Blog
Blue Carbon reforestation in Costa Rica
Costa Rica aims to be a carbon neutral country by 2021. Is Blue Carbon a part of the answer? The “Blue Carbon Community” was launched by the Neotrópica Foundation last year. It is a reforestation project that holds around 4000 mangrove trees. It is supported by the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and the…
Blue Carbon: The Opportunity of Coastal Sinks for Africa
The “abundance of mangrove forests, seagrasses and tidal marsh ecosystems in Africa” should be considered in countries’ pledges to reduce carbon emissions, says a policy briefing from the South African Institute of International Affairs (Chevallier, 2012). Blue Carbon ecosystems are carbon sinks because they store and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Therefore, Blue Carbon can…
Putting a Price on Blue Carbon
The mangrove forests of Gazi Bay in the Kwale District of Kenya have recently been certified as part of a carbon credit scheme to offset carbon emissions. Dr. Mark Huxham, alongside fellow scientists and volunteers, has been conducting research into the role of mangrove forests as carbon sinks and the effects of mangrove plantation on…
Field Research in the Salt Marshes of Waquoit Bay
Bringing Wetlands to Market is a project that looks at the links between salt marshes, climate change, and nitrogen pollution. Led by the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR), the project aims to encourage the sustainable management, restoration and preservation of coastal wetlands through improved knowledge of the value of wetland carbon sequestration and…
Question Your Shrimp
The Mangrove Action Project (MAP) are leading a campaign called Question Your Shrimp. A video, now featured in the video library of the bluecarbonportal.org, documents the deforestation of Mangroves that is driven by shrimp farming. Question Your Shrimp is building a network of chefs, restaurants, retailers and consumers who pledge not to buy or sell…
Blue Carbon Protects Properties
Coastal marshes have a vital role to play in the protection of properties from storm surges along the Gulf Coast of the United States. In a recent article, Barbier et al. (2013) report the findings of an investigation into the role of coastal wetlands in protecting Southeast Louisiana from hurricane storm surges. Hurricane storm surges…
Optimising and managing coastal carbon
is a report that provides a comprehensive exploration of Australia’s Blue Carbon. This report was commissioned by the Australian Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and produced by TierraMar, GRID ARENDAL and the University of Queensland. The report summarises the ability of Australia’s coastal wetland ecosystems, particularly mangroves, saltmarsh and seagrass to capture and store carbon. Coastal carbon…
Video of Carbon Stock Assessment in Indonesia’s Mangroves
A new video follows scientists from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and Indonesia’s Forestry Research and Development Agency (FORDA) as they conduct fieldwork for carbon stock assessment in the mangroves of West Kalimantan. ‘Dirty Science: Excavating the truth about mangroves and carbon’ reveals the challenging environment in which scientists must work if the…
Carbon Stock Assesment Work in Madagascar’s Mangroves
A recent entry in the Blue Ventures field diary by Zo Andriamahenina, a Blue Forests Research Assistant, describes the experience of carbon stock assessment work the mangrove forests of Madagascar. The blog, which can be found here, asks ‘Life in the mangrove forest: What happens exactly?‘: “My first time working in the mangrove forest was…
The Blue Carbon Legal Landscape
A Blue Carbon project implemented by the Centre for Law and Environment, University College London is examining the legal implications of managing Blue Carbon ecosystems. The full title of the research project, led by Ben Milligan, is “Binding blue carbon: developing global legal and policy responses to an emerging risk of climate change”. Blue Carbon…