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5
Building Blue Carbon Projects
An Introductory Guide
Potential areas for further research into Blue Carbon ecosystems and scientific discovery may include marine
vertebrates and algal mats (image credit from left to right: schooling Trevalley off the Great Barrier Reef - Catlin
Seaview Survey/Underwater Earth; cyanobacterial algal mats of Abu Dhabi - image credit AGEDI/Pat Megonigal).
Other Ecosystems
Although mangroves, saltwater marshes and seagrasses are the current focus for Blue Carbon, in
time, other marine ecosystems may be explored for their carbon values. The 2009 IUCN report
titled
The Management of Natural Coastal Carbon Sinks
discusses kelp forests and coral reefs as
potential carbon sinks (Lafoley and Grimsditch, 2009) (discussed further in Section 5). Recent
research and publications suggest a potential marine carbon sequestration role for the
conservation and restoration of marine vertebrate populations, including fish stocks and marine
mammals (Arnason
et al
., 2008; Pershing
et al
., 2010; Smith
et al
., 2010; Lutz, 2011; Saba and
Steinberg, 2012; Wilmers
et al
., 2013; Irigoien
et al
., 2014). Additionally, there may be other
currently unknown candidate or potential blue carbon ecosystems. For example, the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) is home to large areas of salt flats that were explored for their Blue Carbon
potential during the Abu Dhabi Blue Carbon Demonstration Project. The project also found
noteworthy results related to the carbon stored in the Emirate’s algal mats, which are described in
Case Study 8.1. To-date, algal mats and marine vertebrates have not been rigorously explored for
their connection to climate change mitigation and a scientific consensus on their consideration as
part of ‘Blue Carbon’ is lacking. They do present however, significant candidate areas for further
research into Blue Carbon.
Key takeaways:
The international community currently considers mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses as
‘Blue Carbon’ ecosystems that provide value for climate change mitigation.
Further fields for Blue Carbon may include marine vertebrates, kelp, and algal mats.
