Mangroves: the great connector of landscape and seascape
Mangroves do not exist in isolation. They protect and are intrinsically linked to the lowlands of watersheds and the activities that take place there. The Blue Natural Heritage project sought to connect science, communication, education, and policy in a collaborative effort focused on two sites of hemispheric importance for biodiversity and migratory birds: the Bays of Panama and Parita.
When we talk about the importance of emblematic ecosystems, the majestic beauty and relevance of mangrove forests is almost always brought up. But beyond this more general recognition, the depth and scope of their value still remains a somewhat abstract concept in people´s imagination. Which values and services are we keen to learn about? What means do we use to learn? How do we translate, circulate, share and transfer that knowledge to different interested stakeholders and society at large? And how do we use it to influence decision makers and policies that then require support for implementation from a cohort of actors working at different levels, to ensure their preservation and benefits?
While this seems a daunting task, taking it on might just come back to a focus on connection. Mangroves do not exist in a void. They are in fact, the great connector of landscape and seascape. They shield and are intrinsically linked to watershed lowlands containing productive activities, communities and inland wetlands. Their relation to other coastal habitats like estuaries, mudflats, sandbanks and beaches, lagoons and seagrass beds, is akin to the symbiotic relationship between species that inhabit and share them. And they contribute enormously to the wider marine environment through their filtering, nursery, and stabilization functions, among others.
So coming back to how we can address our initial questions, we can indeed use the connection concept as an analogy for our approach to mangrove conservation and valuation. National Audubon Society implemented the Blue Natural Heritage (BNH) project in Panama between 2021-2025 with this idea in mind – connecting science, communications, education, and policy in a highly-collaborative effort focused on two sites of hemispheric importance for biodiversity and migratory birds – Parita Bay and Bay of Panama.
With the support of the UK Blue Carbon Fund through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment of Panama, lead national organization Panama Audubon Society and numerous collaborators, the BNH project helped advance the base scientific and technical knowledge critical to planning and management of mangroves at site and country level; while supporting local engagement through education and wide public awareness efforts; while creating a support platform for mangrove and coastal policy implementation – domestic and international.
We celebrate our project´s successes with our partners and allies through the presentation of the Blue Natural Heritage´s Story Maps (English and Spanish) which summarize our actions and contribute to our goal to communicate, share and jointly grow our knowledge on these natural treasures.
As a result of this foundational project, we also want to share a series of documents and scientific resources that not only highlight the richness and complexity of this ecosystem, but also present the findings, realities, and challenges it poses. These materials can serve as valuable inputs to strengthen programs, public policies, and actions across various sectors—community-based, industrial, private, civil society, governmental, and international organizations—that seek to protect this natural heritage. Among them:
- Evaluation of Mangrove Ecosystem Services in Panama: Bay of Parita and Bay of Panama Case Studies.
- Birds as Indicators of Carbon and Ecosystem Health
- Conservation Plan for the Parita Bay Wetlands
- A Historical Analysis of Mangrove Cover on Panama’s Pacific Coast
- Building a Resilient Future for the Tocumen Area of the Panama Bay Wetlands: Recommendations for Land Use Planning and Management
- Panama’s Marine-Coastal Systems ambitions in its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC): A Blueprint for Coastal Resilience and Biodiversity
At the same time, we aim to build from our successes and learn from our failures – refining and recalibrating efforts and always aiming to engage the widest audience. Because just as mangroves connect nature, we are connected to them no matter where we may be.