What is Blue Carbon?
Blue Carbon refers to carbon that is stored specifically in coastal and marine ecosystems.
Coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests capture and store a huge amount of carbon and are crucial in overcoming climate change.
Image Above: Mangrove Forest in Misool, Raja Ampat
In addition to reducing carbon emissions, a blue carbon approach also provides critical benefits such as: biodiversity conservation, water regulation, coastal protection from storms, and livelihoods for local communities.
Image Above: Native islanders in Misool fishing for clams using their bare hands.
Here are several important facts regarding mangroves:
Mangrove forests cover just 0.1 percent of the planet’s surface but store up to 10 times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial forests.
Mangroves contribute greatly to the economic welfare of local communities by providing nursery habitats for many commercial fish and shellfish.
Mangroves protect people and their homes from storm surges and tsunamis. They act as a natural barrier between the ocean and coastal communities.
Mangrove forests are one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world.
Mangroves hold coastlines in place and protect them from coastal erosion.
Mangroves provide a shelter to corals that are at risk of bleaching (and thus extinction) from rising ocean surface temperatures.
Why is it urgent?
Despite these amazing facts however, the reality is that blue carbon ecosystems are being degraded at an alarming rate of 1% - 7% per year, due to coastal development. Other significant threats include: unsustainable harvesting, destructive fishing, and pollution.
The deforestation of blue carbon ecosystems will not only deny the environment of these critical benefits, but also release the carbon that was stored. Thus, turning these ecosystems from carbon sinks into sources of atmospheric carbon.
Conservation and Research
The Atap Langit foundation has taken great lengths in order to protect the mangrove forests and coastal ecosystems of Raja Ampat. Working closely with the indigenous people, customary rights owners, and also the government, our foundation has been working towards establishing the ‘Blue Carbon Village’ in Misool Island which will become the primary site for Mangrove conservation and research in Raja Ampat.
Read more about the ‘Blue Carbon Village’ here.
While the 'Blue Carbon Village' project focuses on conservation, the 'Homestay Village' project focuses on education and empowerment.
Education and Empowerment
Behavioral norms are ingrained within culture, and the way we can prevent unsustainable behavior (e.g. littering) is to replace them with sustainable behavior (e.g. sorting waste). Education and empowerment will be key to creating a sustainable ecosystem where both local communities and coastal ecosystems thrive and mutually support each other. A change towards a more sustainable lifestyle will also reduce GHG emissions and plastic pollution in the long run.
Read more about the 'Homestay Village' here.
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