Dr Rahanna Juman
The Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) has collaborated with the Inter-American Development Bank to pilot a blue carbon credit system in Trinidad and Tobago.
The ceremonial signing of the technical co-operation for a US$550,000 grant took place on May 8 at the Yara Auditorium of the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business, Mt Hope.
This project aims to design a high-quality blue carbon credit scheme to improve the digital mapping, monitoring, reporting, and verification of ecosystem services, promote management and ownership of natural capital and create a practical opportunity for livelihood enhancements and revenue generation.
Marine ecosystems, particularly tidal marshes, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests absorb (sequester) and store carbon within biomass and soils. Commonly referred to as “blue carbon” ecosystems because of their relevance to the global carbon cycle, these marine ecosystems provide climate mitigation benefits and a range of other ecosystem services that support coastal livelihoods and adaptation to climate change.
Carbon sequestration in mangroves is disproportionally higher than its spatial extent compared to other ecosystems. Mangrove forests are amongst the most carbon-rich ecosystems in the tropics and are one of the most efficient long-term natural carbon stores. Because of their high sequestration rates, mangroves can significantly affect the global carbon flux.
[caption id="attachment_1087591" align="alignnone" width="1024"] SIGNED: (From left) Dr Ava Maxam, IMA director; deputy permanent secretary Keshore Lutchman of the Ministry of Planning and Development; Carina Cockburn, IDB country representative; Pennelope Beckles, Minister of Planning and Development; Farley Augustine, Chief Secretary of THA; Dr Rahanna Juman, deputy director of the IMA, on May 8 after an agreement was signed between the IDB and the Ministry of Planning and Development.-[/caption]
On average, mangroves have a mean whole-ecosystem carbon stock around 2.5-5 times higher than the mean ecosystem carbon stock found in temperate, boreal, and upland tropical forests (Alongi, 2012). Initial estimates of carbon stored in the mangrove forests in TT are at 1,118,630.99 tonnes. Comparing mangrove forest carbon to terrestrial forest carbon revealed that mangrove forests store 61 per cent more carbon per hectare than terrestrial forests in Tobago. At the same time, for Trinidad, the value was 44 per cent (Juman et al, 2021).
Despite their critical role, there is an increasing loss of mangrove forest systems because of unplanned or ill-advised development or initiatives with short-term gains. These include but are not limited to pollution, coastal development, extractive activities, unsustainable aquaculture, agricultural practices and intense weather events such as storms.
Globally, there has been a decline of 1.04 million hectares between 1990 and 2020 (FAO). Nationally, in Trinidad, mangrove extents declined from 7,345.54 hectares in 2007 to 6,941.68 hectares in 2020.
Mangrove losses
