Kiribati Adaptation Program — Community Mangrove Replanting Across Six Islands

Under Phase II of the Kiribati Adaptation Program (KAP), a US$5.5 million initiative backed by the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility, UNDP, AusAID and the New Zealand Aid Programme, community volunteers planted more than 37,000 mangrove seedlings on the islands of Aranuka, Butaritari, Maiana, Makin and in North and South Tarawa between 2006 and 2011, as reported by the World Bank.

Results were mixed and were reported transparently rather than presented only as a success story. Seedlings planted at Bonriki and Nanikai in South Tarawa in 2009 suffered almost total mortality within about 18 months. At other sites, notably along the Ananau Causeway, seedlings planted in tight 'close groups' — which shelter each other from wave action — achieved survival rates of 50-90% and measurable growth, informing subsequent replanting guidance issued for Kiribati.

The programme illustrates both the potential and the fragility of mangrove-based coastal protection in atoll environments: shoreline stabilisation is achievable but highly sensitive to site selection, wave exposure and planting technique, and outcomes were not uniform across the six islands covered.

Read the full analysis: https://glomis.com/ej/pdf/EJ_20-1.pdf