Nature-based solutions (NbSs) have long recognized the value of coastal and marine ecosystem management and associated ecosystem services as useful tools for climate change mitigation (e.g., blue carbon) and adaptation (e.g., coastal protection against flooding and storm surges). However, NbSs remain poorly acknowledged and mostly absent from coastal planning for disaster risk reduction policies in the Caribbean, as well as from ex-post disaster reconstruction funds. With the increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes in the region, NbSs are now more needed than ever. Taking Mexico as a representative case study for the wider Caribbean, we here seek to identify and analyze the barriers and opportunities perceived by relevant stakeholders for mainstreaming coastal-marine NbSs into coastal management and disaster risk reduction policies (e.g., mangroves as green infrastructure) to protect coastal societies and national economies against hurricanes. We conduct semi-structured, in-depth interviews with twenty stakeholders covering academic, governmental, tourism, NGO, coastal planning, and financial domains. Among the twenty-three identified barriers, governance, institutional, financial, and human-capacity aspects are the most dominant perceptions behind the current lack of NbS implementation. Future action for the policy integration of NbSs requires widespread political will and better quantification of both the provision of ecosystem services and their economic benefits under conventional markets.

Mangroves are unique coastal ecosystems, which have many important ecological functions, as they are a reservoir of many marine species well adapted to saline conditions and are fundamental as sites of carbon storage. Although the microbial contribution to nutrient cycling in these ecosystems has been well recognized, there is a lack of information regarding the microbial composition and structure of different ecological types of mangrove forests. In this study, we characterized the microbial community (Bacteria and Archaea) in sediments associated with five ecological types of mangrove forests in a coastal lagoon dominated by Avicennia germinans and Rhizophora mangle, through 16S rRNA-V4 gene sequencing. Overall, Proteobacteria (51%), Chloroflexi (12%), Gemmatimonadetes (5%) and Planctomycetes (6%) were the most abundant bacterial phyla, while Thaumarchaeota (30%), Bathyarchaeota (21%) and Nanoarchaeaeota (18%) were the dominant archaeal phyla. The microbial composition associated with basin mangroves dominated by Avicennia germinans was significantly different from the other ecological types, which becomes relevant for restoration strategies.

El objetivo de esta investigación fue caracterizar y comparar la estructura y función de los artrópodos terrestres en un sitio de manglar en proceso de restauración contra un sitio de manglar conservado. Los organismos fueron recolectados durante 2018 y 2019 en un sitio de manglar en restauración y un manglar en buen estado de conservación por cada época climática. La recolecta se realizó en 5 transectos de 10 metros en cada sitio mediante tres métodos (recolección manual, red de golpeo, red aérea); los organismos se identificaron taxonómicamente, se clasificaron por grupo funcional y finalmente se observó su relación con el estado de restauración del manglar. Se identificaron 76 especies y morfoespecies, 28 familias y 13 órdenes. Hymenoptera y Araneae fueron dominantes. Se encontraron diferencias entre sitios y se registraron gremios de organismos descomponedores, depredadores y polinizadores. La estructura comunitaria de los artrópodos terrestres es diversa, con diferencias entre la zona conservada y en restauración, además cumple un gran número de funciones, entre estos, el grupo de los polinizadores que puede contribuir como un buen indicador en el proceso de restauración del manglar en la costa norte de Yucatán.