The Pew Charitable Trusts’ advancing coastal wetlands conservation project currently engages in nine countries across two geographic regions—Latin America and the Caribbean, and the western Indian Ocean—to support nations in developing and implementing robust nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement that protect or restore their coastal wetlands. Through partnerships with local and regional research institutions, universities, and nongovernmental organizations, as well as all levels of government, Pew works to strengthen these nations’ research, policy, and financial capacity to conserve coastal wetland ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes.
Additionally, Pew supports a broader network of countries in these regions through initiatives such as a partnership to develop the first field-verified national seagrass map for Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar.
Latin America and the Caribbean
Belize
Since 2019, Pew has partnered with World Wildlife Fund Mesoamerica to support Belize’s government in implementing its robust NDC commitments to increase its mangrove protections by 12,000 hectares (29,653 acres), and restore 4,000 additional hectares (9,884 acres) of mangroves by 2030; halt net loss of coastal wetland habitat by 2025; and develop a national seagrass policy, including identifying priority areas for protection.
To support the creation of the country’s NDC, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the University of Belize, and other research partners developed the country’s first comprehensive mangrove carbon stock assessment, and the data has since been incorporated into the country’s greenhouse gas inventory.
In collaboration with the Belizean government and the Michael Succow Foundation (a partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre), the Pew team is also developing a national peatlands map for the country.
Costa Rica
Pew partners with Conservation International to support the Costa Rican government in implementing and financing its ambitious coastal wetlands NDC goals. These include protection of 100% of the coastal wetlands recorded in the country’s National Wetland Inventory; restoration of priority coastal wetlands by 2025; development of management and monitoring plans for sustainable community stewardship of mangrove areas that are key to local livelihoods; and exploration of innovative conservation financing mechanisms for its coastal wetlands, including expanding the country’s existing payment-for-ecosystem-services model to marine ecosystems.
Pew previously partnered with Conservation International and Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza to support Costa Rica’s government as it developed these commitments.
Jamaica
Pew has partnered with The Nature Conservancy, Jamaica (TNC Jamaica) and the University of the West Indies at Mona to support development of national-level maps and a carbon stock assessment for Jamaica’s seagrass and mangrove ecosystems. Working closely with the government, the TNC Jamaica office is also providing technical policy assistance to help develop coastal wetland protection and restoration targets in the country’s next NDC submission in 2025. Pew’s support is critical to improving communication and information sharing among academia, government, protected areas nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector during the NDC development process.
Honduras
Through partnership with Centro de Estudios Marinos and supported by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Pew works to improve the coordination among universities, government, nongovernmental organizations, and other institutions necessary for Honduras to develop science-based conservation and restoration targets for coastal wetland ecosystems. As part of these efforts, Pew supported the Honduran government in reinstating its National Biological Monitoring Board and National Wetlands Technical Committee, which hope to aggregate disparate data on the nation’s coastal wetlands into a national database for the first time. Pew also supports essential work on mangrove restoration protocols in the Bay of Tela and assessments of goods and services for mangrove ecosystems in the Gulf of Fonseca, where most of the country’s mangroves are found. In 2023, Pew provided input to the Ministry of Environment on the nation’s first position statement (‘Postura de País’) on ocean management.
Panama
Together with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Pew supported the development of a mangrove carbon stock assessment for Panama, which included field sampling workshops that strengthened local organizations and governments’ capacity for coastal wetland ecosystem science. Additionally, through local partnerships, Pew provided technical policy assistance to the government of Panama in the development of the country’s coastal and marine NDC goals, which were submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in June 2024 and include robust commitments to the conservation and management of coastal wetland and peatland ecosystems. These goals include mapping seagrass, coral reef, and peatland ecosystems; increasing mangrove coverage by 1,800 hectares (4,448 acres); and improving management of mangrove ecosystems in Panama’s National System of Protected Areas.
Western Indian Ocean
Seychelles
In 2019, Pew partnered with Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT) to support the country’s 2020 NDC, which included bold steps to protect 100% of its mangrove and seagrass ecosystems by 2030, establish a long-term monitoring program for seagrass habitats, and include all of its blue carbon ecosystems in the Seychelles’ National Greenhouse Gas Inventory by 2025. As part of that effort, Pew supported a project by the University of Oxford, the University of Seychelles, the Island Conservation Society, and the German Aerospace Center to map the full extent of seagrass ecosystems and estimate seagrass carbon stocks within Seychelles’ waters. The project led to the government’s ambitious commitments and supported the creation of names for species of seagrasses, which have now been officially listed in the country’s Creole dictionary. Pew continues to work with SeyCCAT on implementation of Seychelles’ coastal wetlands NDC commitments and on regional coordination for seagrass policy and research.
Kenya
In Kenya, Pew partners with Fauna & Flora and the East African Wild Life Society to provide technical support to help the government of Kenya update its upcoming NDC submission. Additionally, Kenya participates in the Large-Scale Seagrass Mapping and Management Initiative (LaSMMI), with researchers from the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) joining Pew and the international partners to map seagrass ecosystems in Kenya and support the government in using the maps to inform its coastal management and climate decision-making.
Mozambique
Pew partnered with the Likhulu Foundation to provide technical assistance to the government of Mozambique in reviewing and enhancing its upcoming NDC submission, with a focus on including commitments to protect and restore coastal wetland ecosystems and, secondarily, creating a central database for research and technical information on the country’s coastal wetlands. The Likhulu Foundation also will support the design and adoption of standardized national monitoring protocols for mangroves and seagrass.
In addition, Mozambique is part of the LaSMMI. In-country researchers, such as Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), are working in partnership with Pew and the other initiative members to develop a field verified seagrass map for the country and strengthen seagrass research capacity that can better inform the nation’s coastal management and climate decision-making.
Tanzania
In Tanzania, Pew partners with Wetlands International to provide technical assistance for the inclusion of mangrove and seagrass ecosystems in the country’s 2025 NDC. Additionally, in collaboration with international LaSMMI partners, researchers from the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) and University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), are mapping seagrass ecosystems in Tanzania as part of the LaSMMI.
Madagascar
Madagascar is a participant in the LaSMMI. Pew and the other project partners, along with researchers from the Institute of Fisheries and Marine Sciences (IHSM) at the University of Toliara, are mapping seagrass ecosystems in Madagascar to, among other goals, help support the government in coastal management and climate decision-making.
Large-Scale Seagrass Mapping and Management Initiative
The LaSMMI is a partnership among Pew’s advancing coastal wetlands conservation project, the University of Southampton, the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association, and research partners in the region to develop the first standardized field-verified seagrass map for the countries in the western Indian Ocean. The project builds on the seagrass mapping project in Seychelles and now spans Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar. Project partners include KMFRI, Nairobi Convention, SUZA, UDSM, UEM, and IHSM.
International partners
Pew’s advancing coastal wetlands conservation project is a member of the NDC Partnership, Global Mangrove Alliance and the Mangrove Breakthrough, and the International Partnership for Blue Carbon. The Mangrove Breakthrough is a global initiative to secure the future of 15 million hectares (37 million acres) of mangroves globally by 2030 through collective action by nonstate actors and governments to halt mangrove losses, restore half of recent mangrove losses, double the protection of mangroves worldwide, and secure US$4 billion by 2030 to provide sustainable long-term funding for the conservation and revitalization of these coastal ecosystems.
The Mangrove Breakthrough NDC Task Force—an initiative led by Pew in partnership with member organizations of the Global Mangrove Alliance and the U.N. Climate Change High-Level Champions—provides Mangrove Breakthrough countries with technical guidance to develop clear, science-based, and measurable NDC goals to conserve, restore, and effectively manage their mangrove ecosystems. The task force’s work includes coordinating knowledge sharing, hosting webinars and events, and distributing best practice case studies and guidelines for including mangroves in NDCs.
Pew is also a partner in the PROCARIBE+ Project, in which it will explore ways that national climate policies can maximize the contributions of the marine environment, such as including coastal wetlands protections in updated NDCs and finding opportunities to fund commitments for the conservation and restoration of these critical habitats.
In collaboration with in-country partners, Pew also works with Silvestrum Climate Associates in Belize, Costa Rica, and Seychelles to identify potential financing options for these countries’ NDCs.