Facts about mangroves

5 times more carbon is mitigated by mangroves compared to terrestrial trees.
Increase sea food production by up to 50%.
Surrounding water is filtered and cleaned in protection of coral reefs and seagrass.
Each mature tree produces enough oxygen for four people.
Provide a cooling effect and other vital eco services for life on Earth.
Help the disadvantaged in vulnerable coastal communities with sustainable development to overcome poverty.
Life bearing local ecosystem services are provided by restoring mangrove forests.
80% of carbon is stored permanently in the soil, compared to 20% in the soil with terrestrial trees.
Natural defense for coastal communities from tsunamis, cyclones and other extreme weather.
Shoreline erosion from sea level rise is minimized by mangrove reforestation.
Sea level rise threatened land is built up with naturally falling leaves and branches.

Mangroves has a vital role in protection of live and properties in vulnerable coastal communities from tsunamis and extreme weather.

Only 16% of the original mangrove forests are left in the vulnerable Delta Region of Myanmar (NASA 2013)

5 times more carbon is mitigated by mangroves compared to terrestrial trees.

Increasing sea food stocks with up to 50% with several other important features in adaptation to climate change.

Mangrove forests are disappearing three time faster than rainforests with a critical level in many countries.

CO2 mitigation

Mangroves represent a tangible impact on the climate with 83% of carbon sequestration by the oceans, and 50% from the shorelines by mangroves, sea grass and coral reefs. Mangroves play a vital role in the protection of lives and properties in vulnerable coastal communities from tsunamis, cyclones and other extreme weather. They also increase sea food stocks by up to 50% with several other important features in adaptation to climate change. In spite of its vital role, mangrove forests are disappearing three times faster than rainforests with a critical level being reached in many countries. It is high time to reverse this trend by increasing restoration efforts. Our target is 1,000,000,000 trees in the next 10 years.

Mangrove restoration

Mangrove restoration - the natural CO2 greenhouse gas mitigation

Tested and proven over millions of years, this method is the most cost-effective means of removing CO2 from the atmosphere with permanent storage in the ground, protected by living trees above the ground.

Blue carbon includes eco-service systems and sustainable development in coastal villages with the conservation of bio diversity. Provides multiple benefits for your investment.

Healthy oceans

Since the dawn of time, civilisations have been kept alive with healthy food and vital eco system services from the ocean. Our continued existence depends on our custody of these immense resources.

A key to healthy oceans are mangroves, the only forest that grows in salt water, as a buffer between land and sea. This tree filters and cleans runoff and sediments, protects coral reefs and sea grass meadows, as well as provides the highest capacity to mitigate CO2, up to 5 times more than rainforest trees, with permanent storage in the ground. Its eco system services are of the highest value for life on our Blue Planet.

Mangrove forests save lives and properties from extreme weather in vulnerable coastal communities. This miracle tree creates higher ground as protection against rising sea levels.

In spite of this, these vital forests resources are disappearing at a rate that is three times faster than rainforests and, in some countries, the loss is reaching critical levels with a risk for total extinction.

The project is also active in removing plastic pollution that threatens life in the oceans.

The solution is simple

Our goal is to plant 1,000,000,000 trees to achieve the level needed to make a global impact on climate change. Restoration is a timely investment generating values higher than restoration costs. Just a single one of these benefits, like a 50 percent increase in sea food stocks, will far outweigh the investment required. Furthermore, the benefits of fruit, bees, honey, raw-materials for medicine, and above all, the value of VCS carbon units for the voluntary market, will last for hundreds of years.

Achievements

Thor Heyerdahl Climate Park 2012-2016

2012-15: Comprehensive research on mangrove restoration in cooperation with Pathein University, Myeik University and soil test/laboratory support by Yangon University.

2015-18: Planted and rescued 6.1 million mangrove trees. Establishment of mangrove gene bank. Nurseries for 2 million more trees to be planted in 2018 in cooperation with coastal communities.

Sustainable development in 50 villages, projects focusing on women and children development.
Conservation of bio diversity, endemic endangered orchids, wildlife and coral reefs in adaptation to climate change.

BEFORE AND AFTER RESTORATION

Mangroves and CO2

“The declaration in WIF documentation that “mangroves have the ability to mitigate up to five times more C02 than rainforest trees and represents a substantial cooling effect with more than 60,000 BTU units per tree” would seem to be reasonably substantiated by related new and ongoing scientific studies such as those included in the 2014 UNEP report on the ‘carbon blue’ capacities of mangroves.

Indeed, the respected head of the climate change cluster at UTS (and scientific member of the International Blue Carbon Initiative) Professor Peter Ralph was quoted in a November 17, 2015 Sydney Morning Herald article (Frew, 2015) as saying that ‘seagrass, mangroves and salt marsh capture carbon up to 40 times faster than forests and [unlike tree carbon which can dissipate quickly] store it for thousands of years” [our parenthesis].

The conservative projections that each mature tree will have mitigated roughly 500kg of C02 (within 20 years) involves the related estimate that about 24% of this is captured by the tree and the rest in the soil. WIF further projects a ‘conservative estimate’ also of over 2 million tons of C02 stored in the ground (based on document analyses by Pathein University and Yangon University of 1meter deep soil tests in the park).

Added to the related projection that 2 million maintained trees in the Park will at least generate 2 million tons of C02 from the growth of trees, this explains their reasonable projection that the planting of new trees as part of the sustainable rehabilitation project is a process well underway and on schedule to result in an overall figure of 3.7 million tons ‘saved’ by the Park as either mitigated C02 or avoided emissions.”

From:
2016 Raintrust Sustainable Venture´s validation report