Across Southeast Asia, blue and teal carbon sinks are simultaneously understudied and over-exploited. Southeast Asia contains the world’s highest concentration of blue carbon stocks, with over 5 million hectares (mha) of mangrove forests and seagrass meadows spanning almost 37,000km2.
Yet aquaculture and agriculture are destroying Southeast Asia’s aquatic carbon sinks at the highest rate globally, with mangrove losses exceeding 2.5mha between 2002 and 2012 and seagrasses being lost to a combination of coastal development, rising sea levels and marine pollution at an estimated rate of 20,000ha per year.
We aim to support Singapore’s Green Plan 2030 in safeguarding our coastlines against climate change threats and impacts, including through contributions to the limited knowledge about blue carbon financing.
As such, we will explore land-water connections in governance of blue carbon stocks by examining human impact to carbon loss in aquatic carbon sinks, and understanding how governance can alleviate or reverse these pressures.
Publications:
Quevedo JMD, Ferrera CM, Faylona MGPG & Kohsaka R (2024) A multi-framework analysis of stakeholders’ perceptions in developing a localized blue carbon ecosystems strategy in Eastern Samar, Philippines. Ambio 53(5): 776-794.
Quevedo JMD & Kohsaka R (2024) A systematic review of cultural ecosystem services of blue carbon ecosystems: Trends, gaps, and challenges in Asia and beyond. Marine Policy 159, 105898.
Miller MA & Tonoto P (2023) Leveraging plural valuations of mangroves for climate interventions in Indonesia. Sustainability Science 18(3): 1533-1547
Next:
Carbon Governance in Southeast Asia (CGSEA) 