Ankles sunk in the mud, at low tide, Marianne Ndong scrutinizes the half-hectare of mangrove that she participated in replanting three years earlier on the outskirts of her village, Dassilamé Sérère, in the Sine Saloum delta, in the south from Senegal. “Without the mangroves that retain water, our homes would disappear, and so would we,” explains the 39-year-old oyster farmer, wearing a blue and yellow wax fabric.
In West Africa, 25% of the area of this amphibious forest disappeared between 1980 and 2006, according to a team of American researchers. At the origin of this decline: the overexploitation (for firewood or construction) of mangroves, these trees with aerial roots that live in brackish water. Also in question, climate change with rising temperatures, drought and water deficit which accelerate the evaporation of water and therefore increase the concentration of salt which kills the mangroves.
With the erosion of the coastline and the silting up of the channels (called “bolongs”) that result, the fragile ecosystem is gradually deteriorating. According to the United Nations, mangroves are disappearing five times faster than forests.
In the commune of Toubakouta, five hectares have been replanted by communities over the past three years, with a survival rate of 87%. “All around the young mangroves, we note an improvement in the soil: crabs and molluscs circulate, the texture of the soil is richer. Next year, we will be able to plant in areas that had become desert and sandy, and which have again become suitable for reforestation, explains Mamadou Bakhoum, coordinator within the inter-village development association (AIVD). This allows us to continue the land recovery process slowly but surely. »
“My life has changed a lot”
But the damage is already there. “When I was little, we had trees and fruits that we no longer find today”, remarks Marianne Ndong, who calls into question the salinization of agricultural land that has become uncultivable. The mangrove is a protective zone between the land and the sea, which has an impact on the quality of the soil and therefore on its productivity. It also captures and stores carbon. In total, worldwide, 21 billion tonnes of CO2 are stored in this vegetation, according to a report by the NGO Wetlands International from July 2021. “This space is vital for the species that feed and reproduce there, but it is also important for us, because it protects and nourishes us”, pleads Marianne Ndong, who derives her income from the exploitation of the mangrove.
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