The blue carbon handbook

Natural capital underpins our prosperity and well-being (Dasgupta 2021). Marine and coastal ecosystems, for example, provide multiple ecosystem services, such as coastal protection, biodiversity and habitat, recreation and tourism, and cultural ecosystem services (e.g. cultural identity and sense of place) (Barbier 2016; Barbier 2017). Nevertheless, these ecosystems are under threat from multiple anthropogenic pressures, making sustainable management of marine and coastal ecosystems essential. Such management can help maintain biodiversity, build the resilience of coastal communities and make
our use of marine assets sustainable, thereby ensuring the long-term well-being and prosperity of humans and the planet (Costanza 1999; Winther et al. 2020). Naturebased solutions (NbS) are one of the approaches for managing natural resources. NbS refers to actions that conserve, restore or sustainably manage ecosystems to address societal challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss (Cohen-Shacham et al. 2019).

The protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrass meadows and tidal marshes, have gained attention as powerful NbS (Figure 2). Healthy blue carbon ecosystems are vital to enhance resilience, adaptation, biodiversity, livelihoods and climate mitigation. These ecosystems can sequester and store carbon dioxide (CO2) in their underlying soils over long periods at levels up to five times higher than terrestrial forests on a per hectare basis (Macreadie et al. 2021).
Accordingly, blue carbon projects focus on conserving, restoring and sustainably managing these ecosystems and have been advanced at local, national and regional scales. However, to optimise environmental, social and economic outcomes, it is critical to follow specific guidelines, principles and good practices that continue to be refined as the sector develops, and as are outlined in this report.

This report gives particular attention to the role of coastal communities, which are often responsible for managing their coastal resources, the first to feel the impacts of inaction, and thus also the first to recognise and value the services of healthy coastal ecosystems such as food provision, natural hazard protection, erosion regulation and sociocultural services, in addition to climate mitigation (Vierros 2017). Local communities are critical actors, and NbS and blue carbon projects must ensure the implementation of social and environmental safeguards, and transparent legal frameworks for local participation and/or ownership, including benefit sharing and building capacity at all levels.

Governments play a central role in protecting and restoring blue carbon ecosystems, and national and local policies and actions must be effectively implemented and supported. Integrating blue carbon management into nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement for mitigation or adaptation action can effectively support the prioritisation of implementation to protect coastal ecosystems (Blok et al. 2020). However, achieving policy coherence and balancing competing interests and mandates requires clear national and local strategies, frameworks and incentives (Burdon et al.
2019). National governments may provide stable policy signals, align funding streams and create proper incentive structures to promote the conservation and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems. To support a project’s implementation and development, multiple financial flows can be used, including public, private and mixed (i.e. public and private) (Vanderklift et al. 2019; Sumaila et al. 2021).

While NbS for climate mitigation is one approach policymakers can use to address the pressing challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainable development, reducing emissions across all sectors must still be the priority.

This report aims to advance action and understanding of blue carbon actions and their cross-cutting benefits that contribute to sustainable development and protecting biodiversity, in addition to climate adaptation and mitigation. It provides insights and recommendations on effectively implementing blue carbon projects at the national and local levels, ensuring that they are of high quality and have high environmental and social integrity, thus serving as a valuable resource for governments, local communities and other stakeholders across sectors.

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