Coastal Blue Carbon Ecosystem, one solution for climate change

Ecosystem services are something from ecosystems that are beneficial to humans (Costanza, et al., 1998). An ecosystem service contributes various interrelated ecosystem structures and functions. Well-functioning ecosystems and proper natural resources are the basis for constant ecosystem services to humans. Ecosystem services found in coastal areas include mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass meadows and small islands. These ecosystems are interrelated in providing ecosystem services as producers in the food chain, supporting the life of organisms, namely as a nursery ground, feeding ground, and spawning ground. Mangrove and seagrass ecosystems in coastal areas are organisms capable of maintaining the carbon cycle in coastal ecosystems.

Coastal blue carbon is one of the services found in coastal areas provided by mangrove and seagrass. Blue carbon is a term for carbon absorbed by marine and coastal ecosystems. Seaweed, mangrove forests, and seagrass meadows along the coast can “capture and hold” carbon. These ecosystems act as excellent carbon sinks, and confiscate carbon at a much faster rate than forests in terrestrial areas. Most of the carbon absorbed by these ecosystems is stored underground where we can’t see it. When most of these ecosystems are damaged, large amounts of carbon will be released back into the atmosphere, which can then contribute to climate change. Around 340,000 to 980,000 hectares of these ecosystems are destroyed every year. Estimated up to 67% and at least 35% and 29% of total coverage of global mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows, are already lost. If this continues at a steady rate, then 30-40% tidal marshes, seagrass, and almost all mangroves that aren’t protected will disappear within the next 100 years.

Changes in coastal areas that occur due to land conversion and the construction of coastal structures that jut into the sea and lowering the land surface have an impact on the mangrove ecosystem function as a provider of coastal blue carbon services. Saving mangroves means that at least three billion metric tons of carbon is not released into the air. As a carbon sink and storage, mangroves can store more carbon than almost all ecosystems on earth. Mangrove forest itself has four times the capacity of ordinary forest as storage space of carbons in the soil. Unlike the terrestrial ecosystem, this coastal ecosystem is capable to absorb and store carbon in sediments continuously over a long period of time. About 50-99% carbon is absorbed by mangroves ecosystem stored in the soil at a depth of 6 meters below ground level. The carbons can be stored up to thousands of years. As for this great potential, coastal ecosystem, specifically mangrove forests play a very important role as a solution to adaptation and mitigate the impact of climate change. According to Daniel Murdiyarso, a climate researcher from the Center for International Forest Research (CIFOR, 2014), one hectare of mangrove can absorb between 600-1800 tons of carbon or if an average is used, 1,200 tons of carbon can be maintained in 1 hectare of mangrove forest. Mangrove, as a bridge between land and sea, is one of the coastal blue carbon potentials that play an important role in the utilization of carbon dioxide (CO2) for photosynthesis and storing it in biomass and sediment stocks.

Various parties have carried out programs related to mangrove conservation, including the central government in collaboration with local governments, as well as world’s environmental institutions and organizations. Several mangrove conservation programs supporting blue carbon ecosystems that have been carried out include Mangroves for the Future (MFF) Program – IUCN and UNDP Program. This was initiated in 2006, while implementation began in 2008. The objective of this program is related to coastal areas management, particularly in areas affected by climate change and disaster-prone (tsunami, floods etc.). The result is the planting of more than 1,500,000 mangroves seedlings in an area of ​​more than 150 hectares in Indonesia. Partnership for Resilience (PfR) – Wetlands International Indonesia (WII) program also has been started in 2011 and will end in 2021 in 9 countries, including Indonesia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, and so on. This activity contributes to increase community resilience through ecosystem management that combines climate change adaptation (CCA) activities with ecosystem management and restoration (EMR) into Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), as well as strengthening community capacity in dealing with disaster impacts.

At the Indonesian Conversation International (CI) on October 18, 2017, it was stated that according to 2015 data, Indonesia had 3.1 million hectares of mangrove areas. This figure is equivalent to 22% of mangrove ecosystems worldwide and 30 million hectares of the world’s largest seagrass beds. The largest mangrove area in Indonesia is in West Papua Province with an area of ​​482,029 hectares. The Kaimana Regional Government in West Papua, the University of Papua, the Marine Research and Observation Center of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and Conversation International in 2015 collaborated to calculate the carbon absorption capacity in the blue carbon ecosystem in Arguni Bay, Buruway, Etna, and Kaimana city, in Kaimana Regency. The result is that the amount of carbon stock in the 34,329 hectares mangrove land is equivalent to that produced by 19.7 million units of motorized vehicles or around 39.3 billion liters of gasoline every year. In fact, 76 thousand hectares of mangrove areas in Kaimana Regency actually store 54 million Mg Carbon with a potential uptake of up to 168,128 Mg Carbon per year. This data confirms that the mangrove ecosystem has an important role in supporting commitments to reduce emissions.

Coastal habitat is long term climate-change mitigation. Countries all over the world that have wide range of shallow waters have the opportunity to explore the mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions through efforts to protect and restore the blue carbon ecosystem it has. Blue carbon provides a new opportunity to encourage and support conservation (restoration and protection) of coastal ecosystems globally to maintain the various benefits provided by this ecosystem. Apart from that, utilization of blue carbon is also as a form of implementing the goals of a sustainable development (Sustainable Development Goals/SDGs, item 14: life bellows water – underwater life, preserving and maintaining sustainability marine life and marine resources for sustainable development).