Impact case study database

The Global Mangrove Watch (GMW) has provided global 25 m resolution maps of mangrove extent, making it possible to identify changes that are significant to local communities, but doing this with global coverage and impact. Maps for three epochs, mid-1990s, 2007-2010 and 2015-2016 have been calculated, along with monthly change alerts for the Africa continent, from 1 January 2020. The GMW maps were released on 21 October 2018 at the Ramsar Congress of Parties (COP) and launched on the UN Open Data Viewer (ODV), from where they can be downloaded [5.1; 5.2], whilst also visualised on the Global Forest Watch (GFW) web portal; [5.3]. As of December 2020, the GMW data was the second most downloaded dataset on the ODV, with 7000 downloads [5.4]. 54% of which were by non-academic organisations, including governments, non-profits, and consultancies.

The GMW maps, showing changes in the extent of mangroves through time, have informed public policy and influenced decisions at many levels; internationally, through the UN SDGs [5.4], the actions of national governments, including Myanmar, Fiji, and Indonesia [5.4; 5.5], non-governmental organisations (NGOs) including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) [5.4], Wetlands International (WI) [5.6] and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) [5.7], and Industry, for example, through the Proteus Partnership [5.4].

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) adopted the GMW dataset as the historical mangrove extent baseline for reporting against SDG 6.6.1 [5.4; 5.6]. SDG 6.6.1 aims to halt the degradation and destruction of water-related ecosystems and aid the recovery of those already degraded. For this purpose, the UNEP launched the SDG661 app [5.8], which uses the 25 m GMW data, to represent mangrove ecosystems, providing nation states with accurate, high resolution, time-series data on aquatic ecosystems [5.4; 5.9].

GMW datasets have supported national governments and NGOs [5.4; 5.5; 5.6; 5.7; 5.9]. As highlighted by the UNEP Officer [5.4], many countries have limited capacity to process satellite sensor data. The GMW datasets, therefore, enabled all countries to benefit from such technologies, by providing up-to-date mapping information to inform their decision-making, which they would not have otherwise have had access to. For example, the GMW datasets were used in Fiji to assess mangrove extent changes, ecosystem services, and to sustainably manage mangrove forests [5.4; 5.5]. The GMW data also enabled the WWF to leverage ‘ innovative financing’ for a business-led waste management project in Fiji [5.5]. The Government of Myanmar integrated the GMW data within their Wetland Inventory, and Madagascar National Parks has used the GMW data to aid the sustainable management of their fisheries [5.4].

Within Indonesia, the country with the largest extent of mangroves, the GMW datasets were used by various government bodies, in conjunction with the WWF to inform policy including informing management of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) [5.5]. MPAs with large mangrove losses were subsequently prioritised for increased conservation effort. A Senior Marine Scientist at the WWF-US reports that the GMW data are ‘ invaluable’ enabling ‘ much more prominent attention’ to be bought to the plight of mangrove ecosystems [5.5].

The Global Mangrove Watch layers were invaluable in informing the mangrove component of this work - allowing national trends and provincial trends in mangrove extent and protection to be calculated. The availability of the Global Mangrove Watch data enabled mangroves to receive much more prominent attention in this work than would have been possible otherwise. [5.5]

From 1 January 2020, AU provided, in collaboration with Wetlands International (WI), monthly alerts of mangrove loss across the African continent [5.6]. These alerts are being used by WI staff to monitor mangrove changes on the ground and to track their success in decreasing the spatial extent and frequency of mangrove loss [5.6]. For example, within Guinea-Bissau, the GMW monthly alerts identified mangrove loss areas that were previously unknown to WI staff. This enabled WI, through targeted field visits, to identify and understand the causes and introduce preventative actions [5.6]. AU also worked with WI to train their staff and local government agencies, in Tanzania in 2018 and Senegal in 2019, to use and validate the GMW datasets [5.6; Figure 2]. This included educating staff in the use of mobile apps and small drones to monitor and record changes in mangrove ecosystems (e.g., changes in mangrove forest extent, mudflat erosion, and canopy cover). WI field staff have subsequently used these technologies to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their field surveys, for example when monitoring mangrove restoration sites [5.6].

Figure 2. Pete Bunting (AU) providing drone training in Senegal (July 2019)

On 27 July 2020, a new Global Mangrove Watch portal (https://www.globalmangrovewatch.org\) [5.2; 5.6; 5.10] was launched by WI, TNC, AU and soloEO and made freely and openly available to all with support of the Global Mangrove Alliance [5.10]. The portal disseminates information on the state of mangroves globally, including the monthly alerts produced by AU. Mangrove extent data produced by AU is the key dataset within the portal to which all other products (e.g., above, and below ground biomass) are defined. Using the GMW data, TNC has produced a mangrove restoration potential map [5.7], which helps identify locations where mangrove restoration could be undertaken [5.6]. Being globally consistent and high spatial resolution, the GMW datasets have demonstrated local impact on individual catchments, regions and nations while also providing global impact defining the extent of mangrove ecosystems globally.