While walking through a small mangrove plantation site in coastal Odisha, I expected to hear pride stories regarding mangrove plantation success from the nearby village. Numerous species of Avicennia, Exocaria, Rhizophora, Bruguiera, and others were flourishing in the mangrove trees, with outstanding growth, robust root systems, and clear indications of biodiversity recovery. However, the first thing I heard from a local fisherman was, ‘Mangroves shouldn’t be close to our village, they bring number of snakes’. What I have learnt from that, ‘success in ecological restoration cannot be considered as social acceptance’. Social acceptance in any restoration project is different, and sometime far away from ecological success. Mangrove restoration needs to be both ecologically successful and socially acceptable. Mangrove growth has emerged as a crucial blue carbon and climate adaption option along India’s shores. However, populations that live near forests have unique life experiences, and occasionally a restored ecosystem can present difficulties for which they were unprepared.........

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