Can Blue Carbon Further Conservation? Approaches to Conservation through a Portfolio of Blue Carbon Options: A Case Study in The Bahamas

The world is currently facing major losses in biodiversity and habitats, and climate change is expected to exacerbate risks to natural and human systems. The ability of coastal ecosystems to store and sequester carbon, known as “blue carbon” has become increasingly important in understanding the potential of blue carbon in climate change mitigation and how land use changes can contribute to climate change. A new paradigm shift in conservation is increasingly focused on more people-centered approaches and connecting the value of ecosystem services to people. This is particularly true for small island nations largely dependent on their natural resources and vulnerable to climate change impacts. Through a case study in The Bahamas, I reached out to stakeholders to better understand their needs and knowledge of blue carbon and conducted a spatial analysis on the current distribution of blue carbon at a national scale in The Bahamas and on Andros Island. I further evaluated how carbon storage and sequestration are likely to change under several future management scenarios by total net sequestration, as well as net present economic value of blue carbon. These results were further used to evaluate how a blue carbon analysis could be useful in advancing conservation. Drawing on the results from the study, I present a portfolio of blue carbon options that could benefit from a blue carbon analysis, which range from direct government incentives, to direct local incentives, to indirect altruism as various avenues to achieve blue carbon conservation. This portfolio of options can provide decision makers with the necessary knowledge on blue carbon to implement a range of conservation options to best meet their needs, and this approach can be replicated and applied to other nations as well