Mangroves are the most degraded forest habitats in the world and climate change threatens to make this situation worse. Rising sea level and increasing storm intensity/frequency make coastal systems extremely vulnerable. WWF is working to develop a generalizable approach to building the resilience of mangrove forests, and by extension associated coastal ecosystems and coral reefs. This project also aims to build the capacity of natural resource managers and communities to assess vulnerability to climate change and to develop management strategies to decrease vulnerability.

The impact of climate change and El Niño is increasingly causing coral reefs to bleach. WWF’s Friends of the Reef project is an effort to protect Asia Pacific’s coral reef ecosystems, which are the source of new coral recruits for reefs throughout the region and a source of livelihood for coastal people, especially in the fishery and tourism sectors. Friends of the Reef engages local stakeholders and decision makers in developing, testing, and implementing plans to increase coral reef resilience to major threats in the region, including climate change.