Creating Blue Carbon Opportunities In The Maritime Archipelago Indonesia

Key messages Preserving intact ecosystems is financially more effective than restoring degraded ones. We therefore propose a moratorium on further conversion of mangroves. By doing so, there is the potential to generate $3 billion (US

Key messagesThis infobrief discusses the status, opportunities and challenges of incorporating blue carbon into the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of 13 Asia-Pacific countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam). While the role of mangroves is fully recognized in all countries' climate-change and environmental policies, only three (Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines) explicitly referred to blue carbon terminology in their policies and established a national agency responsible for the development of a blue carbon strategy.The challenges associated with incorporating and implementing blue carbon into the NDCs of these 13 countries include a lack of data and standard methodology; weak technical capacity; a lack of coordination between government agencies and sectors; overlapping mandates and inconsistent policies; the increasing degradation of coastal wetland ecosystems; as well as funding constraints for developing and implementing policies and practices in programs focusing on the conservation of blue carbon ecosystems.Nevertheless, opportunities exist as stakeholders increase their understanding and awareness of blue carbon's role and importance at an international, national and sub-national level.The factors that can help stakeholders to seize these opportunities and contribute to the restoration of blue ecosystems include more policy and technical guidance for blue carbon management and reporting; further capacity enhancement; and improved coordination and information sharing among the relevant actors.

This book presents a comprehensive and innovative understanding of the role of shallow coastal ecosystems in carbon cycling, particularly marine carbon sequestration. Incorporating a series of forward-looking chapters, the book combines thorough reviews of the global literature and regional assessments—mainly around the Indo-Pacific region and Japan—with global perspectives to provide a thorough assessment of carbon cycling in shallow coastal systems. It advocates the expansion of blue-carbon ecosystems (mangroves, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes) into macroalgal beds, tidal flats, coral reefs, and urbanized shallow waters, demonstrating the potential of these ecosystems as new carbon sinks. Moreover, it discusses not only topics that are currently the focus of blue-carbon studies, i.e., sedimentary carbon stock and accumulation rate, but also CO2 gas exchange between the atmosphere and shallow coastal ecosystems, carbon storage in the water column as refractory organic carbon, and off-site carbon storage. Including highly original contributions, this comprehensive work inspires research beyond the specific regions covered by the chapters. The suite of new concepts and approaches is refreshing and demonstrates that blue-carbon research is indeed a vibrant new field of research, providing deep insights into neglected aspects of carbon cycling in the marine environment. At the same time the book provides guidance for policy makers to deliver benefits to society, for example the inclusion of blue carbon as a carbon offset scheme or the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in the Paris Agreement, and also for building resilience in coastal socio-ecosystems through better management. This book is intended for all those interested in the science and management of coastal ecosystems.

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic state, with more than 18,000 islands and over 7.9 million square kilometres of sea. The marine frontier presents the nation with both economic opportunities and political and strategic challenges. Indonesia has been affected more than most countries in the world by a slow revolution in the management of its waters. Whereas Indonesia’s seas were once conceived administratively as little more than the empty space between islands, successive governments have become aware that this view is outmoded. The effective transfer to the seas of regulatory regimes that took shape on land, such as territoriality, has been an enduring challenge to Indonesian governments. This book addresses issues related to maritime boundaries and security, marine safety, inter-island shipping, the development of the archipelagic concept in international law, marine conservation, illegal fishing, and the place of the sea in national and regional identity.

Climate change poses a severe threat to the global ecosystem which will impact all nations around the world including ASEAN member countries. Urgent and integrated effort is critical to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide which traps heat in the atmosphere and causes climate change. Plants have the capacity to absorb and store a large amount of carbon. Recent researches suggest that seagrass ecosystem is one of the most promising carbon sequester and carbon sink. Seagrass absorbs carbon dioxide and converts it into potential energy which is stored in the form of organic carbon. The seagrass’ organic carbon and organic matter from other sources is trapped in the seagrass sediments. Due to this capacity, seagrass is recognized as a natural carbon dioxide removal (NCDR). Compared to tropical rainforests, seagrass meadows have more potential to capture and store a large amount of carbon (i.e. blue carbon). ASEAN countries share similar concerns and equal responsibility to preserve the seagrass ecosystem as a natural-based approach on mitigating global climate change. However, seagrass ecosystem in each of the ASEAN country has its own unique characteristics, posing challenges on the contribution assessment of each country. Thus, a general platform to collect data and calculate carbon sequestration from the seagrass ecosystem needs to be developed, to equally compare data and information among the ASEAN countries. Accordingly, this guideline was developed as a mean to fulfil the need.