What is Blue Carbon?

How do blue carbon ecosystems work?

Similar to tropical forests, blue carbon ecosystems sequester carbon through the process of photosynthesis. Although, amazingly, its thought that mangroves absorb at least double the amount of carbon dioxide per year as land forests do.

But these coastal systems don’t just function as carbon sinks. They also play a pivotal role in protecting against storms and rising sea levels. These ecosystems help regulate coastal water quality and prevent shoreline erosion, as well as providing a habitat for many endangered marine species.

How do we support these ecosystems?

As with all natural habitats, these natural carbon sinks are under threat from human activity. Experts believe they’re disappearing faster than land forests. Those experts worry that as more are destroyed, alarming amounts of stored carbon (some of it thousands of years old!) is being released back into the atmosphere. This destruction also puts the lives of local people at risk, causing fish numbers to plummet, and local arable land to be polluted by saline water ordinarily filtered out by mangroves.

It is therefore crucial that we work to restore and conserve these carbon capturing powerhouses. Fortunately countries around the world are initiating major conservation projects, and from India to Indonesia reforestation is taking place. This proves that we can use marine ecosystems as an effective tool in mitigating climate change.

Further resources

You can check out our recent work with ARC Marine, who are manufacturing sustainable reef products to restore reefs off the south coast of the UK, here. And if you’re ready to discuss your own businesses’ carbon emissions, and take the first steps to reduce your impact on the planet, you can book a call with our team here.