Vendée Globe: The other Malizia destination besides sport - five million mangroves!

Shortly before the start of his second Vendée Globe, Boris Herrmann makes it clear what else is close to his heart in addition to his ambitious sporting goal. These include the Malizia Mangrove Park in the Philippines. Here, in collaboration with the Mama Earth Foundation, a mangrove park was created in a region where around half of all mangroves had been cut down over the past 100 years. Reconstruction is now in full swing - and successful.

Mangroves are multi-talented in the climate fight

Why is mangrove growth in the remote Philippines of far more than just regional importance? The mangroves in the Philippines are now protected because they are the most important ecosystem in the world alongside the rainforest. An intact mangrove belt is not only a spawning ground, but also a habitat for birds and reptiles, fish and crustaceans. In addition to its high CO2-binding capacity, a mangrove belt protects the offshore coral reefs and the coast from erosion because waves are broken.

The Malizia Mangrove Park founded by Boris Herrmann's team in 2020 is making a major contribution to restoring this coastal ecosystem. It offers locals better income opportunities and binds large amounts of carbon dioxide. Together with experts from Davao Oriental State University and the local community, the park's initial goal was to plant one million mangroves alongside the existing ones. This goal was already achieved in March 2024.

So with two million mangroves, a new challenge was immediately set in sight. This has now also been mastered. "Thanks to worldwide donations, we had already reached the first target in March and set ourselves the ambitious goal of planting the next million. We have now achieved that too. Just over seven months after we set ourselves the ambitious target of restoring two million mangroves, we are delighted to announce that the Malizia Mangrove Park has already exceeded this target this autumn," said Boris Herrmann twelve days before the start of his second Vendée Globe.

Strong partners for Vendée Globe & climate protection

According to Boris Herrmann, the rapid success was "largely made possible by the support of our partner Zurich". Why is the mangrove project so important to the five-time circumnavigator from Hamburg and his colleagues? According to the team, the restoration of mangroves plays a crucial role in the absorption of carbon dioxide, the promotion of marine biodiversity and the protection of coastal communities from erosion and extreme weather events.

Thanks to the contributions and firm commitment of Zurich and other partners, private donors and many individual fans, the Malizia Mangrove Park has, according to Team Malizia, "not only achieved its goal, but also laid the foundation for future reforestation efforts". Dr Carsten Schildknecht, CEO of Zurich Group Germany, said: "We are delighted to be working with Boris and his team in so many different areas of sustainability to promote climate protection."

In a world facing complex environmental, social and economic challenges, we all have a responsibility to make a positive contribution." Dr Carsten Schildknecht

Carsten Schildknecht continued: "As a company, we want to utilise potential and promote new approaches in science and research that demonstrably contribute to environmental and climate protection. With Boris and his mission, we have exactly the right partner at our side to fulfil this ambition. Congratulations to the entire team for restoring this part of the world that is so important for the climate."

The five million milestone in sight

Boris Herrmann and his team do not want to stop at the goals they have achieved so far. "Our goal is to restore the forest in Mati to such an extent that the mangroves can reproduce themselves and human help is no longer required in the long term," says Boris Herrmann, explaining the route to be taken. "By setting ourselves these ambitious million-dollar targets, we are breaking down a seemingly impossible task into achievable milestones and motivating ourselves and others to take further action to protect an invaluable ecosystem," says Herrmann as he drives the project forward.

Shortly before the start of the Vendée Globe, the team considered further measures to achieve the newly set goal. "In addition to this great success, we are delighted today to announce our next target of five million mangroves planted and the launch of our Mangrove subscriptions to announce."

The idea behind the mangrove subscription is to offer people an opportunity to make an effective and long-term contribution to environmental protection by planting a mangrove for them every day. With this subscription, 365 mangroves are planted annually for 125 euros per year. The subscription is automatically renewed for one year if it is not cancelled. The campaign is aimed at anyone who wants to make a daily contribution to combating climate change and species extinction.

Finding even more supporters with the Vendée Globe

"With the continued support of our partners, who have also integrated fundraising into their day-to-day business, as well as anonymous donors, fans, friends and organisations, we are confident that we can reach this new, challenging milestone and make an even greater positive impact on the environment," says Boris Herrmann.

There are still three million mangroves to go before the third milestone. If we take the existing Vendée Globe record of 74 days as a basis - very ambitiously - Boris Herrmann and his team could successfully reach their latest mangrove target by the end of the circumnavigation if the average daily production of 40,541 mangroves could be achieved.

Boris Herrmann said: "As I set sail in the Vendée Globe race on 10 November, I hope to gain even more support for this cause and raise awareness of the importance of restoring our mangrove ecosystems." Boris Herrmann's appeal before embarking on his second solo around the world: "Together we can drive meaningful change and create a sustainable future for all."

Click here for Team Malizia's information about the Malizia Mangrove Park.

Two years ago, Team Malizia already provided strong insights into the work and goals of the Malizia Mangrove Park, which has now grown considerably:

The motto here is "There is no planet B"! The latest clip from the Malizia's Road to the Vendée Globe series shows what other scientific goals and environmental protection measures Team Malizia is also pursuing and implementing: