Seagrass Meadow Restoration

Why Seagrass Meadows Matter


  • Support marine biodiversity: Seagrass meadows provide food, shelter, and nursery habitats for many marine species, including fish, turtles, and invertebrates.

  • Stabilize sediments: Their roots and rhizomes hold sediments in place, reducing erosion and improving water clarity.

  • Improve water quality: Seagrass filters nutrients and particles from the water, helping keep coastal waters clean and healthy.

  • Powerful carbon sinks: Seagrass efficiently stores “blue carbon” in its biomass and underlying sediments, contributing to climate regulation.

  • Carbon storage capacity: On average, a single seagrass plant can store approximately 3–7 kg of CO₂.

Our Goal

Our goal by 2027 is to restore 25 hectares of seagrass meadows along the Tanzanian coast, working in close partnership with local villages, fishing communities, and grassroots organizations.

We aim to achieve an overall survival rate of 70–75%, through careful site selection, community-based transplantation techniques, and continuous ecological monitoring.

Through this initiative, we will involve 600 people, generating approximately 4,500 workdays and creating concrete local income opportunities linked to ecosystem restoration, stewardship, and monitoring activities.

Over a 20-year period, we estimate a potential of ~4,500 tons of CO₂e sequestered, based on average carbon burial rates for tropical seagrass ecosystems reported in scientific literature.

This project goes beyond climate mitigation. Restored seagrass meadows:

  • enhance fish nursery habitats, supporting small-scale fisheries

  • improve water quality and sediment stabilization

  • contribute to coastal protection by reducing wave energy and limiting erosion

  • strengthen local resilience to climate change

By combining science, community leadership, and local economic participation, we aim to build durable blue carbon ecosystems along the Tanzanian coastline

References

Duarte, C.M., Middelburg, J.J., & Caraco, N. (2005). Major role of marine vegetation on the oceanic carbon cycle. Biogeosciences, 2, 8.

Fourqurean, J.W., Duarte, C.M., Kennedy, H., et al. (2012). Seagrass ecosystems as a globally significant carbon stock. Nature Geoscience, 5, 505–509.

McLeod, E., Chmura, G.L., Bouillon, S., et al. (2011). A blueprint for blue carbon: toward an improved understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitats in sequestering CO₂. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 9(10), 552–560.

United Nations Environment Programme (2020). Out of the Blue: The Value of Seagrasses to the Environment and to People. Nairobi.

Waycott, M., Duarte, C.M., Carruthers, T.J.B., et al. (2009). Accelerating loss of seagrasses across the globe threatens coastal ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(30), 12377–12381.