Rio Mare and WWF Work Together to Protect Mangroves
WWF and our brands Rio Mare, Isabel, Cuca, and Saupiquet have launched a collaboration aimed at conserving over 7,000 hectares of mangrove forest in Ecuador. The project will continue up until 2024 with the objective of bringing concrete value to the area in terms of environmental, economic, and social sustainability.
An important resource for the planet
Mangroves are known as ‘blue forests’, a resource that is still relatively unknown but that has a fundamental role against climate change: these marine and coastal ecosystems are able to store up to 9 times more carbon dioxide per hectare than tropical forests. In addition to helping combat climate change and maintaining the balance of the marine ecosystem, mangroves preserve biodiversity by providing shelter to numerous marine and terrestrial species. They also filter water, regulate the flow of nutrients, and protect coastlines from erosion caused in part by rising ocean levels and increasingly frequent storm surges.
Suspended between land and sea, the mangrove forests are a precious treasure for Ecuador, the country that is home to 31% of this marine ecosystem in all of South America. The beating heart is the Gulf of Guayaquil, where 80% of the country’s mangroves are located.
These forests, however, are strongly threatened by human interventions: to date, it is estimated that over 67% of the historical mangrove habitat has been lost or degraded worldwide (Source: Global Mangrove Alliance).

An impactful project
It is precisely in the Gulf of Guayaquil that the conservation programme begins, launched thanks to the collaboration between our brands and WWF. To date, the project already covers 6,089 hectares of mangroves, to which a further 1,000 hectares will be added and placed under protection. This is an impactful project, aimed at protecting and regenerating this natural habitat, while also positively affecting fishing activities and the economy of the native populations.
The preservation of the mangroves indirectly supports local Ecuadorian fishing communities who rely on fish resources provided by this ecosystem as their main source of income and livelihood.
As a tool, the project plans to use concessions provided by the Ministry of the Environment to give local communities the opportunity to base their micro-economy on the protection of mangroves for the next ten years. This will include the sustainable use of mangroves and the sustainable development of the fishing sector linked to them (mainly ‘ghost crabs’), thus enabling communities to benefit directly from better management of this natural heritage.

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