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edge sharing, specifically how to enhance access to
the world’s expanding pool of environmental informa-
tion. Blue Carbon was the subject of a high-level panel
discussion at one of the select ‘Main Stage’ events,
but also of an “International Breakout Session” that
brought together many grassroots and community-
based organisations and leading international devel-
opment and finance organisations.13 In addition, a
Regional Workshop was arranged to discuss bottom-
up approaches to advance Blue Carbon in the Arabian
Peninsula.
• On the final day of the Summit, eight Special Initia-
tives were announced for the region, one of which
is dedicated to Blue Carbon ( ‘Eye on Oceans: Blue
Carbon’).14 As a result of active participation in the
summit, GRID-Arendal is invited to submit funding
proposals for activities planned for 2012 and beyond.
During the Blue Carbon International Breakout Ses-
sion, a spokesperson for the EAD expressed inter-
est to include Blue Carbon ecosystems in the United
Arab Emirates’ Nationally Appropriate Mitigation
Action (NAMA) programme. Further anecdotal evi-
dence that the Summit provided GRID-Arendal with
an effective platform for raising awareness about
both the critical importance of Blue Carbon and the
role the organisation is playing in putting the issue
on the policy agenda, are consultations with Belize,
the Bahamas, and Seychelles following an invitation
to explore the production of rapid blue carbon as-
sessments.15
• UN Carbon Calculator iPhone App – In support of
UNEP, GRID-Arendal produced a ‘blue and green’
iPhone application, available on the iTunes Store
for free download, that was launched at the official
opening of the One UN Pavilion at the Eye on Earth
Summit.16 The application allows users to access
information on UNEP’s work on Blue Carbon and
REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and
Forest Degradation) and includes a carbon calcula-
tor for assessing emissions related to travel and the
mitigation potential of terrestrial and marine ecosys-
tems.
• GEF Blue Forests Project – In support of UNEP, GRID-
Arendal is managing the Project Preparation Grant
(PPG) for the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF)
Blue Forest’s project. The initiative has the objective
of advancing Blue Carbon methodologies, including
the valuation of ecosystem services for coastal eco-
systems, and includes a number of demonstration
projects, policy education activities, and an extensive
programme of public outreach.
i GRID-Arendal’s Blue Carbon outreach and aware-
ness-raising activities also included briefings for
the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment and the US
State Department. In March 2011, the organisation was
invited to brief the US State Department on Blue Carbon,
specifically to help guide the US stance on this issue with
regard to international climate change negotiations. The
briefing was organized with support from Blue Climate
Solutions, The Ocean Foundation, and the IUCN. The US
government has since supported the introduction of Blue
Carbon at the Bonn Climate Change Conference 2012
(6-17 June).17
The 2009 Blue Carbon report continues to influence the
policy arena, as events in 2011 testify:
• Blue Carbon was introduced into official UN climate
change discussions at the 34th session of the Subsidiary
Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA),
Dugong, UAE (photo by Yusuf Thakur)
13. Participating groups included Conservation International, Blue Ven-
tures, the Indonesian Blue Carbon Working Group, IUCN, AGEDI, Blue
Climate Solutions, Forest Trends, Mangrove Action Project, West Afri-
can Association for Marine Environment (WAAME), WCMC, and UNEP
14. The Summit Declaration, which will be forwarded to Rio+20,
welcomes the special initiatives and calls on governments and other
stakeholders to further contribute to their implementation. See http://
tion_EN_final_0.pdf
15. Following the Eye on Earth Summit, GRID-Arendal was invited to
join a panel discussion on Blue Carbon at the World Oceans Summit
in February 2012 in Singapore, organised by The Economist magazine.
16.
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17. ENB, Vol 12 No 503 - 7 June 2011:
b12503e.html