- Conserving the Coast for Man and Environment

Mangrove Ecosystem are carbon rich owing to the huge carbon deposits in the soil that have accumulated for years. According to The State of the World’s Mangroves 2022, Nigeria, together with 5 other countries make up 50% of the world’s mangrove area and carbon. Mangroves in Nigeria also provide food and jobs to small-scale fisherfolks, protect coastal communities from storms and have high cultural value to people living around the mangroves. Despite having the largest mangrove in Africa, Nigeria has dropped in the ranking of countries with the largest mangrove in the past decade. This is because of the various threats faced by mangroves in Nigeria including oil pollution, development, unsustainable use of the mangrove wood and an invasive Nipa palm.

 

 

Nipa palm was introduced as a beach erosion measure but has proliferated across the coastline and into Cameroon because of poor management. Nipa palm outcompetes mangroves in Nigeria especially when it is degraded. This results in changing the soil’s physical and chemical properties reducing the carbon stock of these sediments, increasing the risk of erosion and reducing biodiversity.

 

‘The best way to protect and restore Nigerian mangroves is to base future decisions on available research.’ One of the reasons why some mangrove restoration projects fail is because there are no proper planning and feasibility studies done before the actual planting is carried out. In Nigeria, eradicating Nipa palm using mechanical means, i.e. uprooting the plants, is going to be expensive and needs a lot of effort. However, we can look to the other parts of the world where Nipa palm is native. ‘I have seen research that makes use of Nipa palm as a bioenergy and where it used as a delicacy with plantain.’ Utilizing these untapped resources could be one way of reducing the spread of the seeds, which is a recipe in the countries where it is native.

 

The International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem was first designated in 2015 by the General Council of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This International Day was a call to action to preserve mangroves globally. According to the DG of UNESCO, ‘…for everyone in our societies to become aware of the value, the beauty and the vulnerability of mangrove ecosystems and to commit to their protection.’ In Nigeria, efforts should be made to reduce mangrove deforestation and degradation. In 2020, Blue Carbon Solutions celebrated the mangrove day with the theme: Towards a Sustainable Use of Mangrove Wood Resources. A researcher from Guyana gave a seminar about a sustainable document which was used to curb wood harvesting and reduce mangrove degradation. I attended a mangrove-in focus conference organized by The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) on the 18th of July 2024. In my presentation, I highlighted the importance of research in informing decisions on mangrove policies. Ultimately, the best path to mangrove protection and restoration in Nigeria is to base any efforts and decisions on the knowledge of mangroves. ‘Next year will be 10 decades for the commemoration of this mangrove day. I there is an academic conference held across the Universities that study mangroves in Nigeria, we can create a mangrove hub that forms a foundation for decision-making.’