Human Dimensions of Blue Carbon - Resource Portal

Blue carbon is defined as the carbon stored in ocean ecosystems, and there is increased interest (among governments, non-government organizations, businesses, and philanthropies) in preserving, restoring, or enhancing blue carbon ecosystems. Categorized as a natural climate solution (NCS), blue carbon interventions are among the tools countries can mobilize to combat climate change. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has formed an EDF-Bezos Earth Fund Blue Carbon Pathways Working Group to explore which blue carbon solutions would serve as high-quality carbon credits in three broad ecosystems: near shore (e.g., mangrove, seagrass, salt marsh), macroalgae, and off-shore (e.g., mesopelagic, and pelagic fish, great whales, the seabed). The criteria presented in the “Carbon Credit Guidance for Buyers,” a joint study by EDF, WWF, and Oeko-Institut, can be used to assess whether a carbon credit is of high-quality (World Wildlife Fund (WWF) et al., 2020). EDF wanted a better understanding of the existing knowledge around the socioeconomic aspects of implementing blue carbon interventions that could contribute significantly towards meeting country-specific decarbonization goals. Therefore, during the summer of 2022, our team conducted an extensive review of the social, economic, institutional, and governance aspects of blue carbon interventions. This research identified a gap in the multiple blue carbon resources and tools available to the public. Though there are multiple resources that discuss different aspects of blue carbon ecosystems (e.g., methodologies to calculate carbon sequestration), we found limited information about the human dimensions of blue carbon interventions. As blue carbon ecosystems are explored for their carbon sequestration potential and source of high-quality carbon credits by multiple stakeholders, it is vital that the human dimensions of blue carbon and blue carbon intervention are considered because of equity concerns and the project’s impacts on livelihoods. Therefore, our master’s Project focuses on developing a database, ‘Human Dimensions of Blue Carbon – Resource Portal’, to identify key findings on social, economic, management, finance, equity, and community participation aspects associated with blue carbon initiatives. We collected and analyzed 60 resources developed in the 2011-2023 timeframe. We focus on the nearshore, macroalgal, and offshore blue carbon ecosystems to align with EDF’s ecosystems of interest. These resources are in various forms, including reports, news articles, websites, case studies, and guidelines. We focus specifically on the gray literature, produced, or commissioned by the various government, non-government and private sector actors working on blue carbon, with goals similar to EDF: to identify the conditions under which blue carbon initiatives are likely to succeed, ideally delivering co-benefits for carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and people.
The database serves as a structure for our overall analysis and contains general bibliographic information for each resource (e.g., reference type, author type, year published, partners list) followed by an indication of which, if any, of the human dimensions are addressed. The database can thus serve as a resource for EDF and others, directing them to specific resources that address particular topics (e.g., users interested in learning more about equity in blue carbon can identify resources that include it). It also serves as the base of an analysis of the current state of human dimensions coverage in the gray literature presented in this report. Our findings suggest that a majority of blue carbon projects are not taking human dimensions into consideration. This database and our analysis would help project developers and carbon credit buyers understand the social context associated with implementing a blue carbon project. This database should also provide insights into understanding the gaps in the knowledge on socioeconomic and equity views. Based on our 60-resource sample, it is clear that the different categories of equity are not deeply explored within the blue carbon space. Our database should be used by project developers evaluating a blue carbon initiative as a tool to identify gaps in human dimensions. We expect to provide this database to EDF to be housed within their website and shared with the broader blue carbon community. Our analysis is based on 60 resources, but further resources can be added to support more comprehensive analyses. Although our analysis may answer some important questions and provide insights into blue carbon interventions, we want to highlight the importance and need for continuous updates to the database to keep track of the most recent findings in that space.