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Protecting Seagrass Through Payments for Ecosystem Services: A Community Guide
Protecting Seagrass Through Payments for Ecosystem Services: A Community Guide
Seagrasses are an important part of many coastal ecosystems worldwide. They are flowering plants, or angiosperms, and grow as ‘meadows’ in subtidal and intertidal zones in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas. They provide many ecosystem services – the benefits to people provided by ecosystems – to those who live close to them and to people further afield. For example, they act as a nursery habitat for fish and shellfish, many of which are caught by fishers, and so help to boost the populations of marine species which provide food and income. They act as a coastal buffer, protecting the shore from erosion by waves and storms. They also trap large quantities of carbon, helping to mitigate climate change.
Seagrass meadows can be damaged and lost as a result of various human activities. These threats can be direct, involving the physical damage or removal of seagrass meadows (for example by fishing gears), or indirect, including smothering by sediment from land erosion upstream. Globally, the combined threats to seagrass have caused the loss of 29% of seagrass coverage worldwide in the last 100 years.
Seagrass is currently under-recognised by many governments and inter-governmental agreements. This is in part due to lack of recognition of the benefits that it provides to people, and its perceived lack of charisma by the public in comparison to other marine ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves, which receive more public attention. Even when appropriate legislation is in place, implementation is often lacking; the funds and expertise may not be available and seagrass is easily forgotten when competing with more obvious priorities.
This document does not provide step-by-step instructions on running a community-based seagrass conservation project; it does however provide guidance and best-practice advice on how to do so and acts as a ‘signposting’ guide to resources elsewhere. It provides general guidance for doing so as well as supplementary information on setting up a Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) project. Here, we have a particular focus on carbon-based PES.
Contact details are given at the end of the document for organisations wishing to seek advice or support in establishing a community-based seagrass PES project.
State of the Science on Coastal Blue Carbon: A summary for Policy Makers
State of the Science on Coastal Blue Carbon: A summary for Policy Makers
Nicholas Institute Report
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Blue carbon strategy for South Australia
DESCRIPTION
Blue carbon is the carbon captured and stored in coastal ecosystems including seagrass meadows, saltmarshes and mangroves.
These ecosystems are carbon sinks, accumulating and retaining carbon in the plants themselves and, significantly, in the soils below. Over 95% of carbon in seagrass meadows is stored in the soils. The total amount of carbon stored within blue carbon ecosystems is called carbon stock.
The strategy’s intent is that future blue carbon projects in South Australia be supported by carbon financing from blue carbon credits, developed under the Australian Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund. Since 2014, the Emissions Reduction Fund has provided financial incentives for Australian businesses and natural resource managers to adopt new practices and technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Projects accredited under the Fund can receive carbon credits for each tonne of carbon reduction achieved. Carbon credits can then be sold to create a revenue stream.
This type of carbon financing could potentially incentivise blue carbon projects in South Australia. However, at the present time, the methodologies to enable inclusion of blue carbon projects in the Fund are still being explored. As part of the Blue Carbon Strategy, the South Australian Government will seek partnerships with the Australian, State and Territory Governments and stakeholders in the scientific and business communities, to build the evidence base, and realise the opportunities, for including blue carbon under the Emissions Reduction Fund.
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The GEO handbook on biodiversity observation network
Michele Walters
Robert J. Scholes
Editors
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-27288-7
3. Ecosystem services
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6. Method for the Study of Marine biodiversity
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8. Remote sensing for Biodiversity
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12. Using data for decision making: From observation to indicators and other policy tools
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Bộ tư liệu hỗ trợ hiểu biết về “Blue carbon”
Phiên bản đầu tiên của bộ tư liệu này (tên tiếng Anh “Blue forest carbon science toolkit version 1” đã được chuẩn bị và giới thiệu đến bạn đọc qua liên kết dưới đây:
Bạn đọc có thể tra cứu danh mục cùng các đoạn phim hướng dẫn. Rất hay và chi tiết!
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Coastal “blue” carbon: supporting wetland programs and projects
Coastal “blue” carbon: supporting wetland programs and projects
Coastal “blue” carbon: A revised guide supporting wetland programs and projects using climate finance and other financial mechanisms
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Blue Carbon
Blue Carbon
Global Options for Reducing Emissions from the Degradation and Development of Coastal Ecosystems
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