Let the Women Harvest the Mangrove. Carbon Policy, and Environmental Injustice

Abstract

Carbon policy is a fascinating topic in geography and political ecology, because carbon is a new exchangeable good, which links the local to the international arenas through a complex set of instruments, norms, and institutions. In this paper, after explaining my theoretical and conceptual framework rooted in Africanist geography and currents of political ecology, I analyze the responses of local actors (knowledge, practices, logic, and strategies) to environmental policies and consider the effects of new mechanisms, upon local dynamics in Africa. I focus my attention on the impacts of mangrove reforestation policies on women, who harvest shellfish. My research, conducted over 35 years on coastal mangroves in Africa and Madagascar, provides me with examples. Through a long-term approach to the perception of mangroves and the changing modes of policies, I highlight the weight of imperialism and neo-liberalism and analyze types of environmental injustice against mangrove harvesters, particularly the women, who are the most directly concerned by the preservation of their heritage and are rarely recognized as stakeholders in environmental policies that are defined internationally and implemented at national and local levels. They are not informed (or are deliberately kept unware) of new devices such as REDD+. They have lost their rights of access to the reforested mangrove areas. Carbon policy requires comparative and empirical research, giving voice to local actors, especially women, about their perceptions of policies and actions. The approaches in terms of political ecology must be combined with analysis of the bio-ecological and socio-cultural dynamics of the mangrove.

Mangrove use and management within the Sine-Saloum Delta, Senegal

“…More than 1400 km 2 of Rhizophora spp. were reported to have been replanted within the Sine-Saloum Delta and Casamance regions of Senegal under this initiative (Cormier-Salem, 2017).…”

Blue Restoration – Building Confidence and Overcoming Barriers

“…Civil unrest and conflict can prevent restoration efforts due to weak governance, corruption, and disputes over land tenure (Herr et al, 2019). For example, upstream dam construction and prolonged drought in Senegal has stimulated estuarine mangrove restoration, which has led to a range of social conflicts (Manikowski and Strapasson, 2016;Cormier-Salem, 2017). Nongovernment organizations have initiated large scale restoration of mangroves, which has had co-benefits of restoring rice and seafood sources for local livelihoods (Livelihoods funds, 2019), although social conflict remains over the carbon financing used for the project (Cormier-Salem, 2017).…”

Non-Timber Forest Product Livelihood-Focused Interventions in Support of Mangrove Restoration: A Call to Action

“…Some NTFPs can even be developed by children as reported by FD [37]. Finally, mangrove NTFPs are recognized as being of great potential not only for poverty alleviation but also for inclusive development as they are very gender-equal [17,19,63,80,81].…”

“…In much of the world's tropics, overexploitation driven by poverty is typically the root cause of mangrove removal and degradation. This poverty of the rural mangrove communities often results from various forms of environmental injustice, including land appropriation by powerful private interests and non-inclusive management approaches [17][18][19][20]. Additionally, mangrove restoration often takes place in coastal communities that have suffered economic setbacks either due to environmental exhaustion or natural hazards such as tsunamis or cyclones.…”