SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt - To help mitigate climate change and protect coastal communities, a new institute will be supporting the restoration and protection of ecosystems such as mangroves and seagrasses in South-east Asia and beyond.
Speaking at the institute’s launch on Monday evening, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said the implementation of these blue carbon initiatives will allow countries to realise their climate ambition – both in mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. According to a report looking at the state of the world’s mangroves, South-east Asia holds over one-third of the world’s mangrove forests. But the greatest loss of mangrove forests has also occurred in this region, largely due to factors such as the expansion of aquaculture and oil palm plantations.
Key tools will also be developed to create methodologies for establishing carbon credits. Each credit represents one tonne of carbon emissions. Establishing a mechanism can allow countries to have access to finance by protecting a mangrove forest, for example, and preventing tonnes of CO2 emissions from being released.
Key to the institute would be to help people understand how important mangroves are for climate adaptation and mitigation.NUS research initiative to boost credibility of nature-based carbon projects in S-E Asia