Climate change is leading to an increased probability of flooding of coastal areas. This creates a major problem especially in developing countries. The communities in the coastal area can take little or no measures against sudden climate disasters such as storms and floods.
Suriname is one of these developing countries. Most of the population lives in the coastal area. In many places, the coastal protection cannot withstand climate problems such as sea level rise and is therefore more prone to storms and floods.
Protection from the sea consists mainly of a natural dike of mangrove forests. In their natural state, the trees retain sediment from and thus grow with the sea level. They also form a nutrient-rich ecosystem on which humans and animals depend.
Parties affected by the mangrove forests no longer know how to interact with the environment in a healthy way and live at the expense of the forests. There are communities in the areas, such as the indigenous tribal communities, who have knowledge on how to interact with the forests in a sustainable way. However, the groups have hardly any rights, are not taken serious and are constantly deprived of their living areas.
As a result, these forests are rapidly decreasing and can no longer provide proper protection for people, animals and the areas behind.
Many residents fear eroding coastlines and no longer trust mangrove forests. They lobby for sea dykes but there is little money for this in Suriname. Besides, these dykes have to be maintained and heightened all the time after construction and there is no money for this either.
This thesis, Mangrove Marvels, will focus on the relationship between humans and the mangrove landscape. The aim is to develop a toolbox of design principles that serve as guidelines for sustainable handling of this ecosystem. By applying these design principles, mangroves will have the opportunity to recover and be able to fulfil their crucial role in protecting the landscape.