The Blue Forests Project is a global initiative focused on harnessing the values associated with coastal carbon and ecosystem services to achieve improved ecosystem management. ‘Blue forests’ (or ‘blue carbon’) ecosystems include mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and saltwater marshes, which are noted for their ability to store and sequester atmospheric carbon, thereby helping to address the global climate challenge. These ecosystems are also vitally important to coastal and island communities around the world through the many important ecosystem services they provide.
Project objective: promote better coastal ecosystem management by harnessing the values associated with carbon and ecosystem services.
The project is an initiative of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and is managed by GRID-Arendal on behalf of the UN Environment. Project sites include locations in Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Thailand, Kenya, Madagascar and Mozambique, United States, and the United Arab Emirates. At these sites with local partners, on-the-ground activities include targeted research on carbon and ecosystem services, capacity building, and analysis of possible policy interventions. The project also aims to provide tools and set the stage for up-scaling and the replication of the blue forests approach around the world.
