Financing the Earth’s assets : The case for mangroves as a nature-based climate solution

Abstract

There is a window of opportunity to think on a bigger scale about the role of nature-based solutions in the fight against climate change. This report presents the business case and the practical proposals to mobilise global finance for nature-based climate solutions, alongside the creation of more agile institutions that can help align global economic development with the value of natural assets. The report also highlights that the world’s mangrove forests hold around 4.2 billion tonnes of carbon. Destroying them releases more CO2 per hectare than any other type of deforestation. In the Dominican Republic, converting one hectare of mangrove forest to shrimp farming releases the same level of CO2 emissions as converting 11.5 hectares of tropical dry forest to cattle pasture.