In Sri Lanka, a new scheme to protect mangroves is relying on women in exchange for microcredit.

Mangrove trees grow in salt water, and protect fish and other marine creatures who use the trees’ deep roots as breeding areas. They protect coastal communities by shielding them from storm, and slowing coastal erosion. Best of all, they store carbon, holding it longer than other trees. This is essential as our planet continues to heat up (for more more information on that, check out this awesome video from Bill Nye).

30 years ago, Sri Lanka boasted at least 98,842 acres of Mangrove forest, but much of it was destroyed by commercial exploitation and firewood usage.

“The biggest threats to mangroves in Sri Lanka include prawn farms, which have been greatly curtailed in recent years, collateral damage from the civil war, and impoverished people cutting down mangroves to use or sell as charcoal,” Seacology’s Silverstein said.

Now all of that’s turning around. Sudeesa, a national organization that works to protect coastal ecosystems, began offering microloans to impoverished women living near mangroves in 1997, providing them an incentive to care for the trees. In doing so, women are able to start their own businesses and purchase necessary materials (sometimes you have to spend money before you can make money). As a result, women (particularly widows) as well as some male and female school drop outs, have been able to lift themselves out of poverty, benefiting from loans they never would have qualified for otherwise.

Now, thanks to the success of the program, the scheme is going nationwide, with the help of US-based environmental conservation group Seacology, and the Sri Lankan government. Significantly, experts note that Sri Lanka is the first country to promise to protect all its mangroves.

To ensure sustainability, the ambitious program will do more than just protect existing mangroves. 9,600 acres of new mangroves will be planted, while alternative trees will be introduced as well that can act as a source for fuel. Now we’re talking!

It’s wonderful to see these players working together to achieve a common goal that not only benefits the environment but also local communities. I hope others will be inspired by this incredible example and commit to protecting our planet and its resources.