Blue carbon in area-based coastal and marine management schemes – a review

ABSTRACT

Blue carbon ecosystems are diverse and highly productive coastal habitats (mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal marshes) that sequester large quantities of carbon and provide a suite of important ecosystem services (‘co-benefits’) for humans and the environment. These ecosystems are being threatened globally due to land-use change driven by expanding agriculture, aquaculture, coastal development, and pollution. Climatic impacts further threaten the resilience, functionality, and adaptability of blue carbon ecosystems. ‘Marine protected areas’ (MPAs) provide a statutory approach for protecting coastal and marine ecosystems, yet are unlikely to meet ‘additionality’ requirements. Whereas other effective conservation measures (OECMs) including community-based ‘locally managed marine areas’ (LMMAs) provide opportunities to enhance blue carbon conservation and restoration efforts. LMMAs likely deliver additional sequestration, although ensuring ‘permanence’ of carbon stocks may be more difficult to achieve. This review summarizes key approaches of blue carbon monitoring; governance systems; policy instruments; and investment pathways for conservation and restoration.

KEYWORDS:

• Blue carbon
• conservation and restoration
• marine protected areas
• climate change
• locally managed marine areas (LMMAs)
• carbon sequestration
• other effective conservation measures

Acknowledgements

Firstly, I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on where this paper was written, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, and pay respects to elders, past, present, and emerging. Thank you to my Grandpa, Raymond Warwick Hughes for inspiring my love and awe of nature, Vovô Moraes for inspiring my passion for education, and Vovó Biga for showing me how to care for others (beijos). I would like to thank the Editors of the Journal for being so punctual, helpful, and accommodating. Thanks to Blanche and Gemma for helping me make sense of my ideas and ensuring clarity, it would not be possible without you both. Thanks to my family for always being supportive of my decisions, and for my partner Zey for being the most encouraging, caring, and loving person in my life. Thanks to the Global Climate Change in Context 2019 cohort for putting up with me writing final drafts every night while in the field in New Zealand, and to Rigid Rock Co. for providing me with a collaborative work environment over the years. Finally, thanks to Climate for Change, Climates, and WarrandyteCAN for providing me with ongoing avenues to take and inspire public action on climate change.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Oliver Moraes was born in Florianópolis (Brazil) in 1992 to an Australian mother and Brazilian father. He grew up in Melbourne and has a double Bachelor's degree in Arts and Science from Monash University and a Master of Environment from the University of Melbourne. He has worked in Climate Change and Biodiversity Conservation across Australia, the U.S. and Fiji.