Mangrove restoration is the regeneration of mangrove forest ecosystems in areas where they have previously existed. Restoration can be defined as "the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed." Mangroves can be found throughout coastal wetlands of tropical and subtropical environments. Mangroves provide essential ecosystem services such as water filtration, aquatic nurseries, medicinal materials, food, and lumber. Additionally, mangroves play a vital role in climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration and protection from coastal erosion, sea level rise, and storm surges. Mangrove habitat is declining due to human activities such as clearing land for industry and climate change. Mangrove restoration is critical as mangrove habitat continues to rapidly decline. Different methods have been used to restore mangrove habitat, such as looking at historical topography, or mass seed dispersal. Fostering the long-term success of mangrove restoration is attainable by involving local communities through stakeholder engagement.

Mangroves are typically found in tropical regions of the world on the coasts of America, Australia, Asia, and Africa. Mangrove ecosystems are found in about 120 countries in the world and make up 0.7% of the world's tropical forests. In most of these regions mangroves provide many services including; shelter, climate regulation through carbon sequestration, decrease coastal erosion, create a link between terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and maintain water quality along the coast. Mangroves have recently become susceptible to deforestation due to human activities and extreme weather. Aquaculture, agriculture, and urbanization are some of the reasons why mangroves are being damaged or destroyed.

Historically, mangroves have been identified two different ways: the species of trees and shrubs that can tolerate brackish water conditions, or the species that fall under the mangrove family, Rhizophoraceae as well as trees of the genus Rhizophora. The majority of mangrove genera and families are not closely related, but they do however, share some adaptive commonalities. These unique qualities that allow mangroves to thrive in aversive conditions are pneumatophoric roots, stilt roots, salt-excreting leaves, and viviparous water-dispersed propagules. Mangrove communities occur between the latitudes of 30° N to 37° S and grow in waters where tidal height is between 1 and 4 meters. They can be found in various geographic areas from oceanic islands to riverine systems and in warm temperate climates to arid and wet tropics. Despite having a relatively large range of habitat, mangroves thrive in optimal areas. In warmer, humid climates, mangrove canopies may reach a height of 30–40 m. In colder, arid environments, mangroves form isolated patches with stunted growth, reaching about 1–2 m.

Mangrove forests, along with the animal species they shelter, represent globally significant sources of biodiversity and provide humanity with valuable ecosystem services. They are used by mammals, reptiles and migratory birds as feeding and breeding grounds, and provide crucial habitats for fish and crustacean species of commercial importance. The Atlantic goliath grouper for instance, which is currently listed as critically endangered due to overfishing, utilizes mangroves as a nursery for the first 5–6 years of life. The roots of the mangrove physically buffer shorelines from the erosive impacts of ocean waves and storms. Additionally, they protect riparian zones by absorbing floodwaters and slowing down the flow of sediment-loaded river water. This allows sediments to drop to the bottom where they are held in place, thus containing potentially toxic waste products and improving the quality of water and sanitation in coastal communities.

To the human communities who rely on them, mangrove forests represent local sources of sustainable income from the harvest of fish and timber, as well as non-timber forest products such as medicinal plants, palm leaves and honey. On a global scale, they have been shown to sequester carbon in quantities comparable to higher-canopy terrestrial rainforests, which means that they may play a role in climate change mitigation. It has been shown that even though mangrove forests only account for 0.5% of the worlds coastal habitats it has a much higher sequestration rate of carbon compared to other coastal habitats (except for salt marshes). In addition to physically protecting coastlines from the projected sea-level rise associated with climate change.

Mangrove forests have a potential to mitigate climate change, such as through the sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere directly, and by providing protection from storms, which are expected to become more intense and frequent into the 21st century. A summary of coastal wetland carbon, including mangroves, is seen in the accompanying image. Wetland plants, like mangroves, take in carbon dioxide when they perform photosynthesis. They then convert this into biomass made of complex carbon compounds. Being the most carbon-rich tropical forest, mangroves are highly productive and are found to store three to four times more carbon than other tropical forests. This is known as blue carbon. Mangroves make up only 0.7% of tropical forest area worldwide, yet studies calculate the effect of mangrove deforestation to contribute 10% of global CO₂ emissions from deforestation. The image to the right shows the global distribution of above ground carbon from mangroves. As can be seen, most of this carbon is located in Indonesia, followed by Brazil, Malaysia and Nigeria. Indonesia has one of the highest rates of mangrove loss, yet the most carbon stored from mangroves. Therefore, it is suggested that if the correct policy is implemented, countries like Indonesia can make considerable contributions to global carbon fluxes.

The UN estimate deforestation and forest degradation to make up 17% of global carbon emissions, which makes it the second most polluting sector, following the energy industry. The cost of this globally is estimated to total $42 billion. Therefore, in recent years, there has been more focus on the importance of mangroves, with initiatives being developed to use reforestation as a mitigation tool for climate change.

The issue of restoration is critical today since mangrove forests are being lost very quickly – at an even faster rate than tropical rainforests inland. During the 1970s, mangroves occupied as much as 200,000 km², encompassing approximately 75% of the world's coastlines. Now, global mangrove area has experienced significant decline where at least 35% has been lost. Mangroves are continuing to diminish at a rate of 1-2% per year. Much of this lost mangrove area was destroyed to make room for industry, housing and tourism development; for aquaculture, primarily shrimp farms; and for agriculture, such as rice paddies, livestock pasture and salt production. Other drivers of mangrove forest destruction include activities that divert their sources of freshwater, such as groundwater withdrawals, the building of dams, and the building of roads and drainage canals across tidal flats.