In 2012, our partners in Madagascar started a restoration project in the Aranta-Sotema estuary that has now planted over 30 million trees. These efforts have led to the return of a healthy mangrove ecosystem teeming with life, and a team of Malagasy people committed to protecting this growing forest. The returning forest has returned a viable income source to the people in the form of fishing for crab, shrimp, and fish. 

 

Even with such progress, opportunities to get involved with this restoration project remain.

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The Aranta-Sotema restoration site contains over 1000 hectares of water channels, open mudflats, and mangrove forests. Across this site, there are large areas in varying stages of development: initial planting, enrichment and guarding, and conservation and management. 

 

Between initial planting and enrichment planting, we have the capacity to plant 1 million trees annually and guard over 30 million growing trees. To start, we need 45 planters and 30 guards, with room to grow the team from there. 

 

The future of this project is dependent on the continued financial partnership with sponsors who are committed to seeing the world’s lost forest restored. The process to restore this mangrove system will require a long-term effort, with a multi-phase approach to the restoration of habitats over time.

 

When you partner with this project, you will provide income for 75 families, empower locals to plant 1 million trees annually, and help guard a returning mangrove forest that is growing into a healthy and thriving ecosystem.