India’s extensive coastline supports all three recognized blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs): mangroves, seagrasses and saltmarshes, with limited spatial and long-term data on seagrasses and saltmarshes. Under the guidance of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), BCEs can be included for their climate change mitigation capacity under nationally determined contributions (NDCs). These coastal ecosystems also play a vital role in climate change adaptation, providing multiple co-benefits. There is further scope for their inclusion in National Adaptation Plans, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This study presents 10 priority areas for blue carbon science and policy development in India, identified from a consultative workshop held in Gujarat, India in January 2024. The priority themes that emerged included—data on BCEs extent and stocks across India, establishment of long-term monitoring programmes, assessment of BCEs co-benefits and creation of programmes for capacity building, alternative livelihoods and equitable conservation and restoration. Based on these priorities, a five-step blue carbon roadmap is outlined to support the development of an ambitious national programme for BCEs. Standardized methods and scientific approaches will ensure India’s ongoing efforts to protect and restore these vulnerable coastal habitats. This will contribute significantly to realizing the global benefits of BCEs for climate, people and nature.
Tag: blue carbon
The blue carbon mangrove value chain framework
Key messages
- The blue carbon mangrove value chain (BCMVC) connects global commitments to local impacts. It links climate and biodiversity targets with on-the-ground mangrove management, aligning policy, finance and socioeconomic community outcomes across scales.
- The BCMVC is not only about carbon credit or its monetization. It must integrate ecological integrity and social values alongside economic returns to support legitimacy, equity and long-term sustainability.
- Implementation and scaling depend on enabling conditions, investment-ready systems and actor-specific capacities. Government institutions require stronger planning and coordination capacities; project developers need measurement, reporting and verification, and financing skills; and local communities require capacities to participate as rights holders, as co-investors (socially and economically) and as negotiators in decision making, monitoring and benefit-sharing processes.
Strengthening stakeholder capacities for equitable blue carbon mangrove: Mapping capacities and gaps in two pilot sites in Indonesia
Key messages
- Mangrove blue carbon presents opportunities for climate change mitigation, and other environmental and socioeconomic benefits for coastal communities, but capacity to engage effectively and fully in mangrove blue carbon financial investments is unevenly distributed across the blue carbon mangrove value chain.
- Although mangrove management capacities are increasingly present in Indonesia, gaps are evident in areas such as project development; measurement, reporting and verification (MRV); and engagement with carbon and non-carbon market mechanisms.
- Strengthening practical capacities alone is not sufficient: these must be supported by empowering governance arrangements and enabling institutions and be underpinned by strong foundational capacities. These are needed to ensure that stakeholders can move beyond project implementation roles towards sustained participation, leadership and innovation across the blue carbon value chain. In the Indonesian context, fragmented coordination, unclear distribution of mandates, and varying levels of capacity across sectors and government continue to be key barriers to effective and scalable blue carbon value chain implementation.
- Community groups play a central role in mangrove management, yet require stronger institutional recognition, clearer mandates and sustained capacity development support to participate effectively and fully in emerging blue carbon initiatives.
- Targeted, long-term and competency-based capacity development is needed to strengthen and develop stakeholder engagement; improve institutional readiness; and build trust and confidence among communities, government, private sectors and investors in Indonesia’s blue carbon initiatives and financing mechanisms.
Strengthening capacities for equitable blue carbon finance in Indonesia (e-Blue): A research-for-capacity approach
This project is a partnership between CIFOR-ICRAF and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) that began in 2025 to address a key knowledge gap among ESCAP member states. While many member states see carbon financing as a policy priority, understanding of the opportunities, risks, and bottlenecks in blue carbon finance remains limited. CIFOR-ICRAF was brought in to strengthen this understanding, enhance member state capacities, and build regional networking around blue carbon. The collaboration focuses on how blue carbon mangrove value chains (BCMVC) function and are governed at national and subnational levels, aiming to turn research insights directly into actionable capacity development.
The objectives of the project are to (i) deepen understanding of governance and finance along the chain; (ii) strengthen capacities of governments and communities to engage equitably; and (iii) foster regional learning through a learning package, an e-course in English and Bahasa Indonesia, and regional knowledge-sharing events.
Challenges and opportunities in blue carbon mangrove value chain financing in Indonesia
Key messages
- Public finance remains the backbone of mangrove investment in Indonesia, channelling resources through national budgets, subnational implementation systems and international partnerships.
- Market-based mechanisms, especially voluntary carbon approaches, have gained the most attention in blue carbon mangrove value chain (BCMVC) financing based on integrating monitoring systems with national carbon registries, with civil society organizations taking a leading role in grounding, developing and testing diverse business models.
- Indonesia has established a strong regulatory and institutional framework for blue carbon finance and investment, but scaling will depend on transaction readiness. Priority actions include clarifying carbon rights and authorization, strengthening benefit sharing arrangements, improving the affordability and credibility of measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), and operationalizing trust funds, PPPs and revenue-linked systems so projects can move from design to deals.
- A well-designed blue carbon mangrove value chain can generate triple dividends through climate mitigation and adaptation, coastal resilience and biodiversity gains, and improved livelihoods and social equity, especially when local communities are engaged as co-designers, co-managers and beneficiaries.
- Governance and capacity are the main enablers of equitable scaling. Capacity development should focus on what makes projects investable and inclusive, particularly MRV, project structuring, benefit sharing and community negotiation skills, so government, communities and market actors can reduce transaction costs and deliver credible, bankable mangrove projects.
Assessment of mangrove structures and biomass on islands along the Java Sea: a case study on Bawean Islands and Karimunjawa Islands
Mangroves on the islands along the Java Sea play a crucial role in supporting biodiversity, protecting coastlines, and sequestering carbon. However, there is a lack of information on mangrove structure and biomass in the area. This study aimed to assess the mangrove structures and biomass on Desa Daun, located on the Bawean Islands, and Kemujan Island, located on the Karimunjawa Islands, respectively. The study utilized a combination of line transect and quadrant plot methods with a size plot of 10×10 m. We established 7 line transects and 28 quadrant plots in the mangrove forest of Desa Daun and similarly set up 7 line transects and 21 quadrant plots on Kemujan Island. Within each quadrant, the mangrove species were identified, and their diameters at breast height (DBH) were recorded. To assess the relative significance of each species, the importance value index (IVI) was calculated, and allometric equations were applied to estimate biomass and carbon storage in the trees. PlanetScope imagery was also used to quantify the carbon stock of mangroves on those islands. In Desa Daun, 13 mangrove species were identified, while 12 species were recorded on Kemujan Island. The species Nypa fruticans and Excoecaria agallocha exhibited the highest IVI in Desa Daun and Kemujan Island, respectively. Notably, Rhizophora apiculata demonstrated the greatest biomass in both locations, with measurements of 43.08 Mg B/ha in Desa Daun and 102.22 Mg B/ha in Kemujan Island. Overall, mangrove stands on Desa Daun stored biomass of 113.60 Mg B/ha and carbon of 50.98 Mg C/ha, whereas mangrove stands on Kemujan Island stored biomass of 295.04 Mg B/ha and carbon of 131.95 Mg C/ha. Mangrove stands of the whole Bawean Islands sequestered 22,941 Mg C, while Karimunjawa Islands hold much higher C stocks, 79,451 Mg C. Despite being smaller in size, the Karimunjawa Islands have more extensive mangrove coverage compared to the Bawean Islands due to their geomorphological characteristics, which in turn influence their mangrove structures and carbon stocks. However, the loss of mangroves in the Karimunjawa Islands due to aquaculture expansions could increase carbon loss in the islands.
i-Mangrove Blue Carbon Dashboard: A mangrove-based climate solutions mapping tool to support high-integrity blue actions
Key messages
- Indonesia holds one of the world’s largest opportunities for mangrove-based climate mitigation, with over 300,000 ha of degraded mangrove areas and cumulative historical emissions of 257 Mt CO₂e resulting from 24 years of mangrove loss during 2001–2024.
- Aquaculture-driven conversion remains the largest source of mangrove carbon emissions, generating emission factors higher than those from mangrove deforestation and highlighting crucial priorities for targeted intervention.
- The i-Mangrove Blue Carbon Dashboard provides the first fully integrated, transparent and spatially explicit measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) system for mangrove loss drivers, carbon emissions and restoration potential opportunity across Indonesia, forming a scientific foundation for high-integrity climate actions.
- High-integrity climate actions through mangrove blue carbon in Indonesia are potentially viable, with annual mitigation potential reaching approximately 12.24 Mt CO₂e yr–1 from avoided emissions and targeted restoration efforts.
- Adoption of the i-Mangrove Blue Carbon Dashboard strengthens implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), enables credible blue carbon markets and guides cost-effective investments by governments, donors and project developers.
- The dashboard provides foundational data that can be integrated into Indonesia’s carbon market infrastructure, including potential applications under Indonesia Carbon Exchange (IDX Carbon).
Mangrove-based carbon market projects: Current trends and future perspectives
Blue carbon ecosystems are among the largest carbon sinks in the world, with significant potential for carbon sequestration in their biomass, soils and sediments. Blue carbon credits offer companies the opportunity to offset their residual carbon emissions and achieve their carbon neutrality commitments. Mangrove-based carbon market projects (MbCMP) contribute greatly to the global supply of blue carbon credits in the voluntary carbon market (VCM). Thus, the current trends, challenges and opportunities intrinsic to MbCMP development, implementation and management need to be assessed on a global scale. We conducted a comprehensive systematic review and retrieved 260 articles, including 84 peer-reviewed articles and 176 gray literature from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Google searches, from January 2010 to December 2024. In addition, we explored the databases of carbon certification standard registries to obtain up-to-date information of MbCMP. We present the results and discuss insights grouped into the following categories: (i) geographic distribution and current status of MbCMP, (ii) trends in development and growth, (iii) challenges faced, and (iv) proposed solutions to improve the quality and integrity of MbCMP. The recommendations include: (a) improving transparency and governance, (b) advancing risk management and adaptation, (c) building scientific and technical skills of stakeholders, (d) enhancing capacity building, community engagement and knowledge sharing, (e) strengthening policy support and institutions, (f) upscaling projects, (g) protecting complex and insecure land tenure systems, (h) safeguarding financial resources and equitable sharing of benefits, and (i) increasing accuracy of monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) data. Although significant challenges remain, the reduction in global mangrove loss, driven by recent improvements in conservation, protection and restoration initiatives, provides immense optimism for the growth and sustainability of the MbCMP sector with true benefits in terms of climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation.
Standard and Methodology for the Development and Certification of Mangrove Blue Carbon Projects in Indonesia
Mangrove blue carbon holds high economic value, making the development of investment-based projects reliant on robust standards and methodologies. The Standards and Methodologies Document for the Development and Certification of Mangrove Blue Carbon Projects in Indonesia outlines procedures for developing mangrove blue carbon projects using standards and methodologies that take into account both national regulations and internationally recognized frameworks. It details the standards for defining spatial and temporal boundaries and for carbon stock accounting for each category of mangrove blue carbon projects, presented within the context of the project development cycle.
The methodologies described include the establishment of baselines (both historical and scenario-based), calculation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, and approaches for integrating national and international methodologies. This document refers to several technical references such as the User Manual of the National Registry System for Climate Change Control (SRN PPI) and the Guidelines for the Certification Scheme on Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction (SPEI), as well as national regulations including Presidential Regulation No. 98 Year 2021 and Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 21 Year 2022. In addition, it aligns with international standards such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Plan Vivo (PV), and the Emission Reduction Fund (ERF).
Towards comprehensive blue carbon accounting in Vietnam
Key messages
- The Government of Vietnam pays great attention to protecting mangrove ecosystems as they play a vital role in climate change mitigation. In 2024, the government issued Technical Guidelines for Biomass and Carbon Stock Estimation of Mangrove Forests (Decision No. 316/QD-LN-SXLN). These Guidelines aim to standardize estimates for biomass and carbon stock, and increase carbon storage from their restoration. This brief looks at required improvements to the Guidelines to help Vietnam join the blue carbon market.
- Better estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from converted mangroves are needed to understand baseline emissions from anthropogenic disturbances in mangrove forests, as well as the impact of ending conversion of mangroves to other uses like aquaculture. To that end, better information on conversion and land-management practices is needed. This includes excavation depth for construction of aquaculture ponds and infrastructure development, nitrogen inputs for aquaculture production, and knowledge on crop types, drainage depth, and GHG budgets in mangroves converted to agriculture.
- More refined estimates of GHG emissions from converted mangroves can help shed light on baseline emissions from anthropogenic disturbances in mangrove forests, as well as the impact of ending conversion of mangroves to other uses like aquaculture.
- Strategic alignment with established blue carbon standards—such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and the Gold Standard (GS) Framework—would enable Vietnam to harness the full potential of its mangrove ecosystems for high-integrity blue carbon crediting.
- Integrating remote sensing and machine learning techniques with species-level classification data can significantly enhance the accuracy and robustness of blue carbon accounting in mangrove ecosystems.