CAMARV: Capacity Building for Mangrove Assessment, Restoration and Valuation in East Africa

红树林是生长在潮间带的热带和亚热带森林。它们的价值有很多原因：它们为幼鱼提供庇护所，它们保护海岸线免受侵蚀，它们过滤沉积物和河流中的污染，它们的木材可以用作木材和燃料。它们也是地球上最多产的生态系统之一，能够在地上（以木材的形式）和地下（以死根和来自海洋的碳颗粒的形式，最终以泥炭的形式）储存大量的碳。这意味着失去它们可能会加速全球变暖。尽管红树林很重要，但它们正在迅速消失，每年有1% -2%的红树林遭到破坏。该项目旨在帮助保护和恢复东非的红树林。为此，我们将开发开发“生态系统服务”新兴市场所需的专业知识和能力。在东非，大多数红树林遭到破坏的原因是贫困；人们需要燃料和建筑材料，但无法从其他地方购买，因此尽管经常意识到红树林的重要性，但还是使用了红树林。如果社区能够获得资金用于红树林的保护和恢复，这将提供强大的保护激励。我们的项目财团在经营社区林业项目方面有经验，其中包括莫桑比克的一个项目，该项目利用西方公司和个人自愿支付的碳封存费用，为新的植树和保护提供资金。我们将把这一经验应用于红树林。我们将培训非洲科学家、非政府组织和社区工作人员掌握一系列技能，并发展网络和方法，帮助我们的非洲伙伴机构利用这些新的市场机会。这将需要在以下项目发展计划的每个阶段进行培训和发展：1)评估生态系统的范围和质量。我们需要知道目前有多少红树林，它是否处于良好的健康状态（或者例如，它是否被大量偷猎以获取木材）。这可以使用卫星图像来完成，但是需要在地面上进行工作（“地面真相”），将图像与现实联系起来，例如确定退化林地的特征。2)威胁评估我们需要知道哪些森林受到的威胁最大，例如通过观察过去的土地利用模式或通过测量风险因素，如与大城市的接近程度。这对各国政府的保护规划很重要，但为了从联合国新设立的REDD（减少森林破坏和退化造成的排放）基金中获得保护资金，也可能需要这样做。3)生态系统价值评估我们需要通过对红树林提供的各种服务“定价”来证明红树林生态系统的潜在货币价值。在某些情况下，这将作为一种影响决策者的工具有用——通过用“现金”展示破坏红树林的成本——而在其他情况下，它可以转化为实际收入——例如通过计算地上和地下储存的碳的总价值。4)评估市场或保护的障碍哪些因素可能会阻碍项目成功运作，我们如何解决这些问题？例如，让当地社区看到代表他们的任何项目的好处是至关重要的。这将需要与当地人民仔细协商和合作，并对土地管理和权属等问题保持敏感。我们将在参与性评价技术和利用地理信息系统技术绘制当地资源图方面培训合作伙伴。这一项目发展进程的结果将是提出全面试点项目的建议，并在肯尼亚设立一个东非咨询小组，该小组将帮助监督项目，并鼓励该区域的交流和良好做法。

Mangroves are tropical and sub-tropical forests that grow in the inter-tidal zone. They are valuable for many reasons: they provide shelter for juvenile fish, they protect shorelines from erosion, they filter sediments and pollution out of rivers and their wood can be used for timber and fuel. They are also amongst the most productive ecosystems on earth and are capable of storing large quantities of carbon both above-ground (as wood) and below-ground (as dead roots and carbon particles derived from the sea, and eventually as peat). This means losing them could accelerate global warming. Despite their importance, mangroves are being lost rapidly, with 1-2% of these forests destroyed each year. This project aims to help conserve and restore mangroves in East Africa. We will do this by developing the expertise and capacity needed to exploit new and emerging markets for 'ecosystem services'. In East Africa, most mangrove destruction occurs because of poverty; people need fuel and building materials and cannot afford to buy them from other sources, so use the mangroves despite often being aware of their importance. If money was available to communities for mangrove conservation and restoration this would provide a powerful conservation incentive. Our project consortium has experience in running community based forestry projects, including one in Mozambique that utilises voluntary payments for carbon sequestration by western companies and individuals to fund new tree planting and conservation. We will apply this experience to mangroves. We will train African scientists, NGO and community workers in a range of skills, and develop networks and methodologies that will help our African partner institutions exploit these new market opportunities. This will require training and development at each stage of the following project development plan: 1) Assessment of extent and quality of ecosystem We need to know how much mangrove forest is present and whether it is in good health (or for example whether is has been heavily poached for wood). This can be done using satellite imagery, but work on the ground ('groundtruthing') will be needed to relate the images to the reality, for example to determine the characteristic features of degraded woodland. 2) Assessment of threats We need to know which forests are most threatened, for example by looking at patterns of past land use or by measuring risk factors such as proximity to large cities. This is important for governments in their conservation planning, but also may be required in order to access conservation money from the new REDD (Reductions in Emissions from forest Destruction and Degradation) fund developed by the United Nations. 3) Assessment of ecosystem value We need to demonstrate the potential monetary value of the mangrove ecosystems, by 'pricing' the various services they provide. In some cases this will be useful as a tool for influencing decision makers - by giving a demonstration in 'hard cash' of the costs of destroying a mangrove - and in others it could translate to real income - for example by calculating the total value of the above and below ground carbon stored. 4) Assessment of barriers to the market or to conservation What factors are likely to prevent projects working successfully, and how can we address these? For example, it is essential that local communities see the benefits of any projects run on their behalf. This will require careful consultation and co-operation with local people and sensitivity to issues such as land management and tenure. We will train partners in techniques of participatory appraisal and in using GIS technology in mapping local resources. The results of this project development process will be proposals for full pilot projects and the establishment of an East African Advisory Group, based in Kenya, that will help oversee projects and encourage communication and good practice in the region.