After decades of relentless destruction, news arrives that mangrove forests are healing. A UK-backed conservation scheme has been praised, and the usual suspects are celebrating. But before we uncork the champagne, let us pause.
Are we witnessing genuine ecological recovery or merely another exercise in saviour complex, akin to the Victorian missionaries who ‘civilised’ the tropics? Mangroves are the lungs of coastal ecosystems: they absorb carbon, protect shorelines, and nurture biodiversity. Their decline was a parable of modern greed.
Yet, resurrection is possible—if we treat nature as a partner, not a project. The scheme’s success is heartening, but let us not inflate it into a myth of redemption. We have a long way to go, and our lust for progress remains the greatest threat to these muddy forests.
