Page
7
Building Blue Carbon Projects
An Introductory Guide
1.2
The Need for Blue Carbon
Despite the many important ecosystem services
they provide, Blue Carbon ecosystems are
quickly disappearing across the globe. It is
estimated that 67 percent of global mangrove
habitat has been lost (Murray
et al
., 2011) and
the annual rate of their degradation and
destruction is occurring at 0.7% to 2.1% for
mangrove forests, 1% to 2% for saltwater
marshes, and 1.2% to 2% for seagrass meadows
(Murray
et al
., 2012). If this rate continues, it is
estimated that 30 to 40% of saltwater marshes
and seagrasses and nearly 100% of mangroves
could be lost in the next 100 years (Pendleton
et
al
., 2012).
Often mangroves are drained and converted for
agricultural uses or for shellfish aquaculture.
Overexploitation of mangrove timber, terrestrial
logging and agricultural activities upstream and
coastal development are also drivers for habitat
loss. Saltwater marsh ecosystems have been
long converted for agricultural use or lost to
coastal development, and are increasingly under
pressure from sea level rise. Seagrass meadows
are threatened worldwide with impacts
including coastal development and agriculture that generate pollutant- and sediment-heavy run-
off, and dredging and construction activities. When Blue Carbon ecosystems are degraded, their
formerly submerged soils and roots can become exposed, causing the carbon within them to
become oxidized to greenhouse gasses (Pendleton
et al
., 2012).
Worldwide, the degradation and loss of these ecosystems presents a crucial need to take action
toward effectively managing remaining Blue Carbon ecosystems and where possible, to restore
what has been lost. This is important to the coastal communities in the vicinities of these
ecosystems, mangroves and tidal marshes in particular, where economic livelihoods are closely
linked to ecosystem health.
Although a comparatively young field, research has already quantified the importance of Blue
Carbon ecosystems, and their greenhouse gas dynamics are now better understood. Payment for
ecosystem services schemes such as carbon offsets in both the regulatory and voluntary market
provide a central incentive for Blue Carbon ecosystem conservation and restoration, as do other
mechanisms including compensation funds, national carbon accounting and reporting, and the
green economy approach. Ecosystem services beyond carbon sequestration and storage may give
further value to ecosystems and positively contribute to management frameworks and actions.
"Coastal communities and island states
with coastal and marine ecosystems rich
in Blue Carbon need support from the
international community to evaluate the
contribution these make towards carbon
sequestration at the national level. Once
the value per country is known,
governments will be in a stronger
position to make a case to protect these
ecosystems and garner support for these
carbon stocks to be included in the
carbon trading mechanism. Without
knowledge of the true value of Blue
Carbon stored within a country’s EEZ and
without the necessary financial and
technical support Blue Carbon
ecosystems, as important as they are,
will remain undervalued and threatened
by development."
Professor Rolph Payet
Minister of Environment and Energy
Republic of Seychelles
