Source to Sea: Enhancing blue carbon ecosystems and community resilience in Kenya

The project targets Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River, and Lamu counties to combat impacts from drought, storms, and coastal erosion. It proposes a 'Source-to-Sea' framework that links upstream agricultural management with downstream coastal ecosystem restoration. Key interventions include restoring mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrasses, implementing climate-resilient farming to reduce riverbank erosion and sedimentation, and establishing sustainable finance mechanisms like Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) and blue carbon markets. The project aims to benefit approximately 323,100 direct beneficiaries, focusing on vulnerable fisherfolk and small-scale farmers, while addressing social issues such as gender-based violence and sex trafficking linked to economic desperation.

• The project targets four Kenyan counties—Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River, and Lamu—focusing on five specific hotspots: Vanga, Mida Creek, Malindi, Ungwana, and Tana Delta.
• Coastal ecosystems in Kenya, specifically coral reefs, dissipate 97% of wave energy, providing a critical protective service against storms and coastal erosion.
• Upstream agricultural practices, driven by drought-induced encroachment onto riverbanks, cause significant sedimentation and eutrophication in the Sabaki and Tana Rivers, which smothers downstream coral reefs and seagrasses.
• Economic desperation caused by climate-induced livelihood failure has led to an increase in gender-based violence (GBV), forced prostitution, and the sex trafficking of girls in coastal communities.
• The project proposes a sustainable finance model using Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) and blue carbon market access to fund the scaling of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) interventions.
• The project aims to directly benefit approximately 323,100 people, including 161,500 women and 161,500 men, with an additional 2.5 million indirect beneficiaries.
• Seaweed farming is identified as a viable alternative livelihood, particularly for women, with potential annual earnings of over $500 per farmer.
• The total indicative project cost is USD 37,838,300, with USD 20,650,000 requested as a grant from the Green Climate Fund.

APA

Green Climate Fund (n.d.). Source to Sea: Enhancing blue carbon ecosystems and community resilience in Kenya. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/29200-source-sea-enhancing-blue-carbon-ecosystems-and-community-resilience-kenya.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Source to Sea: Enhancing blue carbon ecosystems and community resilience in Kenya. n.d. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/29200-source-sea-enhancing-blue-carbon-ecosystems-and-community-resilience-kenya.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Source to Sea: Enhancing blue carbon ecosystems and community resilience in Kenya |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/29200-source-sea-enhancing-blue-carbon-ecosystems-and-community-resilience-kenya.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefundndsource, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Source to Sea: Enhancing blue carbon ecosystems and community resilience in Kenya}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/29200-source-sea-enhancing-blue-carbon-ecosystems-and-community-resilience-kenya.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }