Building Blue Carbon Projects - An Introductory Guide

1 What is Blue Carbon? The marine biosphere is a major component of the global carbon cycle, responsible for roughly half of the annual photosynthetic absorption of the greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere (Field et al. , 1998, adapted from Lutz et al ., 2007). Blue Carbon is a concept that describes the carbon linked to the marine biosphere through coastal and marine ecosystems. These ecosystems aid in mitigating climate change by actively sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and also by providing natural carbon storage in biomass and sediments. The Blue Carbon concept is currently focused on three key coastal ecosystems: mangrove forests, saltwater marshes, and seagrass meadows (Laffoley and Grimsditch 2009, Nellemann et al ., 2009). Coastal Blue Carbon ecosystems have been found to be highly efficient at storing and sequestering carbon. Figure 1 illustrates where carbon is stored in Blue Carbon ecosystems: in plant biomass and below the surface in sediments. The carbon-rich soils associated with Blue Carbon habitats can represent significant carbon accumulation, with up to five times more carbon stored in these soils than in the soils of terrestrial forests (Donato et al ., 2011, Fourqurean et al ., 2012). In addition to Blue Carbon, coastal and marine ecosystems provide a wide range of other important ecosystem services, such as climate change adaptation, water filtration, shoreline stabilisation, storm and flood protection, sustaining biodiversity, and habitat provision for commercially and recreationally important species of fish and shellfish, as well as iconic species. Equally important, but complex to value monetarily, intact ecosystems provide recreational benefits and have spiritual values for the local community as well as visitors. In general, they also help sustain the livelihoods and cultural heritages of the communities that rely on healthy coastal and marine ecosystems. The conservation of Blue Carbon ecosystems is significant to climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, will support overall ecosystem resiliency and help sustain important ecosystem service values. It represents a comprehensive ecosystem approach to management.

Key takeaways:

When healthy, Blue Carbon ecosystems store and sequester carbon helping to mitigate climate change, help safeguard biodiversity, and are also vital to many coastal and island communities through the numerous important ecosystem services they provide. When degraded, Blue Carbon ecosystems contribute to climate change by releasing stored greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere and providing fewer ecosystem services.

A Blue Carbon project aims to use the climate change mitigation value of marine and coastal ecosystems to support their conservation, sustainable use, and restoration

Building Blue Carbon Projects An Introductory Guide

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