Incorporating Blue Carbon in the Nationally Contributions (NDCs) of the Countries in Western Indian Ocean Region

The “carbon sink” service is one of the numerous important benefits blue carbon ecosystems provide to human well-being, along with food security, water quality improvement, raw materials and shoreline protection among others. When degraded, co-benefits provided by mangroves are greatly diminished along with the ecosystems’ capacity to sequester carbon. Restoration and protection of mangroves is, therefore, recognized as a priority for both climate change mitigation and adaptation; and several countries have identified measures that harness these benefits in their National Determined Contribution to Paris Agreement.