The Mangrove Breakthrough
A Call to Action
The ability of mangroves to provide food, extreme weather protection, and livelihoods, while harboring incredible biodiversity, building coastal resilience, and acting as immense carbon sinks makes mangrove conservation and restoration an effective strategy to have in our arsenal to combat climate change and the biodiversity crisis.
While progress has been made in recent years to slow the rate of loss, coastal communities already facing the impacts of a changing climate. Mangrove restoration and protection is also drastically underfunded compared to the benefits they bring, receiving only ~1% of climate finance. We urgently need to invest in conserving and restoring mangroves now as nature-based solutions to adapt to this changing planet.
The Mangrove Breakthrough is a call for accelerate action and investment from governments, the private sector, and non-state actors for one of the most under-protected and threatened ecosystems on the planet. The Mangrove Breakthrough provides a framework for State and non-State Actors to work together towards a global science based target of securing the future of over 15 million hectares of mangroves globally by 2030, underpinned by $4bn of sustainable finance, in support of the Paris agreement and Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Collective action will focus on:
The Mangrove Breakthrough was launched at UNFCCC COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, spearheaded by the United Nations High Level Climate Champions and the Global Mangrove Alliance, together with an alliance of early supporters and partners. In 2023 we further designed and mobilized the initiative. By COP29, we leveraged support from a total of 31 governments, and a formal partnership between the Mangrove Alliance for Climate and the Mangrove Breakthrough which has 23 country members. These countries represent around 60% of the world’s mangroves to implement a large-scale global mangrove programme towards halting mangrove destruction by 2030, alongside 57 non-state actors.
Endorsers of the Mangrove Breakthrough will join a Community of Action made up of civil society organizations, governments, and the private sector, working together to achieve the Breakthrough’s goals through various actions and projects. By being part of this Community of Action, stakeholders collaborate towards successful mangrove interventions that build on the best available science, best practices, and lessons learned.
The Mangrove Breakthrough works with the non-state actor network of the Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA) to build capacity locally and develop pipelines of mangrove projects with GMA national chapters, as well as developing tools that governments can use to enhance their efforts.
Countries and other stakeholders endorsing to the Mangrove Breakthrough commit to science-based mangrove restoration in a fair and equitable way. The Mangrove Breakthrough Guiding Principles serve as guardrails, and are guiding endorsers towards sustainably and effectively conserving and restoring mangrove ecosystems in a way that benefits biodiversity and communities and promotes equity:
1. Safeguarding nature and maximize biodiversity.
2. Employing the best information and practices
3. Empowering people
4. Aligning to the broader context – operate locally and contextually
5. Designing for sustainability
6. Mobilising high-integrity capital
Read more about the Mangrove Breakthrough Guiding Principles.
In recent months, the Breakthrough has:
● Launched the NDC Task Force to help countries develop NDCs that prioritise mangrove protection and restoration as essential nature-based solutions within climate commitments to the UNFCCC Paris Agreement.
● Established an Advisory Council, a consortium of representatives from key stakeholder sectors to guide the strategic direction and governance of the Mangrove Breakthroughs. The Council convened for its Inaugural Council Meeting in London last April.
● Established the Mangrove Breakthrough Secretariat, being hosted by Ambition Loop, an international NGO based in Santiago, Chile.
● To fill data and knowledge gaps and promote science-based approaches, the GMA developed the Best Practice Guidelines on Mangrove Restoration, the Mangrove Restoration Track Tool and updates of the Global Mangrove Watch to support the Mangrove Breakthrough Community of Action in scaling up their mangrove interventions and addressing implementation challenges.
● Development of Regional Roadmaps and Country Proposals to mobilise large-scale funding to achieve the Breakthrough targets by supporting locally led action on the ground and address impediments to scaling conservation and restoration efforts.
The Mangrove Breakthrough is endorsed by a growing list of leading non-profit organizations, governments as well as businesses, finance institutes and research organizations.
To date, the Mangrove Breakthrough is endorsed by the following stakeholders:
Governments:
Australia, Atlántico (Colombia), Baranquilla (Colombia), Bolívar (Colombia), César (Colombia), Sucre (Colombia), Belgium, Burundi, Costa Rica, Colombia, Cartagena (Colombia), Cordoba (Colombia), Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Gambia, Germany, Guinea Bissau, Jamaica, Liberia, Mozambique, Norway, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Quintana Roo (Mexico), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Yucatán (Mexico).
Through the Partnership with the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC), the following member countries are connected:
Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile, China, Cuba, El Salvador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kuwait, Liberia, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Mozambique, Mauritius, Mexico, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Venezuela
Non profit and research organizations:
1t.org, Bangladesh Environment and Development Society, Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, Blue Forest, Blue Marine Foundation, Blue Ventures, Conservation International, Earth Security, Fair Carbon, Friends of Ocean Action, Gallifrey Foundation, Global Wetlands Project, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Invemar, IUCN Mangrove Specialist Group, Ivy Protocol, Makom ma matanda, Mangrove Action Project, Marsh McLennan, MèreMer, National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance, Oliver Wyman, People Carbon, Pew Charitable Trusts, University of Queensland, Rare, Salesforce, Shenzhen Mangrove Wetland Conservation Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Vlinder, Wetlands International, World Economic Forum and Friends of Ocean Action, World Wildlife Fund, The Zoological Society of London
Finance Institutes:
AXA Climate, Bank of America, Barclays, Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Carbon Action Partners, GAEA at the World Economic Forum, Earth Security, FSDAi, Global Ocean Trust, HSBC, Marsh McLennan, Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (OORRA), Oliver Wyman, Ørsted, Pegasus Capital Advisors, Salesforce, SouthBridge, Standard Chartered, UBS, World Economic Forum, WTW
Please indicate your interest in joining the Mangrove Breakthrough by contacting:
Ignace Beguin at ignacebeguin@climatechampions.team
and Mangrove Breakthrough ambassador Carlos Correa at ccorrea@conservation.org
©COP28 UAE | a Breakthrough Moment for Mangroves delivering global action on mangrove restoration and protection - 9TH December, 2023
