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My thanks to Dr. Alue Dohong, Vice Minister of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia, for the invitation to speak at this event on the side lines of the sixth United Nations Environment Assembly, or UNEA-6.
We are gathered here in Nairobi to seek inclusive multilateral solutions to the triple planetary crisis: the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature and biodiversity loss and the crisis of pollution and waste.
Action on Nature-based Solutions is a great way to deliver benefits across the full triple planetary crisis because, as we know, nature’s infrastructure is the best infrastructure. And mangrove forests stand as a great example of how nature keeps human societies and economies moving.
Mangroves support the socio-economic wellbeing of millions of people, providing a flow of essential ecosystem goods and services. Coastal protection. Carbon sequestration. Climate change adaptation. Ecotourism. Aquaculture. And mangrove forests are a vital habitat for over 1,500 species. Of course, Indonesia has a massive stake in the health of mangroves, as the nation hosts around one fifth of global mangrove area.
This is why it is so worrying that mangroves are being lost across the globe, falling victim to agriculture and aquaculture expansion. But in every spreading cloud, there is a silver lining. In this case, the silver lining is that the scale of degradation means that mangrove restoration is an incredibly powerful Nature-based Solution.
For example, a World Bank study found that Indonesia could develop a mangrove blue carbon project that would absorb 11 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Meanwhile, UNEP’s State of Finance for Nature report for 2023 found that restoration projects, like mangroves, can absorb investment of up to US$177 billion per year by 2030. Mangrove restoration could, in fact, contribute to a global Nature-based Solution push that would deliver US$4 trillion for businesses and over 100 million new jobs by 2030.
This is why UNEP and Member States place such great value on mangrove restoration. We of course had the Indonesia-sponsored resolution at UNEA-4 calling for the sustainable management of mangroves. And UNEP has followed up. Through a wide global portfolio of on-the-ground mangrove conservation and restoration activities. Through ‘Decades of Mangrove Change’ a 2023 UNEP-WCMC analysis of biodiversity in mangroves. Through The East Asian Seas Action Plan of the UNEP-Administered COBSEA Regional Seas programme. And more.
The Mangrove Breakthrough, launched at COP27, has added further momentum by aiming to secure the future of 15 million hectares of mangroves globally by 2030. We must build on this momentum, including by accounting for mangroves in the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. UNEP is also supportive of a Global Mangrove Centre, which would catalyze international collaboration – including through UNEP Administered Regional Seas Conventions and Actions Plans.
So, my thanks again to Indonesia for organizing this event and, more importantly, the real commitment to restoring mangroves forests – a vital resource nature has handed us, and one we must treat with the respect it deserves.
