Balancing Development and Coastal Conservation: Mangroves in Mozambique

The report examines the critical role of mangrove ecosystems in Mozambique, highlighting their value in carbon sequestration, coastal protection, and supporting fisheries. It identifies significant threats from urban growth, aquaculture, and the extractive boom in oil, gas, and mining. The author argues that Mozambique's current governance is fragmented across multiple ministries, leading to weak enforcement of environmental laws. The document advocates for the use of ecosystem valuation, Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs), and 'Blue Carbon' financing to incentivize conservation and reconcile economic growth with ecological sustainability.

• Mangroves are among the most threatened vegetation types globally, with over 20% of the world's mangroves lost in the last 30 years.
• Mangroves provide essential climate mitigation services, sequestering up to 25.5 million tonnes of carbon annually and capturing approximately five times more carbon than tropical rainforests.
• Mozambique possesses the largest mangrove forests in East Africa and the third largest in Africa, though data on total coverage varies between studies.
• Coastal development in Mozambique is increasingly conflicted, as mangrove forests overlap with significant fossil fuel deposits and infrastructure projects in the extractive sector.
• Despite legal protections, approximately 50% of Mozambique's mangrove forests fall outside protected zones and lack legal protection.
• The port city of Beira is highly vulnerable to sea-level rise and cyclones, with mangroves serving as a critical but disappearing natural flood barrier.
• In the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, conflicts exist between conservation efforts (such as protecting the endangered dugong) and the livelihoods of mainland fishing communities who are excluded from the park.
• Blue Carbon—the carbon stored in coastal ecosystems—remains largely excluded from international climate change frameworks and Mozambique's national emission reduction strategies.
• Economic valuation of ecosystem services can justify conservation, as mangroves can generate between $2,000 and $9,000 per hectare per year, potentially exceeding yields from aquaculture or agriculture.

APA

Chevallier, R. (2013). Balancing Development and Coastal Conservation: Mangroves in Mozambique. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Research-Report-14.pdf

Chicago

Chevallier, Romy. Balancing Development and Coastal Conservation: Mangroves in Mozambique. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2013. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Research-Report-14.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chevallier |first1=Romy |title=Balancing Development and Coastal Conservation: Mangroves in Mozambique |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=November 2013 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Research-Report-14.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chevallier2013balancing, author = {Chevallier, Romy}, title = {{Balancing Development and Coastal Conservation: Mangroves in Mozambique}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2013}, month = nov, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Research-Report-14.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }