Mikoko Pamoja Mangrove restoration in Gazi Bay

Summary

The overall objective of this afforestation and reforestation project is to channel finance to the protection and restoration of mangrove ecosystems in Kenya through the provision of and payment for quantifiable ecosystem services. The proposed community-led project aims to protect, enhance and expand an area of mangrove forest at Gazi in southern Kenya, in the expectation that this will inform mangrove conservation throughout Kenya. Plan Vivo registration is underway. 

Specific objectives of Mikoko Pamoja include (a) to preserve the current quality and extent of the mangrove forests of Gazi Bay and of the services they provide to local communities, (b) to restore degraded areas of mangrove forest in Gazi Bay, (c) to raise income from forest resources, including carbon credits, for community benefit, (d) to establish alternative sources of timber and firewood in the Gazi area, (e) to establish a pilot project demonstrating sustainable mangrove management that will influence mangrove management nationally in Kenya, (f) to work with the Kenya Forest Service and other government agencies to determine policy about engaging communities in land management, particularly through the provision of ecosystem services through international carbon offset markets.

The project activities includes: (a) the delineation and mapping of protected areas and monitoring and evaluating their development (b) reforestation of degraded areas and maintenance of nurseries, (c) determination of the carbon storage capacity of the Gazi mangroves using remote sensing, (d) GIS technology and intensive ground-truthing and (e) the planting of Casuarina plantations and other fast growing trees to subsidize mangrove wood.