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Blue Carbon: A New Conservation Frontier?

Blue carbon conference showcases GEF Blue Forests Project partners

By Blue Forests Project

June 20^th, 2021

On June 9, 2021, the Blue Marine Foundation held an online conference titled, “Blue Carbon - A New Conservation Frontier?”. In anticipation for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), the goal of the conference was to explore the role of nature-based solutions and oceans in addressing climate change. As the concept of blue carbon continues to gain international recognition, the Blue Marine Foundation acknowledged that there are still fundamental questions to be addressed by the blue carbon community: 1) Can the ocean make a greater contribution to fixing climate change than previously imagined?; 2) If we can devise nature-based solutions to climate change in the sea, where should we begin?; 3) We are protecting marine habitats for biodiversity, but are these the same habitats we should be protecting for carbon-saving?; and 4) Is there a credible way of selling carbon benefits as credits?

To address these questions the conference featured 14 speakers and experts, including a number of GEF Blue Forests Project partners: Blue Ventures, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Silvestrum Climate Associates. This post will highlight the opportunities, challenges and potential directions for blue carbon initiatives as presented by each of these organizations.

At the start of the conference, Lalao Aigrette of Blue Ventures elaborated on the Tahiry Honko project in southwestern Madagascar, which is the largest community-led mangrove carbon finance project in the world. For low-income coastal communities of Madagascar, livelihoods of fishermen are dependent upon the ecosystem services provided by mangroves. However, Ms. Aigrette described how deforesting mangroves has often been one of the only ways for villagers to meet basic needs. Through the Tahiry Honko blue carbon initiative, 50% of carbon offset sales are dedicated to the local community to help address some of these basic needs by providing education and healthcare services and developing infrastructure.

Ms. Aigrette maintained that Tahiry Honko’s success is rooted in its commitment to community empowerment, and blue carbon projects should encompass more than just carbon finance. By supporting communities to take an active lead in blue carbon projects, Tahiry Honko aims to build local capacity and knowledge while strengthening the grassroots management of marine resources. With that, Ms. Aigrette closed her presentation by stating how imperative it is for coastal communities to be heard and considered during COP 26 discussions regarding climate finance.

Afterward, Dorothée Herr of the IUCN presented on the current state of international blue carbon policy. Ms. Herr first elaborated on the role of blue carbon within national-level greenhouse accounting. Though blue carbon is often directly associated with offset projects, there is now a growing body of science and national carbon stock assessments influencing governments around the world to recognize blue carbon in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Ms. Herr maintained that even if blue carbon is not overtly mentioned within national policy contexts, it can still be incorporated under the guise of marine spatial planning, marine protected areas, coastal development, and restoration strategies.

In this context, Ms. Herr mentioned a 2016 IUCN report which identified 28 countries that included specific references to coastal wetlands and mitigation in their NDCs, and 59 countries for adaptation. These figures will be updated and released once the NDC submission cycle ends before November for COP 26. Ms. Herr closed by reiterating the significant impact these NDCs will have on future of blue carbon policy and development, noting that investment opportunities (including from the private sector) are often influenced by the content of these nationally determined contributions.

Dr. James Kairo of KMFRI initiated the second half of the conference with a presentation titled, “Sustaining Community Momentum in Blue Carbon Projects”. Established in 2009, Mikoko Pamoja is the first mangrove payment for ecosystem services (PES) project in the world with its main objective being to restore and protect mangroves through the sale of carbon credits. As a Plan Vivo verified blue carbon project, Mikoko Pamoja sells 3,000 tons of CO2 annually on the voluntary carbon market and it has recently expanded its scope to incorporate seagrass carbon as well. From the project, 70% of carbon credit sales directly benefit two local communities by supporting education, providing clean water to 3,500 people, and supplying schools with textbooks, equipment, and other essentials.

Throughout the project, Mikoko Pamoja has encountered various challenges for sustaining project momentum, namely issues related to unclear project boundary delineations, technical requirements not being met for planting mangrove seedlings, trainings and capacity building occurring less frequently from limited financing available, and lack of income diversification due to the volatility of the voluntary carbon market.

Moving forward, Mikoko Pamoja will continue to influence national blue carbon policies through the incorporation of seagrasses and mangroves in Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contribution, and the project aims to further support communities by providing energy-efficient cooking stoves to local villages.

Dr. Steve Crooks of Silvestrum Climate Associates also presented in the latter half of the conference with a presentation titled, “Expanding the Carbon Market from Landscapes to Seascapes”. Dr. Crooks first described the history of blue carbon science and methodology – noting how carbon accounting methodologies for coastal blue forests like mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses were developed first in the mid 2000’s instead of oceanic blue carbon, due to the robustness of these coastal biomass data sets.

Establishing accounting methodologies for the carbon market project is a challenging process, and it is underpinned by the availability of high-quality scientific data. Dr. Crooks described this process in detail and specifically identified the key considerations for developing a carbon market project, including applicability conditions, project boundaries, baseline scenarios, additionality, quantification of emissions reductions, and monitoring procedures.

Looking to the future, Dr. Crooks closed by introducing the Seascape Carbon Initiative – a project that aims to transfer the knowledge from coastal blue carbon methodologies to the broader seascape by exploring the viability of other potential carbon-sequestering entities for large-scale climate solutions. The project will examine the carbon storing potential of wild and farmed kelp, seabed management (e.g., avoided emissions from trawling), and oyster reefs while considering the potential benefits, financial viability, and safeguards associated with each of these elements.