Read the passage below carefully and answer the question that follows.
For decades, the mangrove ecosystems along the Gulf of Guinea have suffered severe degradation due to urban expansion, firewood harvesting, and industrial pollution. These coastal forests, once viewed primarily as wasteland suitable for land reclamation, are now recognized as critical environmental safeguards. Beyond their role as natural sea defense barriers that shield coastal communities from storm surges and tidal erosion, mangroves serve as essential nursery grounds for over seventy percent of commercially valuable marine species in the region. Furthermore, recent ecological assessments highlight their extraordinary capacity for carbon sequestration, storing up to four times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial tropical rainforests.
In response to declining fish stocks and worsening coastal flooding, several West African coastal communities have initiated community-led mangrove restoration projects. Rather than relying solely on top-down governmental interventions, these local initiatives combine indigenous ecological knowledge with modern replanting techniques. Artisanal fishermen, who previously harvested mangrove timber for smoking fish, are now actively managing nursery sites and enforcing local conservation bylaws. Although financial constraints and land tenure disputes occasionally slow progress, early results indicate a measurable recovery in local fisheries and reduced shoreline retreat. The ongoing transformation along the coast demonstrates that environmental rehabilitation is most sustainable when local livelihoods are directly aligned with ecosystem protection, turning former resource exploiters into active stewards of their coastal heritage.
Which of the following best summarizes the central argument of the passage?
- Mangrove restoration is most successful when local community livelihoods and traditional knowledge are aligned with conservation goals.Answer
- BMangroves are superior to terrestrial tropical rainforests because they store up to four times more carbon per hectare.
- CTop-down governmental interventions have completely failed to address land tenure disputes and coastal erosion in West Africa.
- DArtisanal fishermen along the Gulf of Guinea have entirely abandoned fishing to become full-time forestry managers.