Enhancing understanding of mangrove ecology and stakeholder needs to improve project outcomes for coastlines and communities
Mangrove Action Project offers workshops on our ‘Community-based Ecological Mangrove Restoration’ (CBEMR) methodology. Bringing the CBEMR method to your mangrove projects will introduce a holistic, cost-effective approach to mangrove restoration. CBEMR addresses the underlying mangrove stressors and reasons for previous mangrove loss, as well as methods to identify and fix the present biophysical and socio-economic situation to produce a sustainable, biodiverse mangrove forest that provides the full suite of ecosystem services.
Combining Ecology, Communities, and Expertise for Successful, Sustainable Restoration
Workshops are tailored to the needs and challenges of the host NGO or group. Designed for groups of up to 25 participants, sessions can last from 5-10 days, and include:
- Question-led, photo-based theory sessions
- Field trips to bring the theory to life
- Demonstrations of equipment and mapping
- Group work to encourage full participation and networking
- Group presentations
The workshops are suitable and adapted for many groups, tailoring to the needs of each. In the past, MAP has trained a variety of different stakeholders including:
- Community groups
- NGO staff
- Funders
- Academics
- Government mangrove agency staff and other government staff such as civil engineers
- Local government staff
*Note that if there are students or stakeholders of different backgrounds and/or experience, MAP would recommend running separate workshops for each group.
The overall aim of each workshop is to improve knowledge among all stakeholders on how to make their restoration efforts as successful and sustainable as possible. Some of the specifics that will be gleaned from each workshop include:
- Participants will have a much greater understanding of relevant elements of mangrove ecology and biology, such as why mudflats are unsuitable for mangrove growth and the importance of hydrology.
- They will be familiar with the process of CBEMR, which must be followed, whether the objectives and site require planting or not.
- Whether they are familiar with mangroves or not, the field trips will reveal much more detail about species zoning, the influence of flooding regimes, the effects of salinity and what can be learned from closely observing nature.
- By the end of the training the participants will be familiar with the other participants and able to network and call on others for help at a later date.
MAP trainers have conducted over 20 CBEMR workshops in at least 13 countries worldwide.
Some of our partners include:
CBEMR General ( copy)
Locations of previous CBEMR trainings
Red – training only; Green – training & restoration
CBEMR Training Online:
CBEMR trainings are also offered via online conferencing. Usually facilitated over a number of weeks, these allow organizations to bring in numerous representatives from around the globe to a single training.
While there is no substitute for in-field or site-specific learning, online trainings will give participants a general background of and understand the reasoning behind the CBEMR methodology, and how it can improve their mangrove rehabilitation projects.
Interested in a training?
Click the link below to get in touch, and we can discuss the logistics and need for training with your organization, project, or coastline.
MAP’s Representatives
MAP’s CBEMR Workshops are run predominantly by Jim Enright and Dominic Wodehouse, who between them have over four decades of experience and expertise in working with mangrove forests and their communities, and together have run at least 15 CBEMR trainings worldwide.
Jim Enright is MAP’s CBEMR Trainer and former Asia Coordinator (1999-2018), overseeing every stage of MAP’s projects in Thailand and the region from proposal writing to monitoring, report writing, and managing staff in the Thai office. He continues to assist MAP with Community-based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR) training workshops around the globe. Before joining MAP in 2000, he spent 7 years working on coastal resource issues in Thailand, as a national park interpreter in Khao Sam Roi Yot and with the Thai NGO Yadfon Foundation which promotes community-based coastal resource management with coastal fishing communities in Trang. Jim has an honors degree in Environment Resource Studies with a specialty in international development. He is based in Trang, southern Thailand, and speaks conversational Thai. [email protected]
After 10 years in advertising in London, Kiev, Jakarta and Bangkok for various multinational agencies, Dominic changed direction to follow a passion for trees and forests. He worked as a professional arborist in the UK while taking an MSc in Sustainable Development at Imperial College London/SOAS to facilitate a move into mangrove conservation. From 2006, he was a mangrove technical officer for Wetlands International and at the same time volunteered with MAP, assisting field projects in Thailand. Between 2011 – 2019 he has been teaching Community-Based Ecological Mangrove Restoration for MAP in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar (2011, 2017, 2019), Colombia, Suriname, Tanzania (2019, 2020), Senegal and Honduras (2014, 2015) while at the same time writing a part-time PhD at Bangor University (UK), studying community mangrove management and restoration. On completion of his doctorate in 2019, he moved into the Executive Directorship role within MAP. Dominic is a member of the IUCN Mangrove Specialist Group. [email protected]