Blue carbon is stored in mangroves, seagrass and sediments. Discussions at the UN Ocean Decade conference reiterate the importance of preserving existing sea floor habitats, before it’s too late.
Mangrove forests are shrinking due to human activities, yet they’re essential for shoreline protection and carbon sequestration. Ongoing research explores the concept of “floating” mangrove forests.
Any plan to dam or extract water from some of Australia’s last wild rivers must carefully consider the consequences. Prawn, mud crab and barramundi fisheries could suffer in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Rising seas are pushing coastal ecosystems to the limit of endurance. Now international research reveals a “tipping point” will be reached if we allow more than 2 degrees of global warming.
Marine sediments are the world’s largest store of carbon, and fiords in particular are a massive sink. But New Zealand doesn’t even have an oceans policy to develop blue carbon climate policy.
One of the most damaging invasive species in the oceans has breached a major barrier – the Amazon-Orinoco river plume – and is spreading along Brazil’s coast. Scientists are trying to catch up.
Karizki Hadyanafi, National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS); Bimo Dwisatrio, Centre for International Forestry Research, and Sandy Nofyanza, Centre for International Forestry Research
As the world’s largest archipelagic state, Indonesia has great potential to earn carbon credits to protect its endangered mangroves and seagrass – which now store around 17% of global “blue carbon”.
Sara Ahmed, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune
On the border between India and Bangladesh, the Sundarbans suffer from overexploitation and rising sea levels. With a “Climate Wall” project, a virtual museum is raising awareness and increasing resiliency.
Lyla Mehta, Institute of Development Studies; D Parthasarathy, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and Shibaji Bose, National Institute of Technology Durgapur
Facing human threats, Mumbai’s Koli community are taking risk reduction into their own hands – other vulnerable coastal settlements should take note.