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Building Blue Carbon Projects
An Introductory Guide
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Parting Thoughts
Considerable progress has been made in recent years in advancing Blue Carbon science and policy,
and demonstration projects are beginning to be implemented worldwide. The groundwork for the
viability of Blue Carbon values to be used for improved ecosystem management has been laid
through the successes of the Abu Dhabi Blue Carbon Demonstration Project and other
international initiatives. These experiences will continue to advance Blue Carbon globally through
the GEF Blue Forests Project and other initiatives.
This guide has focused on Blue Carbon from a project development perspective. Using this lens,
we have presented a sense of the variety of considerations one may take into account at the onset
of project planning, provided insights into essential project elements throughout the project’s
planning, development, implementation and assessment, and described what a project might look
like, including how to best build the capacity of local project managers who will ultimately be
responsible for both ensuring project longevity and realising climate change mitigation benefits.
This project-based perspective provides future project planners with the opportunity to learn from
past trials and experience and build from field-tested experience. This guide also illustrates
potential opportunities for using the value of Blue Carbon to mitigate climate change and improve
ecosystem management
We are still in the nascent stages of Blue Carbon and can confidently estimate that Blue Carbon
projects will be shaped and implemented differently, and with different results, across a variety of
landscapes and political conditions. We stress that there is no rigid template for a Blue Carbon
project and that a flexible approach to project development would be best suited to the varying
conditions and objectives of each potential project around the globe.
Moving forward, Blue Carbon projects may result in a range of actions, such as the generation of
carbon offsets, the policy recognition of ecosystem services, or conservation agreements. Despite
the path a project takes, it is hoped that this guide can help to facilitate Blue Carbon projects that
harness the climate change mitigation value of a coastal ecosystem and use that value to motivate
conservation and sustainable use.
