Healing a devastated land with the power of mangroves in Kenya

Local fishermen with their net approaching the Sabaki river estuary in Malindi. Photo: Simon Maina/AFP

Along a riverbank scarred by logging, Joseph Mwandenge Mangi points out a solitary mangrove tree, a species once abundant in the forest where the mighty Sabaki River meets the sea.

"This is the last one. There are no more left," said the 42-year-old Kenyan, who grew up on the estuary and possesses a seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of its flora and fauna.