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Mangroves, a land/sea ecosystem to protect

Among its areas of interest, the French Committee of the IUCN includes mangroves, an ecosystem very much present on the humid tropical coasts. To preserve them, the organization is co-piloting a centre dedicated to observing and preserving them.
Projects listing

Environment & biodiversity

  • Location
    Guadeloupe (France)​
  • Sponsor
    Coline Jacobs
  • Grant
    €20,000 to the Selection Committee meeting on 1 April 2021

Project leader

French Committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

A general interest association, the French Committee of the IUCN aims to contribute towards conserving biodiversity and sustainable and fair use of natural resources, in accordance with the IUCN task defined at the global level. It brings together a network of organizations and experts within thematic commissions and working groups.

Since January 2017, it has played its part in protecting tropical environments. The French Committee of the IUCN co-pilots the Pôle-relais zones humides tropicales - PRZHT (tropical wetlands intermediate centre) with the coastline conservation authority. The PRZHT is part of the intermediate centres network created in 2001 in line with the first National Action Plan for wetlands, in order to stimulate and support local initiatives dedicated to the sustainable management of these environments. This centre carries out actions in the three ocean basins: Atlantic (French Antilles, Guyana), Indian Ocean (Mayotte, Reunion, Scattered Islands) and Pacific (New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia).

It also works on all wetlands, particularly mangroves, these original ecosystems located at the land/sea interface that have lost more than 35% of their surface area over the past 20 years.

Mangroves, an ecosystem to be preserved

This ecosystem of mangroves is present on more than 70% of the world's tropical coasts. It filters the water and is home to fish, crabs and crustaceans as well as birds and mammals. Seagrass and the associated coral reefs are dependent on its good health.

PRZHT, a committed player

To ensure its preservation, the PRZHT is in charge of coordinating, leading and deploying the Mangroves Network as part of the French Initiative for Coral Reefs (Ifrecor). Since 2017, the date of publication of the first harmonized mapping of overseas mangroves, the network has been strengthened and structured: information on national indicators collectively with stakeholders from each territory and feedback of needs, participatory mapping of mangroves introduced from French Polynesia with public meetings on each island, technical exchange days in the West Indies and Mayotte, virtual tours of mangroves in Guadeloupe and Mayotte, etc. including the results returned in the Ifrecor report on the state of health of the reefs coral and associated ecosystems - including mangroves (April 2021).

With the support of the Veolia Foundation, a person is recruited to coordinate the network by providing technical support, setting up partnerships, updating national indicators, etc.