Planting mangroves in Benin

In Benin the effects of climate change are felt through more frequent droughts, erratic precipitation, heat waves and other increasingly frequent extreme weather events. Storms and rising sea levels have exacerbated the vulnerability of communities along the country’s Atlantic coast with experts saying the country loses several metres of its coastline every year to the ocean.

The local government registered NGO Future4Future (futureforfuture.org) aims to research and provide authentic and practical solutions to pressing environmental and climate change issues. Mangroves are regularly referred to as a nature-based solution to climate change as they extract carbon dioxide from the air to store in their roots and branches, as well as the sediment that collects around them.

The amount of carbon stored beneath these trees is estimated to be up to four times greater than that stored by other tropical forests. In addition, their strong and complex root systems also protect coastal landscapes from extreme weather events, like hurricanes.

For that reason, Future4Future, in collaboration with local authorities, experts and over 30 young people, planted 2000 mangrove trees along the AHO canal in Kpomassè - a commune in the Atlantique Department of southern Benin.

Your support will help to plant further seedlings and restore parts of the mangrove ecosystem lost over the years. It would also fund subsequent care for the plants, awareness raising and capacity building activities.