Survival Rate

Avicennia Marina

50%

76%

Rhizophora Mucronata

85%

38.8%

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Climate Smart Agri-hub

  • A series of experiments are conducted to to evaluate the effect of different biological, physical and extrinsic factors on mangrove growth and vulnerability.
  • Research studies are conducted to reach efficient, cost-effective approach and techniques for Mangrove restoration.

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Economical Empowerment

MERS team had scoping meetings with the local community of Hamata to determine the eco-business of their interest.

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Economical Empowerment

A big part of the training of the community is the illiteracy program. MERS team has developed three-module illiteracy program for Hamata community delivered by local participants from the community.

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Women undertaking the preassessment test

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Thank You!