Restoration of Mangrove Ecosystems in Natur’ELLES, Senegal

In Senegal, the Sine Saloum and Casamance deltas boast a rich history within their mangrove ecosystems, which have been vital to local communities and biodiversity for centuries. Mangrove forests in Senegal cover 185,000 hectares, serving as critical habitats for diverse marine and terrestrial species. These ecosystems also provide several environmental services that strengthen the resilience and adaptation capacities of local communities.

Global warming, extreme weather, coastal erosion, and human activities such as intensive fishing and agricultural deforestation have significantly degraded these ecosystems and biodiversity. It is estimated that Senegal lost nearly a quarter of its mangroves between 1980 and 2010 due to droughts, wood harvesting, and infrastructure development that obstructed water flow. In Casamance specifically, mangrove cover has declined by about 35% since the 1980s, with biodiversity loss occurring at three to five times the rate of terrestrial forests. These challenges have reduced resource availability and livelihood opportunities, exacerbating vulnerability among communities, particularly women involved in mangrove value chains.

To address these challenges and ensure equitable benefits for women and their communities while enhancing climate adaptation capacities, the Natur’ELLES project, spanning from 2023 to 2026, will focus on mangrove restoration through reforestation, promotion of inclusive governance of natural resources, capacity building and behavioural change. Restoring mangrove ecosystems is crucial not only for climate change adaptation but also for empowering women economically, as mangroves are essential for oyster production.

Natur’ELLES aims to directly benefit 8,000 individuals, including at least 6,000 women and young women affected by climate change in the Sine Saloum and Casamance deltas. Additionally, the initiative will impact their communities, benefiting over 85,000 indirect beneficiaries across 113 villages. These communities will enjoy improved fishery resources, enhanced food security, and better environmental services aimed at mitigating climate risks. The project will be implemented in four Marine Protected Areas and five Indigenous and Community-based Protected Areas within the two regions.

A new assessment, detailed below, assesses the environmental, social and economic value generated by mangrove restoration in both Sine-Saloum and Casamance under a range of climate scenarios. It finds that every EUR invested could generate between EUR 2.24 and EUR 6.23 in benefits across the 2 regions.

Across both regions, mangrove restoration reduces flood-related damage to homes, public buildings, and roads, with the greatest benefits occurring where floods are more frequent and mangrove protection is strongest.

Women benefit through improved agriculture, fisheries and seafood harvesting, restoration jobs, and lower health costs, but unequal access to land, finance, resources, and decision-making limits their ability to fully capture these gains.

Ultimately, Natur’ELLES, led by the “Societé de Coopération pour le Développement Durable” (SOCODEVI) in partnership with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), OSTROM Climate, and other local partners including Nebeday, CASADES, CAREM, and REFEPAS, aims to increase climate change adaptation among women and vulnerable communities reliant on mangrove ecosystems in the Sine Saloum and Casamance deltas of Senegal.

Reports and Resources

The findings summarized above are explored in depth in three reports produced under Natur’ELLES, using IISD’s Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology to quantify the economic, social, and environmental case for mangrove restoration in the Sine-Saloum and Casamance deltas, along with a proposed financing model to sustain these efforts long term.

Financing Solutions for Mangrove Restoration and Conservation in Senegal

This report assesses an innovative outcome-based financing model to secure long-term funding for mangrove conservation in the Sine-Saloum Delta. It proposes a community-represented Special Purpose Vehicle that combines upfront loan capital with payments for verified ecosystem and livelihood outcomes, complemented by carbon-credit revenues. The objective is to test whether these revenue streams can reliably finance conservation, verification, and debt repayment, while creating a scalable model for other mangrove sites in Senegal.

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Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of Mangrove Restoration in Sine-Saloum, Senegal

This SAVi assessment quantifies the economic case for restoring mangroves in the Sine-Saloum Delta. The NBI Centre modelled how mangrove restoration would perform between 2024 and 2050, testing it against different flood frequencies and climate change projections. Across the climate scenarios assessed, the project is expected to generate a net present value (NPV) of between EUR 7.6 million and EUR 20.0 million (XOF 5.0 billion to XOF 13.12 billion), after accounting for costs and different levels of flood-related infrastructure damage reduction. Beyond flood protection, this value comes from job creation, food and water security, higher agricultural and fishery yields, and carbon sequestration. Women receive an estimated 29% of the assessed benefits, primarily through agriculture, seafood harvesting, employment, and reduced health-related costs.

The report emphasizes that restoration should be combined with long-term community stewardship, inclusive governance, and sustainable resource management.

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Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of Mangrove Restoration in Casamance, Senegal

The NBI Centre modelled how mangrove restoration would perform through 2050, testing it against different flood frequencies and climate change projections. Across these scenarios, the project is expected to generate a net present value (NPV) of between EUR 9.1 million and EUR 25.6 million (XOF 6.0 billion to XOF 16.8 billion), after accounting for costs. This value comes from job creation, revitalized fisheries and agriculture, safer water, reduced health costs, and carbon sequestration. A gender-differentiated analysis finds that women receive around 15.7% of the assessed benefits, mainly through avoided health-related costs. Persistent barriers to land and resource rights, participation in governance, and access to finance limit their ability to benefit further.

A key takeaway is that the success of restoration depends not only on planting mangroves but also on sustained maintenance, community ownership, effective protection of restored areas, and adaptive management

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Conversion rate: EUR 1 = XOF 655.957.