Establishing a Blue Carbon Network for the Gulf Coast - NERRS/NSC(NERRS Science Collaborative)

Restore America's Estuaries is partnering with the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Training Program Initiative and the five research reserves in the Gulf Coast to promote blue carbon projects. Through workshops planned around the Gulf, the project team will facilitate discussions about current needs and opportunities related to blue carbon. The project team will also help to establish local working groups and provide technical assistance through a targeted Gulf Coast blue carbon training workshop. The goal is to support new projects that advance local understanding of blue carbon science and help pilot ways to use emerging carbon markets to fund coastal wetland restoration and conservation. This science transfer project was funded by NOAA through the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative to promote the use of science. It did not produce any new data.

The Gulf Coast continues to lose coastal wetlands at an alarming rate. In addition to improving water quality, stabilizing shorelines, and providing habitat, coastal wetlands sequester and store significant amounts of carbon in their soils. Valuation of this climate mitigation service-referred to as blue carbon- could lead to increased prioritization and funding for coastal conservation and restoration. Moreover, coastal managers are now being asked to consider the greenhouse gas management implications of their decisions. For example, when coastal ecosystems are degraded or drained, the carbon stored in their soils can be released back into the atmosphere, resulting in significant emissions. Emerging carbon markets could provide funding for wetland conservation and restoration, supporting the protection of these substantial carbon stores.

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Stephen Emmett-Mattox

Restore America’s Estuaries

sem@estuaries.org

(720) 300-3139

Partners:

Apalachicola Bay NERR, FL

Grand Bay NERR, MS

Mission-Aransas NERR, TX

Rookery Bay NERR, FL

Weeks Bay NERR, AL

Weeks Bay Foundation

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program

TerraCarbon

Restore America's Estuaries

NOAA Office of Habitat Conservation

Gulf of Mexico Coastal Training Program Initiative

The distributor does not assume liability.

None

Cite this dataset when used as a source: NOAA retains the right to analyze, synthesize and publish summaries of the NERRS/NSC data. The NERRS/NSC retains the right to be fully credited for having collected and process the data. Following academic courtesy standards, the NERR site where the data were collected should be contacted and fully acknowledged in any subsequent publications in which any part of the data are used. The data enclosed within this package/transmission are only as accurate as the quality assurance and quality control procedures that are described in the associated metadata reporting statement allow. The user bears all responsibility for its subsequent use/misuse in any further analyses or comparisons. The Federal government does not assume liability to the Recipient or third persons, nor will the Federal government reimburse or indemnify the Recipient for its liability due to any losses resulting in any way from the use of this data. Requested citation format: NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative(NSC).