Blue Carbon

Background

Coastal ecosystems—mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes—are among the most productive and valuable on Earth. These ecosystems not only provide essential services, such as coastal protection and fish nursery habitats, but also play a crucial role in climate mitigation by capturing and storing significant amounts of carbon. Among those key ecosystems, it is estimated that seagrasses alone can store up to 18% of the world's ocean carbon despite covering only 0.1% of the ocean floor.

Panama has placed ocean conservation at the heart of its environmental agenda, recognizing the vital role of blue carbon ecosystems in climate mitigation. Committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the country is strengthening the management of its coastal-marine systems and restoring key habitats in both the Pacific and the Caribbean. As the second Latin American nation to protect 30% of its marine areas, Panama is taking significant steps to safeguard these crucial carbon sinks, ensuring their long-term resilience and contribution to global climate goals.

Integrating Panama’s blue carbon ecosystems into climate policies can provide crucial economic incentives and opportunities for their restoration and conservation. This approach will enhance their ability to sequester carbon, protect biodiversity, and support local communities through sustainable blue economy activities. The Coasts and Seas Directorate of the Panamanian Environment Ministry has initiated efforts to map the country's seagrasses and assess their current status as part of the country’s most recent NDC, which was submitted in June 2024. However, despite growing international methodological guidance, Panama still lacks data on accurate habitat extent and carbon sequestration and storage capacity of its seagrass meadows. This data gap prevents the country from fully capitalizing on opportunities to integrate the benefits of blue carbon that could support the development of innovative financing mechanisms aimed at improving the management, protection, and long-term sustainability of these essential ecosystems.

PROCARIBE+ Intervention:

PROCARIBE+ will support the establishment of enabling conditions conducive to the development of sustainable financial mechanisms for seagrass ecosystems in Panama, including carbon stock assessments in three pilot sites of the Caribbean coast. The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Advancing Coastal Wetlands Conservation project will work with local partners in Panama to identify carbon sequestration and storage capacity of the selected sites, through field studies and research. Additionally, Pew and partners will strengthen research and technical capacity on seagrass ecosystems, focusing on blue carbon quantification. The studies will also assess the health and trends of these vital ecosystems to support their long-term conservation and protection.

Key Activities:

In close collaboration with national partners, Pew will conduct a series of activities leading to the full inventory of seagrass extent on the Caribbean coast of Panama, with field verification and carbon stock analysis conducted at three strategic sites. This initiative will include:

• Identifying three priority sites for seagrass carbon stock assessments in coordination with the Panamanian government.
• Developing a field-verified seagrass map and carbon stock estimate, alongside capacity-building efforts with government agencies.
• Training and data collection for satellite imagery analysis to create high-accuracy, field-validated remote-sensed maps of seagrass ecosystems along Panama’s Caribbean coast.
• Conducting field training and soil sampling for carbon content analysis to establish carbon stock estimates in the selected sites.
• Performing a Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) analysis to assess seagrass ecosystems in the context of sustainable financing opportunities.
• Integration of results within relevant national climate and conservation policies, relevant government databases, and marine spatial planning efforts

The results of this initiative will serve as a foundation for replication and scaling, with best practices shared across the region to enhance conservation and sustainable financing efforts.

Anticipated Benefits of Seagrass Blue Carbon Studies in Panama

The in-depth assessments of the carbon stock capacity of seagrass ecosystems in Panama will play a crucial role in advancing blue carbon initiatives and unlocking sustainable financing opportunities for the country. Beyond Panama, this initiative will promote regional collaboration by sharing experiences, methodologies, and best practices, enabling other countries to replicate and upscale similar efforts.

Beneficios previstos de los estudios sobre el carbono azul de los pastos marinos en Panamá

Las evaluaciones en profundidad de la capacidad de almacenamiento de carbono de los ecosistemas de pastos marinos en Panamá desempeñarán un papel crucial en el avance de las iniciativas de carbono azul y en el desbloqueo de oportunidades de financiación sostenible para el país. Más allá de Panamá, esta iniciativa promoverá la colaboración regional mediante el intercambio de experiencias, metodologías y mejores prácticas, permitiendo a otros países replicar y ampliar esfuerzos similares.