Coastal
Protection
Root systems buffer waves, reduce erosion, and protect coastal communities and infrastructure.
Fisheries and Food Security
Mangroves as a whole act as nurseries for species that sustain coastal food economies.
Blue Carbon Storage
mangrove sediments can store extraordinary amounts of carbon over long timescales.
Community
Well-being
Additional to coastal protection and food security, mangroves are part of cultural and spiritual practices that help maintaining the cultural identity of diverse communities.
Why MangrovES?
Although they cover less than 1% of the planet’s tropical forests, mangroves are vital ecosystems that support 120 million people, protect coastal communities, shelter extraordinary biodiversity, and store up to five times more carbon per hectare than most tropical forests.
Facing growing threats from climate change, habitat loss, and human pressures, MangrovES develops innovative governance approaches that connect science, communities, and institutions to strengthen mangrove conservation and safeguard their ecological, social, and economic benefits for generations to come.
Four coastal learning landscapes
for governance innovation
With coastlines on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Colombia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world and a key region for mangrove research and conservation. Its mangrove ecosystems support biodiversity, coastal communities, and essential ecosystem services, while also facing growing environmental and socio-economic challenges.
Punta Soldado
Pacific Coast
Valle del Cauca
An innovative approach combining scientific tourism within mangroves, creating learning platforms for local inhabitants and researchers while providing alternative income sources and capacity building opportunities.
Bahía Málaga
Pacific Coast
Valle del Cauca
Neighbouring initiatives on REDD+ and blue carbon that enable study of transfer processes, cooperation, and knowledge co-creation between regions. The initiatives are partly implemented, managed by the Ministry of Environment (Colombia).
Tumaco
Pacific Coast
Nariño
An Innovation Region that will pilot a tailored governance innovation designed to respond to local ecological, social, and institutional realities while contributing to food security, youth futures, and the long-term resilience of coastal territories.
Vida Manglar
Caribbean Coast
3 National departments
Pioneering Blue Carbon Scheme operating for 10-15 years, representing the world’s first such initiative with diverse stakeholder participation from private, public, civil society, and academic sectors across the region.
Testimonial 1
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Testimonial 2
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Our latest News
The team
Stefan Sorge
Project leader and Researcher in Mangrove Governance.
University of Freiburg, Germany.
Clara Villegas Palacio
Full Professor. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín.
CEMarin Researcher
Sergio Herazo Areiza
PhD Student in Water Resources.
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín.
CEMarin Early Stage Researcher
Andres Fernando Osorio
Full Professor. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín.
Ex-executive Director at CEMarin
Linda K. López Abuchar
Master student in Marine Biology, International Studies in Aquatic Tropical Ecology.
Student Assistant-ZMT
University of Bremen
Achim Schlüter
Leader Programme Area Coastal Resources, Working Group Institutional and Behavioural Economics.
Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Ecology – ZMT
CEMarin Researcher
Connie López
Full Professor. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín.
CEMarin Researcher
Daniela
Partner institutions
Get involved
MangrovES welcomes collaboration with coastal communities, researchers, NGOs, policymakers, students, and international partners working toward sustainable ecosystem service provision.