Mangroves Land

Regeneration Project

Discover more on how we're restoring the Brazilian Northeast coastline by planting more mangroves in Alcântara, Maranhão.

Planting Mangroves: Project objectives

Greenpaw is proud to collaborate with our project partners, RAIN and the local community; The Quilombos of Alcântara, a joint effort to restore coastal ecosystems by planting mangrove seedlings. Greenpaw and RAIN work directly with a team of experts who were born, raised, and educated in Brazil, partnering closely with the community to collect and propagate native mangrove seeds. The team combines traditional ecological knowledge with innovative restoration methods to rehabilitate degraded coastal areas impacted by deforestation, climate change, and human activities. Our goal is to regenerate hundreds of hectares of mangroves, restoring them to their natural state and creating new habitats for biodiversity.

Project updates

Get the latest updates on our current projects.

  • 2024

    This project is a collaboration: Greenpaw is working alongside nine other organisations, collectively funding the bigger SamaÚma to deliver large-scale results.


    March 

    March marked the beginning of our journey to fund the Mangroves project. We began our partnership with RAIN, setting the foundations for something truly impactful. From March to December, we worked tirelessly to get this project ready for January 2025 when the real magic began: the planting season.

  • February to March 2025

    February 

    Mangrove restoration in Primeira Cruz got underway! The local teams have worked tirelessly to collect propagules for the planting of three mangrove species:


    - Red mangroves 

    - Black mangroves 

    - White mangroves 


    Mangroves thrive in a consortium, so these species are planted together in different concentrations depending on the site. 


    March 

    Planting started with the first 3,000 mangroves going in the ground. It is estimated that these will sequester 81 tons of carbon over their lifetime. 


    The work is demanding. A planting team of 25 locals works six-hour shifts in deep mud, each aiming to plant 800–900 propagules per day, spaced 70–100cm apart. Together they targeted 20,000 propagules daily, with a seasonal goal exceeding one million.


    This month is also a peak time for tucuxi dolphins and manatees to forage and calve among the mangroves, showing how restoration strengthens both climate resilience and biodiversity.



  • April to June 2025

    April 

    Propagule collection proved more difficult in April which limited planting. SamaÚma tested alternative collection methods, sometimes pausing planting to gather propagules directly. Additional propagules were purchased from communities up to 15km away, transported by road where possible, or slowly by boat where not.


    Greenpaw’s funding supported another 3,000 mangroves, sequestering around 81 tons of carbon. 


    Restoration is already enriching local biodiversity: the new habitat supports migratory shorebirds such as sandpipers, plovers, turnstones, whimbrels, and red knots, all peaking in April. Looking ahead, these mangroves will provide nesting grounds for sea turtles, while the reproduction of crabs this month will feed a wide web of coastal species.


    May 

    In May a further 2,000 propagules were planted, sequestering an estimated 54 tons of carbon. 


    Survival rates are excellent, around 98%, and in May we replaced the small 2% that did not take root, alongside the new 2,000. The mangroves planted earlier in the year are thriving.


    May also marked the official start of the sea turtle nesting season. Conservation teams increased beach clean-ups and monitoring efforts to protect nesting grounds, ensuring the restored mangroves support turtles as well as countless other species.


    June

    By mid-year, SamaÚma and their partners have planted around one million trees across the region. Greenpaw’s share of 8,000 trees forms a vital part of this total, helping to sequester 216 tons of carbon as they mature.

Project Aims


At Greenpaw, we regenerate degraded mangroves using a ‘whole-system approach.’ This dynamic, ecologically based land management system, grounded in traditional wisdom, diversifies and sustains production while delivering social, economic, and environmental benefits. Additionally, it enhances biodiversity and improves soil health.

  • Regenerate Mangrove Lands

    Coastal areas are under constant pressure, with 35% globally lost since 1980. We are working to restore these lands by planting saplings and ensuring they thrive and succeed.





  • Providing for Biodiversity

    Thanks to their intricate root systems, they provide nesting, nursery and feeding grounds for many aquatic organisms, including juvenile fish of thousands of species, oysters and mussels, mudskippers, lemon sharks, and manatees. Above the ocean surface, mangroves also provide critical habitat for cranes, eagles, monkeys, and even tigers.



  • Creating Oxygen & Locking in Carbon

    These essential mangrove coastal ecosystems sequester up to 4x more carbon than any other biome, including the Amazon.

  • Cultural Preservation

    This approach respects and preserves the cultural practices of the community, fostering a harmonious connection between tradition and innovation.

  • Shoreline Protection

    Mangroves offer a wide range of ecosystem services such as shoreline protection and water filtration and desalination, while providing habitats for crucial marine species.



  • Improving Soil & Water Quality

    Planting mangroves enhances soil quality and improves water quality throughout the region, extending its benefits to the Amazon and beyond.

Why are Mangroves so Important?

In addition to their enormous carbon-storing capacity, mangroves offer a wide range of ecosystem services such as shoreline protection and water filtration and desalination, while providing habitats for crucial marine species.

Safeguarding these areas not only mitigates the effects of climate change but also preserves the livelihoods of local communities who depend on the resources that mangroves provide. When people have poor economic opportunities the ecosystem suffers, and when the ecosystem provides economic sustenance people work to regenerate it.

Where do your donations go?

We collect mangrove saplings from the mangrove area. Your donations help to cover every aspect of the process, from the initial planting mangrove sapling in the ground to ensuring the mangrove sapling success, allowing the area to thrive and mature for decades and even centuries.

Here’s how every £1 contributes to the regeneration process:

Supporting Local Communities

Donations pay wages for locals to collect and plant seeds.

Transportation Costs

Funding covers travel by boat and other transport to planting sites.

Essential Equipment

Includes items like wellies and tools for planting.

Food & Refreshments

Sustains workers during seed collection and planting.

Plant Establishment

Ensures new plants thrive and succeed post-planting.

Monitoring Your Impact

Covers photography, interviews, and reporting to track progress.

Administrative Support

Greenpaw and RAIN’s operational costs, with trustees volunteering their time.

Planting Season

November to February/March, during Brazil’s rainy season, funded by donations gathered throughout the year.

This Project's Impact


Figures to be proud of

12,866

Trees Planted

4

Hectares Regenerated

290

Tonnes of C02e offset

75,000

Mangroves planted by 2030

History, Culture, Heritage and Geography:

The Quilombos of Alcântara:

Communities founded by formerly enslaved people are called Quilombos; their populations were made up of enslaved people who escaped before slavery was abolished in 1888, and by those liberated (often without compensation) afterwards.

The Local Communities


The Quilombos of Alcântara mingled their ancestral African traditions and blood with local Indigenous communities, creating a uniquely rich cultural heritage that makes them the ideal stewards for the work of regeneration, and a shining example of resilience. They maintain a deep knowledge of local ecology and traditions that allowed them to survive through centuries of oppression and marginalisation. We have a lot to learn from them that can help us approach global challenges.

Alcântara

Alcântara's history goes back to the early years of Brazil itself. In the early 1600s, the Tupinambá and Tapuia peoples lived on these coastal and rural lands, which later saw colonisation by the French and Portuguese; they would bring 5.5 million enslaved Africans over the next three hundred years.

Help Us,
Help Others 

Regenerate land and offset your carbon with our project partner RAIN and Associação Quilombo Kalunga.

Support now

Working with project partner: RAIN

RAIN works with community-led projects that follow traditional techniques deeply rooted in their history and landscapes. RAIN believe that people are an integral part of the natural world, and that conservation does not go far enough.

By engaging and partnering with local actors, RAIN is fostering a network and a movement where communities lead the way in restoring landscapes and preserving cultural traditions. www.rainreforest.org