Blue Carbon - First Level Exploration of Blue Carbon in the Arabian Peninsula

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE 5 FOREWORD 7 SUMMARY 8 KEY MESSAGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 10 INTRODUCTION 12 THE GLOBAL SETTING OF BLUE CARBON 14 Coastal ecosystem carbon sinks 14 Global Blue Carbon efforts 18 WHY BLUE CARBON IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA? 20 BLUE CARBON ECOSYSTEMS OF THE ARABIAN PENINSULA 24 Regional natural coastal carbon sinks 24 Sabkha carbon? 27 REGIONAL IMPORTANCE OF BLUE CARBON ECOSYSTEMS 29 Services provided by regional Blue Carbon ecosystems 29 REGIONAL CONSIDERATIONS ON ADVANCING BLUE CARBON 37 Estidama and the Pearl Rating System 38 Ramsar 38 Blue Carbon and Ecosystem Services (ES) 39 Blue Carbon and Packaged Ecosystem Services 39 What could be purchased? 39 Mangrove planting in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi 40 CONCLUSION 42

ACRONYMS 44 REFERENCES 45

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