Delivering mangrove restoration best practices in the Bahamas

Mangroves are an incredibly important ecosystem for communities in the Bahamas, protecting against coastal erosion and providing a vital habitat for various marine species that are crucial to local fisheries and tourism. However, the mangroves are facing a range of manmade threats, including pollution, coastal development, and encroachment, while climate change factors such as rising sea levels and storms put additional pressure on these ecosystems. Degradation of mangroves in the Bahamas could have serious consequences for the island and wider Caribbean region, which is why the work being done to restore them is so critical. Our mangrove restoration projects in the Bahamas sought to build on existing restoration efforts and enhance knowledge of mangrove management to ensure the successful recovery and management of these vital ecosystems.

The first of our workshops was hosted on Andros Island as part of the Davis Creek Mangrove Restoration Project under the GEF-funded Bahamas Pine Islands Project. Over 8 days, 53 people learned best practices in mangrove management and restoration and were introduced to relevant mangrove ecology and science that underpins ecological mangrove restoration. The second workshop was held on Grand Bahama for the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust (BTT) and Waterkeepers Bahamas (WKB), two groups that have been collaborating with numerous partners to kickstart the recovery of mangroves in Grand Bahama and Abaco following Hurricane Dorian in 2019. So far, BTT and WKB have planted 48,000 red mangroves between the two islands. Backing this work, our training aimed to build capacity for project stakeholders and support planting and restoration to improve efforts to bring back these vital forests.