Building Blue Carbon Projects - An Introductory Guide

Finally, there is also the option for countries to develop national, or sub-national, markets for Blue Carbon ecosystem services, without explicit reference to international regulatory or voluntary markets and the associated standards and methodologies. Independent markets already exist in countries such as Australia, Korea, Mexico, Costa Rica, California in the United States, Ache in Indonesia, Acre in Brazil, and several Chinese provinces. In those countries and states, Blue Carbon ecosystems may be included within the existing policies and mechanisms. Under all of these scenarios, national or sub-national governments can also support efforts to clarify current constraints or areas of significant uncertainty regarding the development of ecosystem-based management and initiatives, in general, and Blue Carbon initiatives in particular. Such regulatory or policy clarifications might include tenure (for land, carbon, and carbon trading rights), taxation, and other issues. In a related strategy, governments can also offer a variety of incentives to those seeking to promote such initiatives, particularly for the private sector. Such incentives might include preferred access to (and improved terms) for finance, tax holidays or reductions, and accelerated depreciation of investments. Coastal Blue Carbon and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: Current Status and Future Directions (Murray et al ., 2012) http://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/sites/default/files/publications/coastal-blue-carbon-and-the- unfccc-paper.pdf Blue Carbon Policy Framework 2.0 (Herr et al ., 2012) http://data.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/2012-016.pdf Blue Carbon Policy Options Assessment (Climate Focus, 2011) http://www.climatefocus.com/documents/files/_blue_carbon_policy_options_assessment.pdf Further information on the status of Blue Carbon policy can be found in the following: Policy settings will vary from project to project with different countries and regions having differing policy capacities. Policy development regarding Blue Carbon is still relatively recent, and promoting Blue Carbon activities within Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions may be considered productive. Mangroves need to be included in the existing national forest definitions and in other REDD+ implementation strategies as appropriate. National and sub-national governments can deploy a number of policy and regulatory tools to promote Blue Carbon and other ecosystem-based climate change mitigation strategies. Key takeaways:

Building Blue Carbon Projects An Introductory Guide

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