Our Story
Discover our journey, guiding principles, and vision for the future.
From our founder
“Restoring lost mangrove forests is a practical and meaningful contribution to climate action in solidarity with vulnerable communities. It strengthens nature’s own methods for climate balance, tested over millions of years.”
In the early 2000s, we saw the urgent need for innovative climate solutions. Coastal ecosystems were being destroyed, impacting communities and accelerating climate change.
WIF was ready to start mangrove protection in Myanmar in 2012, with financial support from Letten Foundation. We partnered with Myeik University and Pathein University, in addition to employing Dr. Sarath Senanayake, an internationally recognized climate researcher. These two universities participated in substantive research by mobilizing students and professors, improving our knowledge in the projects on mangrove restoration.
The 2016 UN Paris Climate Agreement showed us that our efforts were not just timely but essential. We intensified our work, focusing on CO2 sequestration. Our global and local experts developed effective planting techniques. This resulted in the first VERRA registered mangrove project to be implemented in Asia.
Now, we have 7 ongoing restoration projects, in Myanmar and Malaysia, all with high-quality carbon potentials. We are also reaching out to countries in Arica and South America in search for new mangrove restoration projects in degraded forest areas.
Unfortunately, global temperature is rising at an alarming rate, and we must therefore work harder to meet new and dangerous demands.
Our solution is to continue mangrove restoration in reaching results for the future.Together, we can create a healthier, more sustainable planet.
Dr. Arne Fjørtoft
What we do
We develop high-integrity mangrove restoration projects that bring global climate goals and local priorities together – regenerating ecosystems, building with communities, and generating verified carbon credits.
Mangrove ecosystem restoration
Mangrove restoration inherently drives a triple impact: it mitigates climate change, enables climate adaptation by protecting coastlines, and conserves biodiversity.
Community-led socioeconomic development activities
Since 1979, community development has been central to our mission. We reinvest into community-led activities in education, health, infrastructure, and sustainable livelihoods..
Our projects
Our mangrove projects combine mission-driven impact with market-based funding. We design and manage high-integrity blue carbon projects that generate verified climate impact.
Future and goals
Currently, we’re scaling up our operations with exciting new projects. Below, you can discover our key goals for the near future.
As we continue to grow our operations, we stay informed about the constantly changing regulations and market trends that influence our industry. We are dedicated to our fundamental principles: ensuring the integrity of our mangrove restoration projects and carbon credits, and empowering our local communities — all aimed at achieving a real climate impact.
Our goal is to plant 1 billion mangrove trees in the next 10 years. With this in mind, we are scaling up operations and launching projects in new countries.
This year, we start new planting projects in Malaysia. Next year, our goal is to expand into new areas in Asia, Africa and South America.
Our focus intensifies on community engagement and climate awareness through Solutions Hub, Generation Hope, and Mangrove Virtual University.
In collaboration with Worldview Seaweed Solutions and Worldview Climate Foundation, we are expanding seaweed production to support sustainable food sources and income for coastal communities.
We continue to support research into seagrass ecosystems in partnership with Pathein University, aiming to apply our findings to habitat restoration and management practices in Southeast Asia’s coastal regions.
