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Ecosystem services
beyond carbon
Blue Carbon ecosystems provide valuable
ecosystem services beyond carbon
sequestration and storage. From a Blue
Carbon perspective, these can be referred to
as co-benefits to carbon.
Contributing to the beauty of the Abu Dhabi
environment, these Blue Carbon ecosystems
enhance human well-being in many ways at
the local, regional, and global scale.
Locally, they contribute to maintaining
livelihoods, providing food and recreation,
reducing vulnerabilities to sea level rise,
storm events and spread of disease.
At the regional level, they maintain the web
of life in both the Gulf and the coastal areas
in countries bordering it – an increasingly
critical contribution given the rapid loss of
these ecosystems.
On a global scale, understanding these
ecosystems in terms of the benefits they
offer and the ways they are threatened
provides valuable knowledge and ground-
truthing for the rest of the world.
Each of the Blue Carbon ecosystems in
Abu Dhabi has a role in supporting the
overall biodiversity, natural productivity
and environmental health of the Emirate.
Many perform pivotal roles, and their loss
could create irreversible degradation and
lost opportunities to take advantage of
natural capital and its benefits. In particular,
mangrove, seagrass, salt marsh, and
to some extent algal mats play a role in
maintaining coastal water quality. This in
turn allows for recreational and tourism
use, reduces costs of desalination,
diminishes the chance for public health
problems relating to exposure to toxins (via
bathing or seafood) and prevents reductions
in commercial fisheries.
Similarly, mangroves, seagrass, salt
marsh and associated coral reefs offshore
maintain shorelines and navigation
channels, reduce chronic erosion and buffer
land and property from storm surges.
Mangrove and seagrass are particularly
critical in supporting fisheries production,
valued by commercial, traditional and
recreational fishers alike. Collectively,
Blue Carbon ecosystems play a key role
in contributing to a healthy, aesthetically
pleasing, and resilient coastal environment.
Ecosystem Services Values
© AGEDI / Rob Barnes
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