A Million Mangroves Initiative

Climate change is exposing coastal communities to more frequent and more intense weather events. The United Nations estimates that in 2022 alone, weather-related disasters displaced more than 53 million people and caused more than 260 billion in property damage. Coastal communities were most affected, with hurricanes, storms, and cyclones leading the list as the deadliest disasters. Estimates from the NOAA indicate Hurricane Ian was the costliest disaster worldwide, leaving a devastating trail across the Caribbean and the United States of $113 billion in economic losses, 160 dead, and more than half a million people forcibly displaced from their homes. Historic flooding in China, Australia, and Pakistan cost another $30 billion, and together displaced millions of people. Disasters, including these, disproportionately harm low-income communities whose residents are involuntarily permanently displaced, and are estimated to push 26 million people into poverty every year. And it's only going to get worse. Scientists now estimate that by 2030, half the world’s population will be exposed to flooding, storms, and tsunamis. With 620,000 km of coastline on Earth, more than one-third of the total human population, nearly 2.4 billion people, live within 100 km of an oceanic coast. Almost two-thirds of the world's cities with populations of over five million are located in areas at risk of sea level rise.  Waterfront cities are facing increasing threats from rising waters, including flooding and coastal erosion. By the year 2100, scientists estimate that over a billion people around the world will be at risk of hazards from sea level rise. And with the continued acceleration of sea level rise, the risks to residents and residences along the world’s coastlines are going to increase. 

So with the problem getting worse, and more people moving to coastline communities every day, we’ve got a big problem, and a lot of people we need to protect. Mangrove restoration is essential to buffer and mitigate impacts of storms.  But mangroves, nature's best protection against weather-related storms coming in off our oceans, have declined substantially over the last two decades, If today’s mangroves are lost, 18 more million homes will flood yearly, and property damages will increase by another $82USD billion, particularly affecting the most vunerable in our communities.

The “A Million Mangroves Initiative” aims to implement and scale nature’s best solution to halting climate change, by adapting coastal communities to more extreme weather through the restoration of this natural ecosystem. 

Mangrove forests are nature's essential solution to protect housing located along the coastlines of the world from the effects of climate change. These saltwater forests reduce the height and speed of waves from storms, hurricanes, and cyclones, limiting beach erosion and decreasing flooding. Mangrove roots provide natural infrastructure to help protect nearby populated housing areas by binding soils. Mangroves also sequester more atmospheric carbon than any other tree per hectare, and help increase fish hauls by providing a natural habitat for crabs and other crustaceans, also providing benefits to the health and economy of coastal housing communities.  

The “A Million Mangroves” Initiative conserves existing mangroves through clean ups of root systems, restores mangrove forests through replantings, accelerates restoration efforts through research aimed at improving planting success rates with seedlings grown to withstand ocean warming and ocean acidification, and scales up the action by educating on the benefits of mangroves. 

Community clean ups of mangrove roots are organized via social media. Donated biodegradable oversized coffee bean bags are perfect for collecting trash. Close-toed shoes are a good idea. Neighbors can get together and pick trash out of the roots of mangroves, allowing nature to do what it does best, restore itself naturally. Nature remains man's best technological tool.

The Initiative uses excess growing time, water, sunlight, and oversalination to grow mangroves to withstand impending impacts of climate change.

Where mangroves have been lost, many areas can be replanted. Mangrove trees are the only tree that thrives in saltwater. They can grow in mud, sand, or peat, and withstand substantial water and sunlight. However, failure rates are high, because intertidal waters where mangroves are best planted often wash the young plants away before they can take root, so the "A Million Mangroves Initiative" uses nature's technology, amplifyng photosynthesis and artificial selection to improve planting success.  Seedlings should be gathered from the ocean’s edge in the same area replanting is intended. Propagules  should be rinsed in freshwater then left lying in buckets in fresh water for 3+ weeks until 1-2 inch roots sprout. They can then be stood up in bunches in cups of fresh water, allowing the roots to grow longer, for another 5 weeks. At 8-10 weeks they can be planted in soil, pushing the roots down until they are covered with dirt, or a half dirt/half sand mixture, and then soaking the pots with water until the water sits on top. Larger 10+ inch pots are best, or even empty milk containers cut in half - as larger containers allow the rootballs to grow bigger. Then expose the plants to as much fresh water and sunlight as possible for 10+ months until they are 18+ inches tall. Salt water can be added in slowly, once a week, and then used solely once the plants reach at least 12 inches. Artificially select the tallest plants with thicker trunks for planting first- they have larger rootballs and withstand replanting better.

Video 

Scientists  estimate that by 2030, half the world’s population will be exposed to flooding, storms, and tsunamis. With 620,000 km of coastline on Earth, more than one-third of the total human population, nearly 2.4 billion people, live within 100 km of an oceanic coast. Almost two-thirds of the world's cities with populations of over five million are located in areas at risk of sea level rise.  By the year 2100, scientists estimate that over a billion people around the world will be at risk of hazards from sea level rise, particularly affecting the most vunerable in our communities.

Of those living in Houston that sustained the worst damage during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, nearly half were people of color. Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans in 2005, hurt Black neighborhoods the most. Hurricane Ida, hitting New Orleans again in 2021 devastated low-income communities south of New Orleans. Affordable housing in the US, largely occupied by low-income Black people, faces the highest risk of being damaged by coastal floodings.

Forces of Nature is working to protect all in our communites, particulary those most vunerable. 

First, the initial site chosen for planting was Miami-Dade's historic Black beach where Blacks were subjected to segregation in the eary 1900s. Removal of invasive plants and planting of mangroves has helped ensure this beach remains.

Second, the "A Million Mangroves Initiative" has been scaled by rolling it out to mangrove experts visiting from Central Africa at the request of the US State department, both in December 2022 and in March 2023. These experts can now implement the solution in Gabon, Cameroon, and other Central African coastal communities facing the worst effects of climate-induced erosion. 

Mangroves thrive in 117 counties, and this is a solution that is easily scalable, easily implemented, relies on natural technology, and can help everywhere. 

We have a team of volunteers who've grown up facing the impacts of climate change on our coastal community, who are knowledgable on the benefits of mangroves and the ways to plant them, and who are committed to mangrove clean ups and plantings. It will be up to our generation to implement the solutions, the solutions need to involve everybody, and the solutions need to start now. The "A Million Mangroves" solution capitalizes on the natural technology developed by the world's greatest scientist, Mother Nature, it's a solution that everyone can be a part of, even if you're only growing mangroves on your windowsill. The youth team of Forces of Nature is uniquely positioned to deliver this solution. Based in Miami, Florida, once a mangrove swamp and now ground zero facing sea level rise in the US, we've grown up experincing the effects of climate change on our coastal comunity firsthand. With the third largest school district in the US, and 2.4 million homes near sea-level, we have more students facing the risks of climate- related flooding than anywhere else in America. Forces of Nature is driven by youth and is a solution that appeals to other youth, already gaining traction among youth networks, with the youtube video reaching over 29K views. 

More than 2.4 million people live near sea-level in Miami, and their homes will be uninhabitable by 2050 if we don't provide protective barriers now. Miami is looking at a combination of concrete seawalls and mangroves, called living sea-walls, to provide the best protection possible to coastal housing. To date We Are Forces of Nature has restored 6 miles of mangroves along the South Florida coastline, planted more than 1149 mangroves, and handed out more than a thousand small plants to residents. Since 2021, the solution has been scaled by being shared with world leaders at United Nations conferences in Stockholm, Bonn, New York, and Glasgow. This year it has been shared with 70 climate experts from five continents visiting the United States on invitation of the US State Department. And most recently, it has been shared at a grassroots level on social media via youtube, reaching 29K viewers across the globe.

Mangrove forests boost coastal resilience to storms, helping to protect roughly 200 million people worldwide, and provide $65 billion annually in global flood protection benefits. So while the A Million Mangroves solution is only providing a small portion of that benefit, it is scalable, and already being shared and implemented across the globe. 

The "A Million Mangroves Initiative" uses amplifies natural technology of photosynthesis and artificial selection to improve planting success rates. Duplication scaling this project around the globe are necessary, and the costs are minimal - the work requires only space and effort. However, the artifical selection of mangroves to increase their pace and mass of growth can be improved upon through gene-editing. CRISPR technology is being utilized now to grow ideal plants, but this research has not yet been extended to mangroves.  Solve will bring awareness to the necessity and benefits of mangroves, and increase the opportunity for We Are Forces of Nature to partner with biotech researchers on harnessing these ideal plants. Solve mentorship will help youth improve presentation skills to amplify the solution. Solve will also provide needed mentoring on increased monitoring and evaluation, measuring longterm planting results at the 6-12-18 month marks post planting. 

The "A Million Mangroves Initiative" uses nature's best solution to protecting coastal housing communites from the effects of climate change by amplifying nature's technology, photosynthesis, then artifically selecting the strongest plants for replanting, revitializing mangrove forests that protect the world's shorelines. This solution uniquely relies on excesses in growing time, water, sunlight, and oversalination to grow sturdier mangroves to withstand impending impacts of climate change.

Mangrove replanting rates are typically as low as 20%, because many young plants are washed away in intertidal waters before their rootballs can take root. The "A Million Mangroves Initiative" ensures longer roots and sturdier plants, giving them a better chance at taking hold and thriving. It's working! Planting success rates are as high as 70% in some areas. 

The solution is scalable. It involves excess water, growing time, slight slow oversalination, and sunlight or extra bright UV lighting. These are things widely available, and can measurably increase mangrove growing and replanting success. 

The "A Million Mangroves Initiative" is using basic natural technology to increase restore and revitalize mangrove forests, nature's best solution to protecting coastal housing from climate change. 

One year Impact goals include:

• Sharing nature's best solution at the Vienna Energy Forum in Novemeber 2023 and the United Nations World Climate Conference COP28 in Dubai in December 2023 
• Introducing mangrove benefits at the Genomic Conference this August at Cold Water Springs Lab in New York 

Two Year Impact Goals include: 

• Gaining partners from Salk Institute or Innovation Genomics Laboratory in California to apply the techniques of CRISPR to increase the speed and strength of mangrove plant growth. These and other institutes around the world have begun to apply benefits of gene-editing, initially introduced in the medical field, to harness the benefits of plants to halt climate change. Right now some weeds and rice strains are largely being studied. Mangroves are ideal plants to study, because of their singular ability to thrive in salt water, their unique ability to protect coastlines, and their side-benefit as nature's best cabon capturer.

Three Impact Goals include:

•  Increasing implementation in Central Africa, home to our most vunerable communities facing climate change. 

Five Year Impact

• Scaling up the solution to have 1 million mangroves in the ground.

Impacts are measure by carbon absorbtion, which is 1 ton per acre. 

Forces of Nature has revitalized six linear miles of mangroves with clean ups and more than 1100 plantings, stretching down to the Florida keys, which is about 160 acres, equally about 160 tons of carbon emissions absorbed annually. A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. These mangrove forests will absorb carbon emmitted by 35 drivers in a year. While we have a ways to go, every difference makes a difference. And its an easy and imperative scientific solution to scale up.

The "A Million Mangroves Initiative" addresses sustainable development goals of #13 Climate and #14 Life below water, and preserves #15 Life on land. Its focus is on #11, Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilent and sustainable. This solution specifically targets the UN SDG target of 11.5: By 2030, significantly reducing the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting people of color and people of low-income.

The theroy of change is to identify coastal communites exposed to weather-related storms intensified by global warming that can benefit from shoreline protection provided by mangroves, and then increase mangrove coverage through revitalizing exisiting mangroves and planting new trees. 

The target audience is half the world population. Scientists estimate that by 2030, half the world population will be exposed to flooding, storms, and tsunamis. By the year 2100, scientists estimate that over a billion people around the world will be at risk of hazards from sea level rise, particularly affecting the most vunerable in our communities.

See: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Ocean_Factsheet_Climate_Change.

The target locations are the 117 countries that have mangroves.

Many areas have been paved over and mangroves can no longer be directly planted. However, living seawalls, where mangroves are intertwined with concrete structures, are possible in those areas. Elsewhere, where mangroves have been depleted they can be revitalized. 

See: mangrovealliance.org

The target goal:

Contributing to the restoration of 15 million hectares globally through community action by 2030. The "A Million Mangroves Initative" amplifying growth and strength of mangroves through current growth processes and education, with the aim to increase those processes with safe gene-editing, will contribute one million mangroves to the restoration effort. 

The "A Million Mangroves Initiative" uses nature's best solution to protecting coastal housing communites from the effects of climate change by amplifying nature's technology, photosynthesis, then artifically selecting the strongest plants for replanting, revitializing mangrove forests that protect the world's shorelines. This solution uniquely relies on excesses in growing time, water, sunlight, and oversalination to grow sturdier mangroves to withstand impending impacts of climate change.

Mangrove propagules are typically rinsed in freshwater for 24 hours, placed in mud/soil for 8 months, watered twice weekly, transitioned to saltwater over an 8 week period at 8 months, then replanted. Planting success rates are 20%. 

Photosynthesis naturally uses sunlight and water to increase root growth. The "A Million Mangrove Initative" amplifies nature's technology, leaving the propagules in freshwater for 3 weeks, growing the young plants for 18 months, overwatering, overexposing to sunlight, and oversalinating at the end over an 18 week period. This acclimates the young plants to the impending affects of ocean acidification and ocean warming. When the larger older plants are finally planted, success rates go up to as high as 70%.

Forces of Nature's Guiding Principle clearly and unequivocally states we do not discriminate on any ground. We are accredited by the United Nations Frameword Convention for Climate Change and United Nations Environment Program, and abide by all policies of the United Nations to not only ensure, but actively promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. In order to halt climate change, we need everbody.

The UN states the latest figures show that disasters—90 per cent of which are classed as climate related—now cost the world economy US$520 billion per year and push 26 million people into poverty every year. People of color are disproportionately affected, often unable to replace their homes if detroyed by flooding.

Florida residents are identified as being at grave risk of flooding in the latest IPCC SR6 Report released in March 2023. However, the Mangrove Alliance has  concluded mangrove forests avert billions of dollars of damage during hurricanes, and that mangroves reduce annual flood risk by 25.5% 

Planting a million mangroves both in Florida and elsewhere, particularly in areas protecting people of color, can have a substantial impact. The process of amplifying photosynthesis, with the goal of using biotechnology gene-editing techniques, will accelerate a revival of mangrove forests across the globe.

We Are Forces of Nature receives private funding and public grants from non-profits to amplify the project. The solution utilizes primarily effort and free resources of sunlight and water and widely available mangrove propagules. 

Laboratory space is currently donated. Biotechnology partners are being sought currently to increaes the growth of mangroves. 

Seed grants of $1,000 have been received from The Jane Goodall Institute.

A project grant of $10,000 has been received from an Environmental Prize. 

Home Depot and The Coffee Beanery have donated supplies, including buckets, shelves, soil, and lighting. 

MANG has donated mangroves.

The Womens Club of Coral Gables has donated mangroves.

The Miami Sea Aquarium has donated lab space.