scholarly journals Potential for Return on Investment in Rehabilitation-Oriented Blue Carbon Projects: Accounting Methodologies and Project Strategies

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Duncan ◽  
Jurgenne H. Primavera ◽  
Nicholas A. O. Hill ◽  
Dominic C. J. Wodehouse ◽  
Heather J. Koldewey
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Return On Investment ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Carbon Markets ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Carbon Prices

Opportunities to boost climate change mitigation and adaptation (CCMA) and sustainable conservation financing may lie in enhancing blue carbon sequestration, particularly in developing nations where coastal ecosystems are extensive and international carbon markets offer comparatively attractive payments for environmental stewardship. While blue carbon is receiving increased global attention, few credit-generating projects are operational, due to low credit-buyer incentives with uncertainty in creditable emissions reductions and high project costs. Little empirical guidance exists for practitioners to quantify return-on-investment (ROI) and viability of potential projects, particularly for rehabilitation where multiple implementation options exist with diverse associated costs. We map and model drivers of mangrove natural regeneration (NR) using remote sensing (high-resolution satellite imagery segmentation and time-series modeling), and subsequent carbon sequestration using field- and literature-derived data, across abandoned aquaculture ponds in the Philippines. Using project-specific cost data, we then assess ROI for a hypothetical rehabilitation-focused mangrove blue carbon project at a 9.68 ha abandoned pond over a 10-year timeframe, under varied rehabilitation scenarios [NR vs. assisted natural regeneration (ANR) with planting], potential emissions reduction accreditation methodologies, carbon prices and discount rates. NR was faster in lower-lying ponds with lower tidal exposure (greater pond dike retention). Forecasted carbon sequestration was 3.7- to 5.2-fold and areal “greenbelt” regeneration 2.5- to 3.4-fold greater in our case study under ANR than NR. Variability in modeled sequestration rates drove high uncertainty and credit deductions in NR strategies. ROI with biomass-only accreditation was low and negative under NR and ANR, respectively. ROI was greater under ANR with inclusion of biomass and autochthonous soil carbon; however, neither strategy was highly profitable at current voluntary market carbon prices. ANR was the only scenario that fulfilled coastal protection greenbelt potential, with full mangrove cover within 10 years. Our findings highlight the benefits of ANR and soils inclusion in rehabilitation-oriented blue carbon projects, to maximize carbon sequestration and greenbelt enhancement (thus enhance pricing with potential bundled credits), and minimize forecasting uncertainty and credit-buyers’ perceived risk. An ANR rehabilitation strategy in low-lying, sea-facing abandoned ponds with low biophysical intervention costs may represent large blue carbon CCMA opportunities in regions with high aquaculture abandonment.

scholarly journals Linking sustainable local economic development to a market-based carbon control regime: Carbon restoration projects in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa using Portulacaria afra

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Polak ◽  
Jeanette Snowball
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Carbon Market ◽  
Carbon Markets ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Carbon Credits ◽  
Land Restoration ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation

Orientation: There is growing interest in how international climate change mitigation and adaptation programmes play out at the local level.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the link between land restoration and carbon sequestration projects in the Eastern Cape, using Portulacaria afra (Spekboom), and market-based approaches to address global climate change.Motivation for the study: The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest areas of the country, and there is great emphasis on the establishment of economically and environmentally sustainable, as well as socially just, local economic development (LED) initiatives. However, LED projects are often not sustainable in the long run.Research design, approach and method: A mixed methods design, using data on international carbon markets, and key stakeholder interviews with those involved in LED land restoration programmes, was used. Qualitative results were analysed using Connelly’s (2007) framework for sustainable development, which included indicators for environmental protection, economic growth and social justice.Main findings: Stakeholders perceive the long-term financial sustainability of such projects as resting on their ability to earn carbon credits, despite the current very low international carbon prices.Practical/managerial implications: The long-term success of carbon-based restoration projects may depend on the establishment of a local carbon market or continued public funding. Upfront costs of land restoration projects are high and return only starts years later.Contribution/value-add: The establishment of a South African carbon market that helps carbon sequestration LED projects to meet the technical and administrative requirements needed to sell carbon credits will be an important determinant of their sustainability.

scholarly journals How Blue Carbon Ecosystems Are Perceived by Local Communities in the Coral Triangle: Comparative and Empirical Examinations in the Philippines and Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Jay Mar D. Quevedo ◽  
Yuta Uchiyama ◽  
Kevin Muhamad Lukman ◽  
Ryo Kohsaka
Keyword(s):  
Global Climate ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
Utilization Rate ◽  
Coral Triangle ◽  
Factors Affecting

Blue carbon ecosystem (BCE) initiatives in the Coral Triangle Region (CTR) are increasing due to their amplified recognition in mitigating global climate change. Although transdisciplinary approaches in the “blue carbon” discourse and collaborative actions are gaining momentum in the international and national arenas, more work is still needed at the local level. The study pursues how BCE initiatives permeate through the local communities in the Philippines and Indonesia, as part of CTR. Using perception surveys, the coastal residents from Busuanga, Philippines, and Karimunjawa, Indonesia were interviewed on their awareness, utilization, perceived threats, and management strategies for BCEs. Potential factors affecting residents’ perceptions were explored using multivariate regression and correlation analyses. Also, a comparative analysis was done to determine distinctions and commonalities in perceptions as influenced by site-specific scenarios. Results show that, despite respondents presenting relatively high awareness of BCE services, levels of utilization are low with 42.9–92.9% and 23.4–85.1% respondents in Busuanga and Karimunjawa, respectively, not directly utilizing BCE resources. Regression analysis showed that respondents’ occupation significantly influenced their utilization rate and observed opposite correlations in Busuanga (positive) and Karimunjawa (negative). Perceived threats are found to be driven by personal experiences—occurrence of natural disasters in Busuanga whereas discerned anthropogenic activities (i.e., land-use conversion) in Karimunjawa. Meanwhile, recognized management strategies are influenced by the strong presence of relevant agencies like non-government and people’s organizations in Busuanga and the local government in Karimunjawa. These results can be translated as useful metrics in contextualizing and/or enhancing BCE management plans specifically in strategizing advocacy campaigns and engagement of local stakeholders across the CTR.

Conservation of Blue Carbon Ecosystems for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

2019 ◽  
pp. 965-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Serrano ◽  
Jeffrey J. Kelleway ◽  
Catherine Lovelock ◽  
Paul S. Lavery
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Change Mitigation

scholarly journals Brazilian Mangroves: Blue Carbon Hotspots of National and Global Relevance to Natural Climate Solutions

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre S. Rovai ◽  
Robert R. Twilley ◽  
Thomas A. Worthington ◽  
Pablo Riul
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
National Level ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Woody Biomass ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Amazon Forest ◽  
Nationally Determined Contributions ◽  
Natural Climate

Mangroves are known for large carbon stocks and high sequestration rates in biomass and soils, making these intertidal wetlands a cost-effective strategy for some nations to compensate for a portion of their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. However, few countries have the national-level inventories required to support the inclusion of mangroves into national carbon credit markets. This is the case for Brazil, home of the second largest mangrove area in the world but lacking an integrated mangrove carbon inventory that captures the diversity of coastline types and climatic zones in which mangroves are present. Here we reviewed published datasets to derive the first integrated assessment of carbon stocks, carbon sequestration rates and potential CO2eq emissions across Brazilian mangroves. We found that Brazilian mangroves hold 8.5% of the global mangrove carbon stocks (biomass and soils combined). When compared to other Brazilian vegetated biomes, mangroves store up to 4.3 times more carbon in the top meter of soil and are second in biomass carbon stocks only to the Amazon forest. Moreover, organic carbon sequestration rates in Brazilian mangroves soils are 15–30% higher than recent global estimates; and integrated over the country’s area, they account for 13.5% of the carbon buried in world’s mangroves annually. Carbon sequestration in Brazilian mangroves woody biomass is 10% of carbon accumulation in mangrove woody biomass globally. Our study identifies Brazilian mangroves as a major global blue carbon hotspot and suggest that their loss could potentially release substantial amounts of CO2. This research provides a robust baseline for the consideration of mangroves into strategies to meet Brazil’s intended Nationally Determined Contributions.

scholarly journals Improving Estimates of Coastal Carbon Sequestration

Eos ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Tidal Marsh ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Model Approach

A new two-model approach could reduce uncertainties in calculated rates of “blue carbon” accumulation within soils of seagrass, tidal marsh, and mangrove habitats.

scholarly journals Forest Landowners' Willingness to Sell Carbon Credits: A Pilot Study

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena S. Fletcher ◽  
David Kittredge ◽  
Thomas Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
Carbon Markets ◽  
Private Forest ◽  
Private Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Landowners ◽  
New Forest ◽  
Carbon Prices ◽  
Larger Sample

Abstract Sequestered carbon is a new forest product that could help private forest owners earn financial returns while keeping their forests intact. Private forest owners are responsible for 78% of forests in Massachusetts, and the carbon these trees sequester could be traded in emerging cap-and-trade carbon markets in the United States. In forming policy about climate change and forestry, it is important to understand the factors that influence the likelihood of landowners choosing to sell sequestered carbon and participate in the carbon marketplace. In this pilot study, we explored the likelihood of Massachusetts forest owners selling carbon sequestered on their forestland. We found that landowners significantly favor higher payments, no withdrawal penalty, and, unexpectedly, longer time commitments. We also found that at current carbon prices, very few participants (less than 7%) would be willing to sell. Additional studies need to be conducted, with a larger sample of respondents, which may elucidate how socioeconomic variables and ownership attitudes influence forest owners' willingness to enroll in carbon markets.

scholarly journals Information Linkage between Carbon and Energy Markets: Multiplex Recurrence Network Approach

Complexity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Xu ◽  
Minggang Wang ◽  
Weiguo Yang
Keyword(s):  
Time Delay ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Carbon Price ◽  
Energy Markets ◽  
Carbon Markets ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Linkage Relationship ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Carbon Prices

In this paper, a multilayer recurrence network is introduced to examine the information linkage between carbon and energy markets. We first construct a multilayer recurrence network of energy and carbon markets, and we define the information linkage coefficient to measure the linkage relationship between the network layers based on the network microstructure. To measure the mutual leading relationship between carbon and energy markets, we construct a time-delay multilayer recurrence network and introduce the time-delay information linkage coefficient to measure the intersystem interaction. The carbon and energy prices, including West Texas Intermediate crude oil, coal, natural gas, and gasoline, from February 22, 2011, to April 1, 2019, are selected as sample data for empirical analysis. The results show that the linkage relationship between oil, coal, natural gas, and carbon prices presents a U-shaped trend in the second, transitional, and third phases of the European Union carbon market, while the linkage trend of gasoline and carbon prices continues to rise. The mutual leading relationship between energy and carbon prices changes in different stages, and carbon price plays a leading role at the present stage.

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