Mangrove forests provide coastal protection from storms and tsunamis, woodland resources, wildlife habitat, and carbon storage. Despite their importance, mangroves suffer one of the fastest rates of destruction of any habitat; over the past 50 years, approximately one-third of the world’s original mangroves have been lost. This has serious implications for local communities, which not only benefit from the woodland resources mangroves supply, but are also reliant on the fish that use the mangroves as nursery habitats and on the protection that they provide to coastlines in times of severe weather events. Professor Mark Huxham and his team are researching techniques to restore mangroves and associated marine ecosystems and to evaluate the carbon stocks they hold. Mikoko Pamoja was launched to apply this research and use payments for ecosystem services (specifically, payments for carbon credits) to safeguard conservation gains and improve the quality of life of the local community.