Mercy carries pieces of mangrove wood through the smoke-filled kitchen in the village of Toube II on September 26, 2024. The coastal region of Cameroon is home to productive wetlands: here the mangrove ecosystems provide key services. Mangroves play several important roles, notably in the sequestration of greenhouse gases (CO2) but also as a barrier that reduces erosion and rising waters. They are important to ecosystems. Inherited from their parents and grandparents, the residents living in villages such as Cap Cameroon, Toube I, Toube II, Manoka, fish and then smoke the fish, by burning wood collected from mangroves, in order to preserve them. The wood is cut and then transported by pirogue back to the villages, where it can also be used for the construction of houses. The residents of the villages are aware of the important roles mangroves play for ecosystems and the environment, and a balance needs to be found to protect their way of income, food security and conservation. (Photo by Daniel Beloumou Olomo / AFP)