Mangrove Ecological Land Suitability. A Tool for Integrating Mangroves Conservation in Urban Green Infrastructure in Sub-Saharan African Coastal Cities—A Case Study of Maputo, Mozambique

The mangroves along the Mozambique coastline represent 2.3% of the world’s total mangrove area. Theyare fundamental ecosystem services providers, namely as soft infrastructures for mitigation and adaptation to extreme weather events and urban floods. In the context of Maputo, these ecosystems are currently under threat, through ongoing land-use changes (short-term) and sea-level rise (SLR) (mid-term) events. The study presents a methodology to map mangrove potential areas according to their ecological land suitability (MELS) in Maputo by applying a GIS-based integrated model that uses a set of bio-physical criteria. Mapping the existent and potential MELS areas, currently and facing a SLR scenario shows possibilities for integrating mangroves within an urban green infrastructure whilst contributing to mangrove conservation, using MELS as an assessment tool within the scope of coastal climate change adaptation.