Avoided emissions and conservation of scrub mangroves: potential for a Blue Carbon project in the Gulf of California, Mexico

Abstract

Mangroves are considered ideal ecosystems for Blue Carbon projects. However, because of their short stature, some mangroves (‘scrub’ mangroves, less than 2 m) do not fulfil the current definition of ‘forests’, which makes them ineligible for emission reduction programmes such as REDD+. Short stature mangroves can be the dominant form of mangroves in arid and nutrient-poor landscapes, and emissions from their deforestation and degradation could be substantial. Here, we describe a Blue Carbon project in the Gulf of California, Mexico, to illustrate that projects that avoid emissions from deforestation and degradation could provide financial resources to protect mangroves that cannot be included in other emission reduction programmes. The goal of the project is to protect 16 058 ha of mangroves through conservation concessions from the Mexican Federal Government. The cumulative avoided emissions of the project are 2.84 million Mg CO 2 over 100 years, valued at $US 426 000 per year (US$15 per Mg CO 2 in the California market). The funds could be used for community-based projects that will improve mangrove management, such as surveillance, eradication of invasive species, rehabilitation after tropical storms and environmental education. The strong institutional support, secure financial status, community engagement and clear project boundaries provide favourable conditions to implement this Blue Carbon project. Financial resources from Blue Carbon projects, even in mangroves of short stature, can provide substantial resources to enhance community resilience and mangrove protection.

A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Nitrogen Pollution in a Coastal Region with Mangroves of the Southern Gulf of Mexico

“…The alteration of mangrove functioning as a consequence of N enrichment may reduce the goods and services they provide, such as coastal fisheries or the improvement of water quality [17]. In Mexico, tourism, agricultural and urban development along the coast cause serious mangrove degradation [26], affecting the resilience of coastal lagoons [27]. Additionally, high N concentrations in mangroves enables the growth of exotic species [25].…”

Antibiotics, Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria, and Antibiotic Resistance Genes: Indicators of Contamination in Mangroves?

“…One of the clearest effects of rapid urbanization is its impact on the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in the short and long term [ 66 ], which is a factor related to global warming. This negative effect of urbanization is closely related to one of the most critical ecosystem services of mangroves, which counter the concentration of greenhouses gasses by CO 2 sequestration from the atmosphere, known as blue carbon [ 2 , 3 ]. Nevertheless, urbanization brings high rates of CO 2 emissions and a diversity of emerging contaminants such as antibiotics, which represent an accumulative risk for the health of the ecosystem [ 67 ].…”

“…Over 62 plant species including trees, shrubs, palms, and mangroves are found in the mangrove ecosystem; all the plants have common traits that allow them to survive periodic flooding, high salinity, and anoxic sediments [ 1 ]. These ecosystems offer many environmental advantages to human populations, such as carbon sequestration [ 2 , 3 ], nutrient sinks facilitated by denitrification and nitrogen fixation [ 4 ], influence on the structure and conservation of marine communities [ 5 , 6 ], and aiding in the stabilization of coastlines due to wave attenuation [ 7 ]. Mangroves are also a source of wood [ 8 ] and an important travel and tourism destination [ 9 ].…”

Accelerated Sea‐Level Rise Limits Vegetation Capacity to Sequester Soil Carbon in Coastal Wetlands: A Study Case in Southeastern Australia

“…These results have significant implications for the management of coastal wetlands. Currently, coastal wetland accounting, wetland creation, wetland rehabilitation and wetland protection frameworks have identified the significance of wetland conservation for emission reduction programs such as REDD+ (Adame et al, 2018;Cameron et al, 2019;Rogers, Macreadie, et al, 2019). Rehabilitated wetlands have shown great capacity to sequester soil carbon at rates similar or higher than those of natural wetlands (Cameron et al, 2019) and created wetlands seem to be able to cope with the effects of sea-level rise under current conditions and the more conservative emissions scenarios (Krauss et al, 2017).…”