What Is Blue Carbon And What Makes Them Significant Net Carbon Sinks?

India's commitment to its net-zero goal by 2070 requires it to investigate all available options and make the most of them. However, this opportunity is not emphasized in India's "Long-Term Low-Carbon Development Strategy" that was submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

What is Blue Carbon?

Blue Carbon refers to coastal, aquatic and marine carbon sinks held by vegetation, marine organisms, and sediments. Mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows are examples of coastal ecosystems that contain substantial stores of carbon that have been accumulated over centuries by vegetation and other natural processes.

Compared to terrestrial forests, these ecosystems store and sequester more carbon¡ªknown as "blue carbon"¡ªper unit area. These vegetated ecosystems are now being recognized for their role in mitigating climate change because of their capacity to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. This makes them significant net carbon sinks.

The process of capturing and long-term storing carbon dioxide, either directly from the point of production or from the atmosphere (e.g., carbon capture and storage), is known as carbon sequestration.

AFP/Representational Image

What is the significance of Blue carbon?

Two-thirds of the Earth's surface is covered in water and thus, the Coastal ecosystem becomes more relevant for carbon sink.

As Coastal ecosystems can store carbon for long periods of time, it reduces the negative effects of climate change. It absorbs toxins like heavy metals, nutrients, and suspended matter which will be useful for improving water quality.

It stops eutrophication, which is when a lake or other body of water has too many nutrients, usually from runoff. Along with improving the health of the fisheries ecosystem, it provides locals with employment and income. It will further develop the tourism industry and materials for building or ingredients for medications.

AFP/Representational Image

What is the Blue Carbon Initiative?

The Blue Carbon Initiative is a global program that aims to protect and restore coastal and marine ecosystems in order to reduce the effects of climate change. It is coordinated by Conservation International (CI), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (IOC-UNESCO).

To ensure the preservation, restoration, and sustainable use of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, the Blue Carbon Initiative (BCI) works to develop management strategies, financial incentives, and policy mechanisms.

It collaborates with national, international, and local governments to advance policies that encourage the management, financing, and conservation of coastal blue carbon. Projects all over the world that demonstrate the viability of blue carbon accounting, management, and incentive agreements will use these comprehensive methods to assess blue carbon stocks and emissions.

AFP/Representational Image

India and Blue carbon

India has a coastline that is more than 7,500 kilometers long. According to Anirban Akhand et. al. (2022), "about 5,000 sq. km of mangroves, 500 sq. km of seagrasses, and anywhere between 300 to 1400 sq. km of salt marshes which cumulatively adds up to about 0.5 percent of the country¡¯s total area."

These coastal systems can store carbon much more quickly and for millions of years, despite their small size. They are capable of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) up to 20 times more effectively than any other terrestrial ecosystem, including boreal and tropical forests.

Currently, their total potential for carbon sequestration has been estimated to be 702.42 million tons or 22% of India's annual carbon emissions. If the mangrove cover is preserved and protected, it has also been estimated that there is an additional potential for sequestration of 207.91 million tonnes of CO2e.

For more on explainers, news, and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.