Mangroves are valued by different people in diverse ways – as places to fish, sources of fodder, protection against storms or tides, sites of tourism, as part of ecosystems and the carbon cycle, or as sites of financial investment. Many mangroves are threatened by changes in the environment and the demands made on them by people and industrial development.
This project looks at how market-based programmes that aim to expand, protect or restore mangrove forests in two countries are used to respond to this problem. These are meant to correct market failures and bring different groups together around a shared set of priorities about local mangrove conservation.
We explore processes associated with the marketization of mangroves, local impacts of these programmes and what they mean for broader questions of environmental sustainability and economic development, and the rights, access, livelihoods and justice for different people. Comparing and contrasting these examples can help us to understand how the marketization of nature happens, and what kind of ‘unruly’, unpredictable or undisciplined spaces arise around it.
The case studies are in two sites: Kutch in Gujarat, India, and the Mikoko Pamoja project in Gazi Bay, Kenya.
Key contacts
