The REDD menace: Resurgent protectionism in Tanzania's mangrove forests

► REDD+ redefines socio-nature relations to be amenable to forest carbon markets. ► Carbon forestry incentives can lead to the prioritization of ecosystem vulnerability over social vulnerability. ► Ill-conceived environmental narratives may be used to justify carbon forestry interventions. ► Rufiji Delta mangrove forests are a socio-natural landscape shaped by past and present management practices. ► Carbon forestry must address forest people's agency in the making of landscapes.