‘I couldn’t watch the forests vanish’: the man restoring Solomon Islands’ vital mangroves
Crucial for coastal communities, mangroves are threatened by land clearing, development and rising seas
As the morning light hits Oibola village in Solomon Islands, the receding tide drains water through a maze of tangled mangrove roots.
Dressed in muddy jeans and a worn T-shirt, Ben Waleilia moves carefully through the thick mangrove forest, searching for seedlings. Rows of young mangrove shoots stand high as Waleilia gently drops seedlings into a small plastic bucket.