# Mangrove Action Project Case Study

This is same as what was covered under the material page in the previous section. The read accompanying the graph has been removed, podcast with Alfredo Quarto has been embedded. 

The Mangrove Action Reforestation Project in a coastal village in Thailand is one such intervention. To stop the removal of Mangroves by people for shrimp farming, researchers exemplified the use of these trees among inhabitants showcasing the importance of beehives for a sustainable livelihood. Mangroves attract bees, and through informed training sessions, the Mangrove project educated inhabitants to nurture beehives for honey. This improved skill set led to an alternative source of livelihood hitherto unknown to the coastal community. With more than 300 beehives in the village, the revenue from the sale of honey and honey-based products increases income level, strengthening community links leading to more learning concentric skillsets, such as marketing the products, etc. About 10 percent of the income from the sale of honey is invested into a community conservation fund leading to a halo effect (a positive externality) in attracting nearby communities from villages to learn new talent and forge alliances for best practices for conserving nature. Positive externalities must be promoted and subsidized for generating social wellbeing in Society.

Nishant Malhotra with Alfredo Quarto | The middle Road

One way to remove externalities is to use a bargaining process between the parties involved. Ronald Coarse proposed that two parties’ bargain to remove externalities through an economic trade-off provided transaction costs are low. In this example, the coastal inhabitants have to be persuaded to stop cutting down mangroves by complementing them with a better economic trade-off—the profits from Shrimp farming drive biodegradation of Mangrove forests. Market actors need to offer a better alternative to inhabitants to curtail felling mangroves, in this case, its economic trade-off from honey and honey-based products. The other party could be climate action activists and biodiversity champions example, nonprofits, foundations, corporate social responsibility arm of major corporations, or social entrepreneurs and government. The rise in global awareness and activism for nature conservation in recent years is leading entities to address externalities for the better of humanity. In Mangrove Action Project, the economic and positive externalities by conserving and protecting the trees (higher income, community building, better sustainable agricultural practices, ancillary skill sets of marketing, decrease in carbon footprint, etc.) exceed the economic profits derived from shrimp farming over a long time.

Mangrove Action Project, implemented by a UK-based nonprofit, is an excellent example of using Nature-Based Solution to turn a negative externality (healthcare costs due to increased carbon footprint) into positive externalities. This is achieved through interventions that lead to positive externalities on the back of a sustainable alternative livelihood for communities involved. MAP has implemented its workshops in 16 countries with stellar results. In Sri Lanka, MAP and Sewelanka Foundation have implemented two workshops with measured success. In many cases, it’s not possible to fully comprehend the external social benefit of a particular action. Ronaldo’s recent endorsement of water via a viz carbonate drink at the recent Euro championship led to a holistic lifestyle statement on health and nutrition for the better of millions of his fans. The social impact and economic value of Ronaldo’s gesture are immeasurable. 

This case study was covered under the externalities material section. Its published separately as a separate lesson. The lesson will have a graph posted to explain the concept. 

The Mangrove Action Reforestation Project in a coastal village in Thailand is one such intervention. To stop the removal of Mangroves by people for shrimp farming, researchers exemplified the use of these trees among inhabitants showcasing the importance of beehives for a sustainable livelihood. Mangroves attract bees, and through informed training sessions, the Mangrove project educated inhabitants to nurture beehives for honey. This improved skill set led to an alternative source of livelihood hitherto unknown to the coastal community. With more than 300 beehives in the village, the revenue from the sale of honey and honey-based products increases income level, strengthening community links leading to more learning concentric skillsets, such as marketing the products, etc. About 10 percent of the income from the sale of honey is invested into a community conservation fund leading to a halo effect (a positive externality) in attracting nearby communities from villages to learn new talent and forge alliances for best practices for conserving nature. Positive externalities must be promoted and subsidized for generating social wellbeing in Society.

The marginal social benefit is the additional benefit you receive when you consume an iterative or additional unit of goods or services. The graph can also be depicted using the social benefit. The demand curve is the additional benefit consumers are willing to pay, while the supply curve can be termed the marginal or private cost. Due to many positive externalities, the social marginal benefit’s optimum level exceeds the marginal external social benefit’s private benefit. The private benefit curve does not highlight the true benefit of the intervention, and the optimal value is the new social optimal equilibrium. The marginal external benefit is the subsidy (p-p*) per unit herein. Goods or services with positive externalities need to be subsided.  

YouTube: The Mangrove Action Project – Mangrove Forest Restoration & Conservation

One way to remove externalities is to use a bargaining process between the parties involved. Ronald Coarse proposed that two parties’ bargain to remove externalities through an economic trade-off provided transaction costs are low. In this example, the coastal inhabitants have to be persuaded to stop cutting down mangroves by complementing them with a better economic trade-off—the profits from Shrimp farming drive biodegradation of Mangrove forests. Market actors need to offer a better alternative to inhabitants to curtail felling mangroves, in this case, its economic trade-off from honey and honey-based products. The other party could be climate action activists and biodiversity champions example, nonprofits, foundations, corporate social responsibility arm of major corporations, or social entrepreneurs and government. The rise in global awareness and activism for nature conservation in recent years is leading entities to address externalities for the better of humanity. In Mangrove Action Project, the economic and positive externalities by conserving and protecting the trees (higher income, community building, better sustainable agricultural practices, ancillary skill sets of marketing, decrease in carbon footprint, etc.) exceed the economic profits derived from shrimp farming over a long time.

Mangrove Action Project, implemented by a UK-based nonprofit, is an excellent example of using Nature-Based Solution to turn a negative externality (healthcare costs due to increased carbon footprint) into positive externalities. This is achieved through interventions that lead to positive externalities on the back of a sustainable alternative livelihood for communities involved. MAP has implemented its workshops in 16 countries with stellar results. In Sri Lanka, MAP and Sewelanka Foundation have implemented two workshops with measured success. In many cases, it’s not possible to fully comprehend the external social benefit of a particular action. Ronaldo’s recent endorsement of water via a viz carbonate drink at the recent Euro championship led to a holistic lifestyle statement on health and nutrition for the better of millions of his fans. The social impact and economic value of Ronaldo’s gesture are immeasurable.