Turning the Tide: How Blue Carbon and Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) Might Help Save Mangrove Forests

Abstract

In this review paper, we aim to describe the potential for, and the key challenges to, applying PES projects to mangroves. By adopting a ''carbocentric approach,'' we show that mangrove forests are strong candidates for PES projects. They are particularly well suited to the generation of carbon credits because of their unrivaled potential as carbon sinks, their resistance and resilience to natural hazards, and their extensive provision of Ecosystem Services other than carbon sequestration, primarily nursery areas for fish, water purification and coastal protection, to the benefit of local communities as well as to the global population. The voluntary carbon market provides opportunities for the development of appropriate protocols and good practice case studies for mangroves at a small scale, and these may influence larger compliance schemes in the future. Mangrove habitats are mostly located in developing countries on communally or state-owned land. This means that issues of national and local governance, land ownership and management, and environmental justice are the main challenges that require careful planning at the early stages of mangrove PES projects to ensure successful outcomes and equitable benefit sharing within local communities.

Can greening of aquaculture sequester blue carbon?

“…The translocation of shrimp farming from mangroves to IMTA would reduce blue carbon emissions and help facilitate mangrove regeneration through replanting. Payments for ecosystem services through a scheme of blue carbon offsets could significantly enhance prospects for mangrove restoration (Locatelli et al 2014). Mangrove forests sequester blue carbon at a rate of 1.15-1.39 t ha -1 annually (Bouillon et al 2008;Nellemann et al 2009;Siikamäki et al 2012).…”

Environment and Biodiversity: Priorities for Protecting Natural Capital and Competitiviness in Latin America and the Caribbean

“…Several studies on the problems of deforestation and overexploitation of fishery resources in LAC have emphasized the absence of property rights and tenure security as primary causes of this situation (Castilla and Defeo 2001, Larson et al 2006, Blackman et al 2014, Locatelli et al 2014. These studies highlight the premise that property rights and tenure security promote a more productive and sustainable use of resources and foster long-term investments to improve the state and value of the territory and its resources (Kaimowitz 1996, Barbier et al 2011).…”

Payments for ecosystem services in developing world fisheries

“…Discussion has been directed towards the development of payments for the protection of coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, particularly for their role in carbon sequestration, where lessons can be drawn more easily from terrestrial experience (Lau ; Locatelli et al . ). However, interest in the application of PES in fisheries has emerged in recent years (Lau ; Binet et al .…”