Blue carbon, the carbon captured and stored in coastal and marine ecosystems such as seagrasses, salt marshes and mangroves, is a powerful tool for the sustainable development of local communities that are often more vulnerable to climate change impacts.
Valerie Hickey, World Bank Global Director for Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy stated, “Investing in saving and replenishing mangroves, seagrasses, and other natural blue carbon storage systems can support a world free of poverty on a livable planet. These ecosystems not only store carbon, but also provide a multitude of benefits, including supporting fisheries and food security, promoting tourism and jobs, helping to protect coastal communities from climate disasters, and providing natural habitats for wildlife.”
Threats to Blue Carbon Ecosystems
The UN 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasize the importance of protecting oceans and surrounding habitats for economic, social, and environmental benefits. The SDG specific to Blue Carbon is SDG 14, Life below Water, which includes 10 targets such as reducing marine pollution, restoring coastal ecosystems, and sustainable fishing.
Despite the benefits of Blue Carbon ecosystems and 40% of the global population living in these areas, coastal habitats are destroyed annually at a rate between 0.5 to 2%. The destruction of these habitats has been widely attributed to increased activities such as farming, fishing, tourism, and aquaculture.
The loss of habitat is not only responsible for environmental impacts, such as the endangerment of key species and declining water quality, but also economic and social impacts, such as increased vulnerability to natural disasters, decline in fisheries, and instability of essential food and income sources. For instance, mangroves protect over 6 million individuals against yearly flooding events, averting an estimated loss in assets amounting to US$24 billion.
The Global Futures study predicts that by 2050, annual global losses will amount to $327 billion from damaged protections caused by flooding and erosion due to decreasing coastlines and increasing sea levels.
Monitoring Blue Carbon Ecosystems
By integrating satellite remote sensing with field testing and unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly known as drones), salt marshes and mangroves are being monitored. Once field data has been collected, it can be matched with satellite data to create statistical models and maps that can create a baseline and increase our understanding of blue carbon fluxes. The potential for earth observation technology also spans submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), including vital habitats such as kelp forests and seagrasses, which is critical for long-term carbon capture and storage.
Leveraging remote sensing data ensures accurate mapping of blue carbon habitats, enabling the prioritization of conservation efforts and selection of project sites with high carbon stocks and significant socio-economic impacts, which contribute to several intersectional SDGs including SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
Read our blog “From Space to the Sea: The Importance of Satellite Data in Blue Carbon Projects” to learn more about the increasing demand for blue carbon credits and the use of satellite-based MRV.
Blue Carbon Projects
Since Blue Carbon ecosystems have higher carbon sequestration potential compared to terrestrial counterparts, Blue Carbon credits are worth over two times more than green carbon credits.
In 2021, Conservational International launched a mangrove project in Colombia, which became the first to enter the carbon market as Verra verified blue carbon credits. Within its 30-year project lifespan, the mangrove forest is estimated to sequester 1 million metric tons of CO₂, comparable to removing approximately 180,000 cars from roads for a year. Within a year of the project’s launch, all available credits were sold, exceeding the existing market rate. The success of this project motivated a national mangrove forest program with two new forests underway.
As of 2023, the global blue carbon market is valued at over US$190 billion (81 million metric tons of carbon).
Monetary Benefits of Blue Carbon Projects: Untapped Potential
Blue carbon currently occupies a small part of the voluntary carbon market; however, the immense economic, social, and environmental potential of Blue Carbon, along with impressive developments in earth observation technology, offer actionable solutions for climate change mitigation. Moreover, the incredible success of existing projects, such as the Cispatá Bay project in Columbia and the Mikoko Pamoja forest in Kenya, signal opportunities for the viability of similar projects globally while also pinpointing key challenges and possible solutions.
Read our blog “Introduction to Voluntary Carbon Markets” to learn more about the rising demands for carbon credits.
Due to the rising commercial interest in blue carbon and the huge untapped socioeconomic and environmental potential, investors and companies globally are increasingly willing to fund mangrove and seagrass projects.
As of 2022, 9 blue carbon projects have been launched in the last 3 years, and several more are underway in developing nations like Indonesia, Honduras, and Mexico. Based on a recent study, Blue Carbon projects are expected to grow twofold in the near future. With the recent surge in international partnerships and funding, there is immense growth potential for the Blue carbon market.
