Deltaic coasts under climate-related catastrophic events - Insights from the Save River delta, Mozambique

The deltaic coast of the Save River is characterized by mangrove wetland, one of the most important coastal ecosystems in Mozambique. This ecosystem provides direct services to the neighbouring communities and contributes to the productivity of the marine ecosystem. This region has, however, been hit by recurrent catastrophic events that have caused negative impacts on the ecosystem and in people's lives, posing challenges for its management. In this article we use this area as a case study to structure and propose an interactive and integrated approach for coastal zone management under recurrent climate-related catastrophic events. Our results show a need for systematic interaction between the decision makers (at the different levels) and the communities to set up adaptive measures for climate-related events. Also, we noticed that the presence of the neighbouring communities is a factor to capitalize on the adaptation activities by maximizing their participation as active actors in the process. Therefore, we conclude that a continuous process of adaptation and preparedness to climate-related catastrophic events (focused on both social and ecological systems) constitutes a leverage variable to be used for sustainable management of the coastal zones.