Climate Change Adaptation: Management Options for Mangrove Areas

Mangroves are vulnerable to climate change, but this vulnerability can be reduced by adaptation planning by managers. Adaptive capacity is one of three components of vulnerability to climate change impacts, and includes both the abilities of mangroves to adapt to those impacts, and the capacity of mangrove managers to improve resilience. There are three categories of management actions: reduction of existing threats not related to climate change, direct adaptation actions and ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Actions that reduce existing threats include improvement of local management, improving legislation that facilitates mangrove protection and sustained use, establishment of strategic protected areas and rehabilitation of degraded mangrove areas. Direct adaptation actions include selection of “climate-smart” species in rehabilitation and choice of protected areas, management actions to promote sediment accretion in mangroves, and proactive planning for changed conditions. Ongoing monitoring actions include evaluation of mangrove extent and condition, continued monitoring of mangrove sedimentation rates, and evaluation of the success of active adaptation actions as well as actions to reduce non climate threats.