The Blue Carbon Iniative

Protecting and restoring the coastal ecosystems that help mitigate climate change.

The Problem

The coastal ecosystems of mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows — found on every continent except Antarctica — protect coasts from storms and sea level rise, help prevent shoreline erosion, and regulate coastal water quality. They provide habitat for commercially important fisheries and endangered marine species, and food security for many coastal communities. They also sequester and store significant amounts of coastal “blue carbon” from the atmosphere and ocean and hence are now recognized for their role in mitigating climate change. And yet, coastal blue carbon ecosystems are some of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth, with an estimated 340,000 to 980,000 hectares being destroyed each year, largely due to coastal development, water pollution, and climate change. When degraded or lost, these ecosystems can become significant sources of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

The Solution

The Blue Carbon Initiative brings together governments, research institutions, non-governmental organizations and communities from around the world to protect and restore coastal ecosystems for their role in reducing impacts of global climate change. The initiative develops projects at sites globally, drives research into the sequestration, storage, and loss of carbon from blue carbon systems, and convenes two major working groups to provide guidance for needed research, project implementation and policy priorities.

Stage of Development

  • Early Stage
  • Established Prototype
  • Scaling
  • Other

Organization to Receive Funds

The Blue Carbon Iniative

This project was nominated by: