Blue Carbon Photography Contest (Announcement)

Grassroots organizations involved in coastal and marine conservation are invited to participate in UNEP/GRID-Arendal’s Blue Carbon Photography Contest. Selected photographs are intended for use in a special image-based publication for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa (COP17), and for an online image resource - the Blue Carbon Photo Library.

The theme of the contest “Life on the coasts - Blue Carbon” focuses on the importance of a healthy marine environment in coastal livelihoods.

UNEP/GRID-Arendal is looking for iconic images in two categories – People & the Environment, and Coastal & Marine Ecosystems. Examples include coastal and underwater scenes, community based restoration and conservation projects, our connection to healthy coastal ecosystems (e.g. fisheries, tourism), and how a changing ocean and climate impact the daily life of people and communities living along the coast.

As long as there is a clear affiliation with a grassroots organization, all professional and non-professional photographers worldwide are welcome to submit. Organization logos will also be highlighted in the special publication. Blue Climate Solutions has offered a digital underwater camera as a prize for the best image. Additional sponsors are welcome (click here).

INFORMATION

For Announcement and Competition Rules see:
http://www.grida.no/marine/activities/blue-carbon.aspx?id=4804
(see Photo Contest pages)

SUBMISSION

To submit your images, please see the Competition Rules and send all submissions to: photocontest@grida.no

Personal Release forms are required for all images that include recognizable subjects and children (see Competition Rules).

DEADLINE

The deadline for submitting pictures to UNEP/GRID-Arendal is SEPTEMBER 30, 2011.

Finalists will be announced in October 2011.

After reviewing the Competition Rules, you will be fully prepared to enter the contest.

Good Luck to everyone!

Blue Carbon & Coastal Ecosystem-Based Management

Just yesterday, I was fortunate enough to attend a great presentation by Tundi Agardy on coastal ecosystem based management and a new guide produced by UNEP. Definitely useful for the blue carbon concept and recommended reading! Thanks Tundi, and all the other authors, and UNEP. -Steven

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Taking steps toward marine and coastal ecosystem based management - An introductory guide by UNEP

http://www.indiawaterportal.org/node/18525

This guide by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) seeks to assist countries and communities to take steps towards making marine and coastal ecosystem-based management operational, from strategic planning to on-site implementation. An important aim of this guide is to facilitate the implementation of UNEP’s overarching Ecosystem Management Programme and new Marine and Coastal Strategy in countries and regions in line with its Medium Term Strategy 2010-13.

Healthy marine and coastal ecosystems provide many valuable services ranging from food security, resources for economic growth and recreation alongside tourism and coastline protection. They are also recognized as crucial reservoirs of biodiversity at a time when the loss of species on both land and in the sea is an increasing cause for concern.

The Marine and Coastal Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) guide outlines operational considerations in an accessible language, drawing upon practical experiences and lessons across the globe from tropical coastlines to temperate estuaries and polar ocean ecosystems. An important message is that this is an incremental process and there are different paths toward EBM. Cross boundary considerations and working with neighbours and even countries far away will be an essential component.

The target audience of the guide includes planners and decision-makers in local, national and regional governments and communities across a broad spectrum of interests and uses. The guide is not a technical manual or textbook. Rather, it is an introduction to EBM principles and applications, providing an overview of core elements and pathways to getting started.

This guide is intended to complement UNEP’s work, such as the Green Economy, providing guidance on making changes in the way we interact with ecosystems, as well as the Blue Carbon Initiative, which explores the potential for mitigating climate change by investing and re-investing in healthy coastal ecosystems that capture and store carbon.

EBM offers a valuable solution for harnessing marine and coastal ecosystems in adapting to climate change and other potential disasters and can prove to be a valuable resource in assisting coastal countries and communities to move from theory to practical ecosystem-based management of oceans and coasts.

The guide is divided into the following chapters:

Introduction

Section I. Making The Case For Marine and coastal EBM

• Why is change necessary?
• Defining EBM
• How is EBM an improvement on current management?
• EBM is science-based
• EBM can grow from existing legal and regulatory frameworks
• EBM embraces the precautionary approach
• Costs and benefits of EBM

Section II. Examining the core elements of EBM

• Core Element 1: Recognizing connections within and across ecosystems
• Core Element 2: Applying an ecosystem services perspective
• Core Element 3: Understanding and addressing cumulative impacts
• Core Element 4: Managing for multiple objectives
• Core Element 5: Embracing change, learning, and adapting EBM

Section III: Moving toward EBM

• Visioning Phase: Establish a Foundation for EBM
• Identify target geographic area and key concerns
• Build interest, expand participation, and create settings for sectors to come together
• Develop a common understanding of the ecosystem
• Take stock of existing management practices
• Set overarching goals

Planning Phase: Chart the EBM Process

• Assess the ecosystem
• Evaluate EBM governance options, and create legal frameworks to support multi-sectoral management
• Identify measurable objectives
• Prioritize threats, evaluate management options, and examine trade-offs
• Choose management strategies for EBM implementation

Implementation Phase: Apply and Adapt EBM

• Monitor, evaluate, and adapt
• Continue to communicate and educate
• Secure sustainable financing for EBM implementation over time

Concluding thoughts

Download the guide from below (size 10.07 MB):
Taking steps toward marine and coastal ecosystem based management - An introductory guide by UNEP (2011)
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See also:

http://www.unep.org/publications/contents/pub_details_search.asp?ID=6200

Seagrass blues

Seagrass blues

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/online/4459/seagrass-blues?page=0%2C1

29 June 2011, by Andrew J Wight, Cosmos Online

Broken sea grasses float over a degraded coral reef

The world's seagrass meadows are under threat and with them, species diversity and economic activity - but there's another reason to care about their fate.

SQUISHY AND LARGELY hidden, seagrass meadows may have a more difficult time grabbing headlines than their coral reef cousins, but researchers are now finding that preserving these forests of the sea may have a vital role in the climate change puzzle.

If you were to look out over Port Phillip Bay as it laps against the Melbourne shoreline, you are close to some of the most diverse marine habitats on the planet - and that's just a small part of Australia's seagrass meadows.

Along our 32,000km coastline, there's some 90,000 square kilometres of sea grass meadows, each made up of individual seagrass plants: mainly large, leafy and sun-loving.

Out of the 72 known seagrass species, Australia has 26 of them, some of which are found nowhere else on Earth, such as the endangered Posidonia sinuosa of Western Australia.

Seagrass meadows provide homes, food and nurseries for many marine creatures, in particular serving as feeding grounds for dugongs and western rock lobsters (Panulirus Cygnus) and breeding grounds for many commercially important fish species.

They are also important for water quality, filtering water and serving as an indicator of the health of the marine ecosystem, but the health of the meadows themselves has become of increasing concern.

In a recent study, 15 of the 72 known species of seagrasses were listed as 'Endangered', 'Vulnerable' or 'Near Threatened' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

Seagrass researcher at the University of Technology Sydney, Peter Macreadie says there are multiple factors that make seagrass vulnerable, but the biggest threat is the creation of anoxic dead zones by algal blooms.

"Seagrass are plants that grow on the seafloor, so when nutrient runoff is taken up by the algae, the algae become dense and it blocks the sunlight from reaching the seagrass."

There is also direct damage done by humans via dredging or by boat propellers. If some plants are disturbed in the middle of a meadow, the 'hole' will actually get bigger and bigger, eating away the meadow from the inside. "We know we've lost 30% of the world's sea grasses already," says Macreadie.

Many seagrass scientists are now concerned about changes in water temperature caused by the apparent effects of climate change, he added. "Seagrass is changing its range and distribution, but they can only tolerate a certain set of temperatures."

Paradoxically, seagrass may be part of the solution to this threat.

"When we think about carbon sinks, most of us think about tropical rainforest like the Amazon," says Macreadie. "But seagrasses, mangroves and salt marshes cover 1% of the seafloor, but are estimated to sequester 70% of the ocean's carbon."

The first Blue Carbon report came out in 2010 and detailed how coastal ecosystems, including seagrass sequester carbon. According to Macreadie, it is estimated that seagrass beds can store for carbon for thousands of years, as opposed to the dozens of years of terrestrial plants.

"Like any plant, seagrasses go through seasons and left undisturbed, a typical plant could last for years and years. But unlike, say a rainforest, when seagrass shed their leaves or die, the leaves, roots and rhizomes don't decompose readily. That litter gets buried beneath the seagrass meadows and layers start to form."

Research groups from Europe have found that this layer of fibrous material gets locked away in deep sediments, and the amount of carbon sequestered can be estimated.

"We can age these cores and we're finding seagrasses up to 6m deep stored for thousands of years," said Macreadie.

It is hoped that by showing the capacity of seagrass to store carbon, they will be better candidates for funding and awareness in the same way that forests are conserved for their biodiversity and carbon storage capacity. There are, however, some hurdles to overcome.

The combined threat of increased pollution, increased population pressures from humans and their slow regeneration time means world is struggling to hold on to the seagrass it has, let alone expand their current range.

Past director of the University of Western Australia's Oceans Institute, Gary Kendrick says restoration can get expensive.

"I've been working on a five-year restoration project and the chances of full recovery are still slim, as restoration is high risk and high expenditure. The seagrass restoration itself can cost anywhere from AU$8,000 a hectare to hundreds of thousands of dollars per hectare," he says.

"There are studies of a field that cost $1 million a hectare to restore. That's about ten times what it costs to restore a forest. It is much easier to conserve the seagrass habitats we already have in the first place, rather than trying to restore them after the fact. In Australia you can count the research groups on one hand, but the awareness of the importance of seagrass is growing."

What Kendrick hopes to do in the next five years is to bring together Australian groups in a research centre. "Rehabilitation is going to cost, so we'll look at what are the big threats to the seagrass and how do we best counter them?"

Mick Keough, at the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne, who has recently received funding to identify key seagrass habitats in Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay says the situation is improving for seagrass in Australia. "Some state governments, Western Australia and New South Wales in particular have strong emphasis on protection of seagrass."

But he adds that while seagrasses are seen as important by government, public perception is a real problem. "They aren't as charismatic as the reefs, but their role in nutrient cycles are a really important part of the ecosystem. I don't think anyone sees them as a pest anymore, but the don't have the same passion as they might for the barrier reef."

Researchers need to understand how disturbances affect seagrass habitats and the processes that are important for their recovery, Keough adds.

"Within the Bay, many species are found predominantly in seagrass meadows, and some species actually rely on seagrasses for survival in part of their life cycle," he said.

So when you step on that squishy piece of seagrass on the beach, don't curse: without these humble plants, our seas would be less rich with life, our water more turbid and our climate more turbulent.

Update 2: Blue Carbon & SBSTA 34 (Bonn, Germany)

Frederica Bietta, Papua New Guinea (right) intervenes on their proposed agenda item blue carbon

Further discussions on blue carbon at SBSTA 34, Bonn Germany. From the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) report for Thursday, June 16, at SBSTA 34:

On the SBSTA side, the issue of blue carbon played out on center stage. While the majority of parties supported considering related issues under existing SBSTA agenda items, Bolivia and Venezuela opposed this, voicing concerns that market mechanisms will not offer the nature adequate protection. Some observers also shared concern over turning “blue carbon into another REDD+.” One delegate characterized blue carbon as an example of why interlinkages between the Rio Conventions should be reinforced.

Delegates waiting for the SBSTA plenary to resume after 10 pm were entertained by chanting interpreters claiming that “there is no body like the SBSTA, the body of substance.” Some also composed cheerleading refrains on blue carbon. “Give me a B....give me an L…,” they shouted in jest. On the SBI side, one insider tried to reassure tired observers waiting for the outcome of late-night informal consultations: “Give us time, we are trying to do good things here.”

Blue Carbon Policy Options Assessment

Blue Carbon Policy Options Assessment

As part of an effort to promote the inclusion of the blue carbon concept in key climate-policy frameworks, Linden Trust commissioned Climate Focus to review and evaluate the various policy options available for blue carbon. The report, released on June 15, 2011, and titled 'Blue Carbon - Policy Options Assessment,' aims to help the blue carbon community in understanding and prioritizing policy options.

The report’s Priority Recommendations follow:

A number of opportunities exist to promote blue carbon as a legitimate climate change activity. However, promoting blue carbon as a new and separate agenda item under the UNFCCC in the same way as REDD+ was developed is unlikely to succeed. The current UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol negotiations are already overloaded and adding yet another item to the list may be counterproductive in the short term – especially before IPCC reporting guidelines have been developed and improved and the impact of blue carbon is better understood. Any advocacy within the UNFCCC should therefore be focused on improving IPCC guidelines and integrating blue carbon into the existing NAMA and REDD+ agendas. The following are therefore our recommended “High Priority” actions for the next 18 months.

1. Develop and improve IPCC reporting guidelines where they do not adequately cover blue carbon sinks and reservoirs carbon sinks and reservoirs carbon sinks and reservoirs carbon sinks and reservoirs. A lack of confidence in the quantification of net climate benefits of blue carbon is a barrier to finance and incentive mechanisms including carbon markets. A priority should therefore be to support scientific research without delay to better quantify emissions and removals from changes to blue carbon sinks and reservoirs, such as salt marshes and mangroves, and with a particular focus on sea grasses which currently fall outside IPCC guidelines. The IPCC has proposed a process to produce supplemental guidance on these ecosystems by 2013.

2. Ensure NAMAs include actions that address blue carbon. For some countries, blue carbon may be a significant mitigation opportunity. NAMAs offer a potential source of financing while methodologies for carbon measurement are being developed and improved. NAMAs should focus on a combination of “readiness” and demonstration activities for sea grasses, salt marshes, and non-forest mangroves. Mangroves considered forests can be included within REDD+ action. Readiness activities would focus on increasing a country’s understanding of emissions and removals from blue carbon sinks and reservoirs and their drivers of emissions, and what is needed to address them. Implementation should focus on demonstration activities to protect or restore blue carbon ecosystems, and may extend to an effort to access performance-based finance such as sectoral crediting or other mechanisms. It should be possible to work with at least two or three countries to develop and submit blue carbon NAMAs for funding within 18 months. Priority could be given to working with Nigeria, Bangladesh, Cuba, India, Mozambique, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines on readiness, and with Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, and Malaysia on implementation.

3. Utilize REDD+, which has more developed policy structures and could include mangroves that meet the definition of a forest that meet the definition of a forest that meet the definition of a forest that meet the definition of a forest. Analysis and education is needed amongst developing countries to help them understand the implications that different forest definitions have on the inclusion of mangroves within REDD+. This should be capable of completion within a matter of months. Support is also needed for countries to gain a better understanding of the implications that mangrove forests may have on forest reference levels and reference emission levels developed by developing countries through 2011 and 2012 (as needed).

4. Leverage the multiple benefits of blue carbon to access financing. Protecting and restoring blue carbon sinks and reservoirs can have multiple benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation, along with additional co-benefits such as biodiversity conservation. The ability to check a number of donor priorities or funding commitments within a single activity will increase the likelihood of accessing public funding from developed countries. A recommended short term priority is to access fast start finance to support the above activities. Accessing this funding should be possible within 18 months.

Click here for the full report: Blue Carbon Policy Options Assessment

Mangrove Conservation & Restoration - Central to Climate Challenge Mitigation

Mangrove Conservation & Restoration - Central to Climate Challenge Mitigation

by Alfredo Quarto, Executive Director & Cofounder of Mangrove Action Project

Mangrove forest in  Bangladesh.

We at Mangrove Action Project have been working for almost 20 years to promote the ecological value of mangrove forest wetlands. It has been an uphill battle to counter the negative image of the once mislabeled "muddy, mosquito infested wastelands." Governments finally began recognizing their importance and passed laws to protect the mangroves, but these laws were rarely enforced, so more and more mangroves were lost to shrimp farms, tourist development, golf courses, oil exploitation, urban and agricultural expansion and a multitude of other unsustainable, short-sighted development pressures. The rampant turning of millions of hectares of valuable wetlands to wastelands has had and is having tragic, long-term consequences.

Mangrove forests are vital for healthy coastal ecosystems in many regions of the world. They support an immense variety of sea life in intricate food webs associated directly with mangroves themselves. They are refuge for juvenile fish, crabs, shrimp and mollusks. Mangroves are also prime nesting and feeding sites for hundreds of migratory bird species. Additionally manatees, crab eating monkeys, Royal Bengal tigers, fishing cats, migratory birds, sea turtles and Mud Skippers utilize and depend upon mangrove wetlands.

More recently, it has come to the attention of mangrove ecologists that healthy mangrove forests play an important role in carbon sequestration—these unique ecosystems and corresponding wetlands account for nearly a third of the world’s terrestrial carbon stores (Ramsar Secretariat 2002). Dr. Ong Jin Eong of Malaysia has in his extensive research found that mangroves sequester 50 times more carbon in their soils than terrestrial tropical forests. Dr. Ong was one of the first to postulate that mangroves are key links in combating climate change.

Intact mangroves also protect coral reefs and sea grass beds from landward siltation and pollution runoff, while forming a natural coastal protection shield against floods, storms or other natural disasters such as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Mitch of 1998. Beyond these irreplaceable ecosystem services, mangroves provide important socio-economic benefits to coastal communities, providing bountiful seafood, fruits, fuel wood, shelter, medicines and tannins.

Pond with mangrove stumps.

In spite of those important functions, more than 50% of the global mangrove forests have been destroyed over the last 100 years, most of this loss occurring in the last 30 years, mainly caused by human development. In addition, mangroves are vulnerable to negative effects caused by climate change such as rising sea levels, higher temperatures and natural disasters. Conservation and restoration programs in those areas degraded or ruined by unsustainable development are urgently needed. Because mangroves play such an important role in sequestering carbon, this approach will contribute to climate change mitigation through avoided destruction and restoration of ecosystems. The improvement of mangrove ecosystems will also enhance its function as a natural water treatment system and spawning grounds for fish, improving health and fishing possibilities, further benefiting marginalized local communities.

However, very few organisations so far have dealt effectively with mangrove restoration and relatively few experiences exist on successful, long-term mangrove rehabilitation. These failures in effective mangrove restoration are worrisome in the light of the millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours spent at the task, not to mention the millions of mangrove seedlings unsuccessfully planted all in neat rows in the wrong places with the wrong species and at the wrong time.

Failures are bound to happen, partly because adaptation to climate change and increased disaster risk through utilization of natural vegetative protection shields such as mangroves is a relatively new concept, relying on ecosystem services instead of engineering technologies and hard infrastructures to reduce the severity of disasters. Nevertheless, we need to be more proactive in learning from these obvious failures, and not repeat them ourselves or encourage others to do the same. In light of the continuation of these “traditional” methods of hand planting mangrove propagules or seedlings, it seems most restoration practitioners are reluctant to implement changes in their overall strategy involving restoration.

MAP has responding to this apparent impasse by promoting a more innovative approach that we believe is both more cost effective and successful in restoring mangrove wetlands by paying special attention to coastal hydrology and those disturbances that have caused the problems of mangrove loss in the first place. This technique is called Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR), which was developed over the years by MAP’s chief technical advisor, Robin Lewis, who demonstrated that EMR ensures restoration of more biodiverse, healthy mangrove wetlands. Successful approaches can then be replicated to restore mangroves in other communities, regions or countries.

Demonstrating Ecological Mangrove Restoration at Ban Talae Nok Village located on Thailand's North Andaman Coast in Ranong province.

 

Ecological Mangrove Restoration Defined

Ecological Mangrove Restoration has been defined as “the process of repairing damage caused by humans to the diversity and dynamics of indigenous ecosystems” (Jackson et al. 1995) Ecological Mangrove Restoration is a holistic approach to mangrove restoration that also includes a view of the proposed plant and animal community to be restored as part of a larger ecosystem with other ecological communities that also have functions to be protected or restored. EMR aims at the restoration of certain ecosystem traits and the replication of natural functions. It has been reported that mangrove forests around the world can self-repair or successfully undergo secondary succession over periods of 15-30 years if: 1) the normal tidal hydrology is not disrupted and 2) the availability of waterborne seeds or seedlings (propagules) of mangroves from adjacent stands is not disrupted or blocked (Watson 1928, Lewis 1982, Cintron-Molero 1992).

Because mangrove forests may recover without active restoration efforts, it has been recommended that restoration planning should first look at the potential existence of stresses such as blocked tidal inundation that might prevent secondary succession from occurring, and plan on removing that stress before attempting restoration (Hamilton and Snedaker 1985, Cintron-Molero 1992). The second step is to determine by observation if natural seedling recruitment is occurring once the stress has been removed. Only if natural recovery is not occurring should the third step of considering assisting natural recovery through planting be considered.

Unfortunately, many mangrove restoration projects move immediately into hand planting of mangrove seedlings without determining why natural recovery has not occurred. There may even be a large capital investment in growing mangrove seedlings in a nursery before stress factors are assessed. This too often results in major failures of planting efforts.

Planting mangrove propagules.

Six Steps To Successful Mangrove Forest Restoration

In collaboration with communities, organizations and local government, MAP will work to:

1. Understand both the individual species and the community ecology of the naturally occurring mangrove species at the site, paying particular attention to patterns of reproduction, distribution, and successful seedling establishment.
2. Understand the normal hydrology that controls the distribution and successful establishment and growth of targeted mangrove species.
3. Assess the modifications of the mangrove environment that occurred and that currently prevent natural secondary succession.
4. Select appropriate restoration areas through application of Steps 1-3, above, that are both likely to succeed in rehabilitating a forest ecosystem and are cost effective. Consider the available labor to carry out the projects, including adequate monitoring of their progress towards meeting quantitative goals established prior to restoration. This step includes resolving land ownership/use issues necessary for ensuring long-term access to and conservation of the site.
5. Design the restoration program at appropriate sites selected in Step 4, above, to restore the appropriate hydrology and utilize natural volunteer mangrove recruitment for natural plant establishment.
6. Utilize actual planting of propagules or seedlings only after determining through Steps 1-5, above, that natural recruitment will not provide the quantity of successfully established seedlings, rate of stabilization, or rate of growth as required for project success.

Today, MAP is working with local communities and partnering with grassroots NGOs to conserve and restore mangroves, promoting the Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR) approach as the most effective, long-term approach to mangrove restoration. We are trying to discourage the popular but ineffective way of hand planting mangrove seedlings or propagules, usually with one species- the red mangrove or rhizophora- that is still the most popular approach, which unfortunately is establishing low-biodiversity monocultures or plantations, instead of healthy, biodiverse mangrove wetlands.

MAP is currently seeking support for our innovative and collaborative Ecological Mangrove Restoration and Training (EMR) workshops and follow-up restoration and monitoring program. This program is slated to take place in both Latin America and Asia over a three to five year timeframe and will train and engage mangrove forest communities in restoring and managing coastal mangrove forest ecosystems for the long-term benefits of the participant communities. Our first EMR Training Workshop is slated for July 6, 2011 in Jiquilisaco Bay in El Salvador. Jiquilisco is part of the “Mangrove Corridor” which runs along the coastlines of El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras. So the potential outreach from the workshop in El Salvador could reach much further along this entire Corridor.

Ban Talae Nok's Ecological Mangrove Restoration team.

Involving the Local Community

To involve the communities from the start of the project is vital to the program’s success. The community will need to develop a management plan to deal with the cause(s) of mangrove destruction in the first place. The destruction could be due to over exploitation for fuel wood, illegal cutting and/or development encroachment such as shrimp farming, grazing by livestock or other conflicting uses. Often it will take time to develop and implement a workable solution, while other times a viable strategy may not be found, which will prevent moving ahead with mangrove restoration plans. Once the management plan is successfully being implemented, mangrove restoration can move forward in parallel.

Next, the EMR approach will be introduced to local community members interested in serving as future monitors and resource managers at the sites selected. This presentation could be quite effective in encouraging the local community to get involved, which is one of our main points of interest to help build the capacity of local communities to better manage and conserve their natural resource base. Strong community stewardship will ensure a central stakeholder role in future mangrove management decision-making processes. A program of monitoring and evaluation of restored sites by local community members is built into the EMR process with a 3-5 year monitoring plan to ensure success of the endeavor.

Towards Reversing the Losses

We must first address the need to halt further losses of our marine coastal wetland areas. Their intrinsic value is constantly increasing from what we once naively assumed. All of our past economic valuations have fallen far short of the reality, mainly because of lack of knowledge as to the amazing ecosystems we have for too long taken for granted. Those muddy swamps are possibly now our ultimate remedy to the planetary sickness caused by rampant human folly.

Now is the time to take these issues forward the planned for a discussing climate change in what could be a last attempt to curb our civilization's penchant for unlimited and unreasonable growth.

Web Sites and Literature Cited

Lewis, RR. III. 2005. Ecological engineering for successful management and restoration of mangrove forests. Ecological Engineering 24(4 SI): 403-418. (Available at www.mangroverestoration.com in both English and Spanish)

Lewis, RR. III. 2009. Methods and criteria for successful mangrove forest restoration. Chapter 28., pages 787-800 in GME Perillo, E Wolanski, DR Cahoon, and MM Brinson (eds.)

Coastal Wetlands: An Integrated Ecosystem Approach. Elsevier Press.

Lewis, RR, B. Brown, A. Quarto, J. Enright, E. Corets, J. Primavera, T Ravishankar, O Stanley and R Djamaluddin. 2006. Five steps to successful ecological restoration of mangroves. Mangrove Action Project/Yayasan Akar Rumput Laut. Yogyakarta, Indonesia. 64 p.

Ramsar Secretariat (2002): Climate change and wetlands: impacts, adaptation and mitigation. COP8, Information Paper DOC 11.

Samson, MS., and RN Rollon. 2008. Growth performance of planted mangroves in the Philippines: revisiting forest management strategies. Ambio 37:234-240.

UNEP/GRID-Arendal/ Food and Agriculture Organization/UNESCO, Blue Carbon: the role of healthy oceans in binding carbon- a Rapid Response Assessment report compiled, 2010

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For the Future with Mangroves,

Mangrove Action Project

PO Box 1854

Port Angeles, WA 98362-0279

USA (360) 452-5866

mangroveap@olympus.net

www.mangroveactionproject.org

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Guest blog (including images) by Mangroves for the Future (many thanks Alfredo!)

Update: Blue Carbon & SBSTA 34 (Bonn, Germany)

Blue Carbon discussed at UN Climate Change Discussions - SBSTA 34, Bonn Germany

Blue carbon was discussed again on Friday, June 10, at the 34th session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 34).

According to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) report, SBSTA Facilitator Ould-Dada noted that a number of parties were of the view that blue carbon was not mature enough and that related issues, such as mangroves, could be addressed under REDD+ (see ENB, Vol 12 No 507 - 11 June 2011).

Discussions will continue…