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18
in Bonn, Germany. According to the Earth Negotia-
tions Bulletin (ENB),18 Papua New Guinea (PNG) in-
troduced the issue of blue carbon on the agenda of the
SBSTA, under the heading “On blue carbon: coastal
marine systems,” underscoring the need to consider
the carbon sequestration potential of wetlands and
coastal systems;
• The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
istration (NOAA) launched a Blue Carbon web site.19
NOAA’s Blue Carbon efforts include exploring how
to incorporate carbon services into existing domes-
tic and international policies and programs; help-
ing to fill the science gaps in our understanding of
coastal habitat carbon services; and providing sup-
port for efforts to develop protocols for including
coastal carbon services in carbon markets. NOAA
also initiated interagency Blue Carbon discussions
during 2011;
• Indonesia established a national Blue Carbon Working
Group focussed on implementing five demonstration
projects;
• A flurry of reports were published exploring the sci-
ence, economics and policy of Blue Carbon;20
• In November 2011, the GEF Council approved Blue
Carbon in its work programme;21
• Also in November, the creation of a Global Blue Car-
bon Market was promoted in an interagency paper to-
wards Rio+20 issued by UNESCO, UNDP, FAO, and
the IMO.22 The report proposes inter alia that “global
acceptance of ocean and coastal habitats as a new
form of tradable carbon market” be promoted “via a
global blue carbon fund”; and
• In December, Blue Carbon was the subject of a side
event at the UNFCCC COP 17 in Durban, South Africa
facilitated by Bellona and IUCN.23 At the conference
Belize called for “more research to quantify the role
that blue carbon can play in the global fight against
climate Change.”24
The project Ecosystem-based Adaptation to climate
change in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is still at
an early stage, with the delivery of significant outputs ex-
pected in 2012. During 2011 the project built relationships
with key players such as the Caribbean Community Cli-
mate Change Centre (CCCCC), the Protected Areas Trust
of Belize (PACT) and the UNEP Regional Office for Latin
America and the Caribbean (UNEP-ROLAC), as well as
with potential donors, such as the International Climate
Steven Lutz, GRID-Arendal, demonstrating the new iPhone application “Blue and REDD Carbon” at Eye on Earth Summit in Abu Dhabi in
December 2011, UAE (photo by Robert Barnes)
18.
19.
20. Including: Blue Carbon Policy Options Assessment, produced with
support from The Linden Trust for Conservation (Climate Focus, 2011);
Mitigating Climate Change through Restoration and Management of
Coastal Wetlands and Near-shore Marine Ecosystems: Challenges and
Opportunities, supported by the World Bank, (Crooks et al., 2011);
Green Payments for Blue Carbon: Economic Incentives for Protecting
Threatened Coastal Habitats (Murray et al., 2011); and Blue Carbon
Policy Framework, produced by IUCN and Conservation International
(Herr et al., 2011).
21.
on-biodiversity-and-blue-carbon/
22. A Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability - http://www.
blue_paper_ocean_rioPlus20.pdf
23.
24.
pdf/111207_cop17_hls_belize.pdf