Wahyu Dwi Anggoro
Blue carbon ecosystems demonstrate how development, climate, and nature work together to feed, protect, empower, and uplift communities. An estimated 4.1 million small-scale fishers globally rely on mangroves for fishing. Mangroves also protect more than six million people from annual flooding and prevent additional annual losses of USD24 billion of productive assets.
The report notes that despite these staggering benefits, blue carbon ecosystems have been eroded. More than 50 percent of the world’s original salt marshes were lost during the twentieth century and this degradation continues to date.
“People don’t realize how powerful these carbon sinks are – they store five times more carbon than forests,” said Michele Diez, Senior Environmental Specialist and Program Manager of PROBLUE.
“If disturbed, the carbon that has been stored in these ecosystems for thousands of years will be released in the atmosphere –with harmful impacts to our climate. The time is now for governments to invest in these powerful ecosystems. The World Bank is ready to support our partners to invest in a livable planet," Diez stated. (WHY)
