Investing in Mangroves: The Corporate Playbook

The document argues that mangroves are critical 'nexus solutions' for the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequality. It outlines four primary avenues for corporate engagement: sustainability credit buying, supply chain offtaking, direct project development, and ancillary engagement. The playbook emphasizes a systemic approach, urging companies to move beyond 'carbon tunnel syndrome' by integrating social safeguards, Indigenous leadership, and jurisdictional strategies to ensure high-integrity, low-risk investments.

• Mangroves provide exceptional climate mitigation and adaptation benefits, sequestering carbon at rates up to 10 times higher than mature tropical forests and storing 3 to 5 times more carbon per equivalent area.
• Despite their value, mangroves are severely threatened; half of the estimated 147,000 km² of remaining mangroves worldwide are under threat, and 50% of mangrove forests have been destroyed since 1950.
• Corporate investment is hindered by a lack of commercially investable project designs, specifically due to unclear revenue streams and a lack of understanding regarding investability criteria at different project stages.
• The document identifies four 'Avenues' for corporate entry into mangrove-positive action: sustainability credit buying, supply chain offtaking, project development, and ancillary engagement.
• High-quality projects must place Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPs & LCs) at the core, as initiatives that leverage traditional management systems are typically more successful.
• The 'Mangrove Breakthrough' is a global initiative endorsed by 36 national and subnational governments with the goal to mobilize $4 billion and protect 15 million hectares of mangroves by 2030.
• Jurisdictional and landscape approaches are recommended to maximize the value of interventions, as they improve risk management, reduce costs, and align diverse stakeholder interests across administrative boundaries.
• The document warns against 'carbon tunnel syndrome'—focusing exclusively on climate—and advocates for a 'nexus approach' that addresses biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate change simultaneously.

APA

World Economic Forum (2025). Investing in Mangroves: The Corporate Playbook. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Investing_in_Mangroves_2025.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Investing in Mangroves: The Corporate Playbook. 2025. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Investing_in_Mangroves_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Investing in Mangroves: The Corporate Playbook |date=April 2025 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Investing_in_Mangroves_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2025investing, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Investing in Mangroves: The Corporate Playbook}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Investing_in_Mangroves_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }