Prize-winning Mangrove Research

25 April 2022, by Stephanie Janssen

Photo: M. Saami/unsplash

Important for climate and coastal protection worldwide: mangrove forests.

The Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) has recently awarded a research prize to Universität Hamburg doctoral candidates Michael Tanner and Leonie Ratzke, as part of its research call on “Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean”. As a result, later this year the two candidates will have the chance to present their work on sustainable land stewardship of mangrove forests by Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) at the research offices of the CAF.

Out of more than 890 entries, only three research projects were awarded, including that of Tanner and Ratzke, both of whom are members of Universität Hamburg’s Cluster of Excellence CLICCS. In their paper, titled “Deforestation, institutions, and property rights: causal evidence and benefits from land titling to indigenous peoples and local communities in Ecuador,” they demonstrate the lasting positive effects of transferring property rights to IPLCs.

In more concrete terms, their work confirms that, after property rights were transferred to local and indigenous peoples in coastal Ecuador, mangrove deforestation significantly decreased. Further, they determined that the approach works especially well when supported by foreign-funded NGOs. Around the globe, mangroves are an important element of climate and coastal protection.

Michael Tanner and Leonie Ratzke look forward to discussing this under-represented topic in both economic and political circles: in addition to their paper being published in the CAF’s Working Paper series, they will also present it at the CAF research offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina.