Mozambique has greenlighted Africa’s largest mangrove restoration initiative, with a plan to plant 200 million trees over 60 years.
The Gulf-based company Blue Forest, which secured the project license after two and a half years of feasibility studies, announced the start date on Thursday.
Blue Forest will commence planting in Quelimane, Zambezia, this November, timed with the rainy season’s onset.
The ambitious project will span 155,000 hectares, which is more than twice the size of Singapore, according to Blue Forest founder and CEO Vahid Fotuhi.
Fotuhi highlighted that the initiative aims to restore Mozambique’s degraded coastline and generate approximately 5,000 forestry jobs.
Mangroves, known for their efficiency in carbon dioxide capture and coastal stabilization, are crucial for mitigating climate change.
The extensive mangrove ecosystem in Mozambique has suffered from cyclones, flooding, and deforestation.
The MozBlue project is projected to remove about 20.4 million tons of CO2 over its 60-year duration, contributing significantly to climate change mitigation efforts.
