Community-led design of nature-based solutions for mangroves in Placencia, Belize

Although mangrove nature-based solutions are important for climate mitigation, coastal resilience, and livelihood support, implementation remains constrained by the lack of relevant evidence linking ecosystem conditions to benefits for people. We developed a collaborative framework to co-design mangrove nature-based solutions in Placencia, Belize, to identify community-prioritized areas for mangrove restoration and protection and quantify the ecosystem service benefits associated with these priorities. We combined participatory mapping with high-resolution habitat mapping to define priority restoration and protection areas. We used modeling to quantify changes in blue carbon, spiny lobster fisheries, tourism and recreation, and sociocultural values. Communities identified 83 hectares (ha) for restoration, which could sequester ~18,500 MgC over 10 years (≈US$644,000), increase lobster catch by ~640 lbs yr⁻ 1 (≈US$5,000), and generate ~US$32,000 yr⁻ 1 in tourism expenditure. Protecting 174 ha of healthy mangroves could safeguard ~69,500 MgC over 10 years (≈US$2 million), ~1,400 lbs yr⁻ 1 (≈US$11,000) of lobster production, and ~US$5,400 yr⁻ 1 in tourism expenditure. The Placencia Lagoon Management Plan could maintain 752 ha of mangrove, ~1.2 million MgC over 10 years (≈US$32 million), ~10,000 lbs yr⁻ 1 (≈US$80,000) of lobster catch, and ~US$23,000 yr⁻ 1 in tourism expenditure. Beauty and recreation were key sociocultural values in each scenario. Our results demonstrate that integrating community knowledge with fine-scale spatial analysis can deliver measurable ecological and socioeconomic benefits that improve the design of investment-ready nature-based solutions while aligning with local and national priorities.