Our Research and Learning Manager Steve Rocliffe was recently interviewed by Devex about blue carbon credit schemes, and how they should be taken to scale.
Mangroves store up to five times more carbon than other tropical forests, meaning these trees could provide great value on the voluntary carbon market, where businesses, governments, nonprofit organisations and individuals can buy emission reduction credits to offset their carbon emissions and reduce their environmental footprint.
“The theory goes that if this value can be realised and transferred to the people whose livelihoods depend on the exploitation of mangroves, it could incentivise and finance mangrove management, and help safeguard the marine ecosystems that mangroves support,” said Steve Rocliffe, research and learning manager at Blue Ventures, an organisation that rebuilds tropical fisheries with coastal communities.
But he drew a comparison between mangrove conservation efforts and marine protected areas, both of which are difficult to sell to communities, as they tend to be highly reliant on the resources to provide food and income.
“If blue carbon [finance] is to be taken to scale, it should ideally be paired with quicker returning initiatives to ensure sustained buy-in from the community,” he said.
You can read the full article here: Lessons on conservation from ‘the land of eternal mangroves’
Read the latest research on mangrove carbon stocks in southwest Madagascar.
Learn more about Blue Ventures’ work with mangroves.
