Coastal carbon, sediment and livelihood dynamics

Context

Small developing islands are particularly vulnerable to environmental changes due to their small size, low-lying topography, scarce natural resources, isolation and remoteness from major markets, dependence on external imports, competition for space, and associated socio-economic pressures. Sea level rise also makes coastal communities more vulnerable to the impacts of swell waves, storm surges and sea water inundation.

Mangrove forests have gained recognition for their potential role in climate change mitigation due to the carbon sequestration of the productive ecosystems and storage in the sediments that are trapped by the mangrove tree roots and pneumatophores. Africa hosts about 19% of the world’s mangroves, yet there are relatively few studies that have examined the carbon stocks of African mangroves, and the studies available report great differences among sites and amongst the different pools of carbon stocks, particularly between the above ground carbon stored in trees and organic carbon stored within the sediment. These sediment stores are increasingly a sink and and a source for microplastics