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，保护海岸线免受侵蚀，过滤河流中的沉积物和污染物，其木材可用于木材和燃料。它们也是地球上最具生产力的生态系统之一，能够在地上（作为木材）和地下（作为死根和来自海洋的碳颗粒，最终作为泥炭）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%的森林被毁。该项目旨在帮助保护和恢复东非的红树林。为此，我们将发展开发“生态系统服务”新兴市场所需的专业知识和能力。在东非，大多数红树林的破坏是因为贫穷;人们需要燃料和建筑材料，但没有能力从其他来源购买，因此尽管经常意识到红树林的重要性，但仍然使用红树林。如果社区可以获得资金用于红树林的保护和恢复，这将提供一个强大的保护激励。我们的项目联盟在运营社区林业项目方面拥有丰富的经验，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固存资金来资助新的植树和保护。我们将把这一经验应用于红树林。我们将对非洲科学家、非政府组织和社区工作者进行一系列技能培训，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开发计划的每个阶段进行培训和开发：1）评估生态系统的范围和质量我们需要知道有多少红树林存在，以及它是否健康（或者例如是否被大量偷猎木材）。这可以利用卫星图像来完成，但需要在地面上开展工作（“地面实况调查”），将图像与现实联系起来，例如确定退化林地的特征。2)我们需要了解哪些森林受到的威胁最大，例如通过查看过去的土地使用模式或通过衡量风险因素，如与大城市的距离。这对政府的保护规划很重要，但也可能需要从联合国开发的新REDD（减少森林破坏和退化造成的排放）基金中获得保护资金。3)生态系统价值评估我们需要通过对红树林生态系统提供的各种服务进行“定价”来证明其潜在的货币价值。在某些情况下，这将是影响决策者的一个有用工具-通过以"现金“证明破坏红树林的成本-而在另一些情况下，它可以转化为真实的收入-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阻碍项目成功运作，我们如何解决这些问题？例如，必须让当地社区看到以他们的名义开展的任何项目的好处。这将需要与当地人民进行认真的协商和合作，并对土地管理和保有权等问题保持敏感。我们将在参与性评估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，以及设立一个设在肯尼亚的东非咨询小组，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.