Mangroves deforestation
Funzi Island has witnessed the gradual disappearance of its once-thriving mangrove forest.
This degradation significantly reduces the resilience of local communities. As climate change progresses, extreme events like floods are becoming more frequent. Mangroves play a crucial role in reinforcing beaches and providing protection for coastal communities against storms and floods.
Unfortunately, mangroves attract people who cut them down for timber, fuel, and medicine. Therefore, reducing the community's reliance on mangroves is essential for successful conservation efforts.
In response, the Munje Tunusuru Women’s Group was formed in 2021 with a challenge to replant 70+ hectares*
Since 2021, the women have planted in 10 hectares. Unfortunately, due to the drought, they have not planted much in 2022. Once the rain came in March 2023, they covered only 3 hectares.
Due to Kenya banning plastic bags of any kind, they had to get special permission from the Kenya Forest Service to use the black planting bags for the seedlings and to build shades for the nurseries.
*Kenya forest services mapped the land to be replanted to be 70+ hectares.
How does the reforestation process work?
Gather the seeds
The women gather seeds fallen form the trees and seedlings that are too young to survive. The challenge is to rescue the seeds and seedlings before wild and domesticated animals get to them.
Nurse the seedlings
There are 5 nurseries where the women cultivate the seedlings until they can be replanted back into the waters with the best case for survival.
Planting
Day 1
The women and selected youth from the community gather the seedlings from the nursery, pack them into carts and buckets to transport them to the planting area.
Day 2
The women and helpers go into the mud and plant the seedlings they had transported the previous day.
It takes 1-3 days, with more or less 55 people, to plant around 3.000 seedlings to cover 1 hectare of land.
Key challenges
Lack of funding and resources to scale up replanting and cover the remaining 60 hectares of land. Only 10 hectares have been planted so far.
70 hectares to replant
Alternative income sources are needed to reduce the community's financial reliance on mangroves
Economic resilience on mangroves
Community attitudes to mangrove conservation
Attitude change is needed within the community through education, to ensure support for the conservation activities.