"When land developers clear the mangrove systems, their land experiences extensive erosion, which leads them to install sea walls, making the problem worse for them and the surrounding communities," says Neal. "If they consider keeping mangroves in place to prevent erosion, then it's not something additional they must pay for, but serves as a built-in solution." While sea walls are often viewed as a quick fix, they're more expensive to build, and if degraded, can damage marine habitats and cause further erosion.
In recent years, the Mangrove Challenge saw strong participation from developers, landowners, and nonprofit groups focused on mangrove conservation. A panel of expert judges scores competition submissions across a range of criteria² like conservation value, aesthetics, sustainability, and creativity. Participants are encouraged to be imaginative in their projects, which may include formal landscaping that incorporates mangroves, docks built along mangrove shorelines, practices that avoid the removal of old-growth mangroves, and the maintenance of mangrove preserves.
"We realized that planting mangroves along the shoreline of our internal waterways was not only more cost-effective but also a great way to promote marine life and prevent erosion on the land," Krohn shared about Naia's celebrated use of hedged mangroves on their property.
Additional past winners³ of the Mangrove Challenge include Andrew Roe, a private landowner who conserved native mangrove cover along 260 feet of shoreline on his property in Vista del Mar, and Fair Fruit Farm, which maintains a mangrove forest in Caye Caulker.
Mangrove conservation is becoming increasingly important as the country works to preserve its remaining 13,000 hectares of protected mangroves. Collaborating with real estate and tourism developers is vital for mangrove conservation amid soaring demand for coastal property. Challenge winners like Krohn view the Development Challenge as an opportunity to promote mangroves as an asset, not a barrier, to commercial development, especially in popular tourist destinations like Placencia.
"If you can promote the financial incentives to be ecologically conscious, then we'll see more creativity when it comes to land development," says Krohn. "Much of the mangrove destruction we're seeing stems from a lack of imagination." Krohn also serves as Board President of the Belize Tourism Industry Association, a role he hopes will allow him to connect with even more developers around the benefits of mangrove conservation.
In the meantime, Neal and her colleagues at WWF Belize hope to expand their mangrove conservation efforts as part of Resilient Bold Belize, a Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) initiative to secure long-term funding for Belize’s coastal and marine protected area system. One of the aims of the PFP is to improve coastal resilience in priority areas, such as mangrove ecosystems, while fostering community stewardship and increasing protected areas management effectiveness.
