Fair Carbon, a Swiss-based nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring the world’s coastal and marine ecosystems, is proud to announce the launch of its Blue Carbon Academy. This unique resource aims to democratise access to blue carbon knowledge and scale up effective coastal and marine restoration by supporting communities worldwide in accessing blue carbon finance.
Time is running out for us to reverse climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation. Blue carbon – that is, carbon captured by the ocean and marine ecosystems, including mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes – promises to be a powerful ally in this vital fight.
Mangroves, in particular, are incredibly efficient carbon sinks. They can store up to 10 times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial forests while covering just 0.1% of the planet’s surface. Not only are they critical to climate regulation, but they also offer habitat for various species and provide livelihoods for millions of people across the globe.
Yet, over the past 50 years, researchers estimate that over half of the world’s mangrove forests have been lost due to anthropogenic environmental pressures.
Knowing that the health and resilience of these habitats play a vital role in the future of our planet, what can we do to protect them? Fair Carbon believes that facilitating a high-integrity blue carbon market has the potential to finance the protection and restoration of these critical ecosystems.
But that is not all. They can also provide an avenue to fairly reward the stewards who manage these lands by selling certified, high-quality blue carbon credits. In turn, healthy ecosystems offer coastal communities improved water quality, healthy nursing grounds for fish and aquatic animals, and protection against storms, flooding, and erosion.
Unfortunately, due to its technical complexity, the blue carbon market is underdeveloped, fragmented, and inaccessible to many, with only a handful of certified blue carbon projects worldwide.
That’s why Fair Carbon exists, explains its Co-Founder and CEO, Diana Denke:
“We know many reasons why the carbon markets do not work for many. We are also aware of various barriers that prevent projects from maturing and scaling, from technical complexity to policy and regulatory challenges and access to finance. Using that knowledge, we are here to lower market growth barriers and bring diverse voices worldwide together to co-create solutions.”
- Fair Carbon’s new Blue Carbon Academy is an actionable and science-based online course designed to make it easy to understand how to create credible and successful blue carbon projects. Each module is designed to help participants advance their project development journey, from the basics of blue carbon towards accreditation to monitoring and verification. Resources, tools, and expert guidance explain how to access carbon markets in order to protect and restore these critical coastal ecosystems.
- Alongside it, Fair Carbon is launching a Community of Practice that brings together a global network of stakeholders – including project developers, scientists, policymakers, business leaders, and local communities – to foster collaboration, improve knowledge sharing, and turn ideas into concrete action that facilitates the growth of the blue carbon market. Bi-monthly gatherings will be held as virtual roundtables, where the aim is to dissect the most pressing issues around blue carbon, drive discussions towards collective action, and bring the blue-carbon community to life.
- The ongoing Fair Carbon Pilot Program hosts an annual cohort of blue carbon projects at various stages of maturity. The inaugural cohort has already attracted projects spanning coastal areas of the Pacific islands, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa. Beyond getting free access to the Blue Carbon Academy, participants also benefit from hands-on guidance, peer-to-peer learning, monthly expert-led crash courses, and an annual cohort meeting organized at existing Blue Carbon project sites to explore best practices on the ground and learn from renowned blue carbon experts.
The ultimate goal is to help these projects avoid the common pitfalls that hinder project success and accelerate their development pace. In addition, each year, selected projects will have the opportunity to join the Fair Carbon Hub, connecting them to pre-vetted funders ready to invest in high-quality projects.
“This academy has not only broadened our understanding of conservation, restoration, and improved management in coastal ecosystems but has also introduced us to best-practice approaches in mangrove restoration, including a glimpse into REDD+. We are excited about the prospect of translating this knowledge into meaningful action, contributing to both environmental conservation and our potential engagement in carbon markets,” said Edwin, from Tanzania, a participant in the 2023 Cohort.
Fair Carbon’s long-term vision is to mobilize a global network to profoundly impact climate change mitigation and biodiversity preservation by helping to build a high-integrity blue carbon market that works for the many, not the few.
Fair Carbon invites project developers, carbon buyers, business leaders, and policymakers to champion a more resilient and regenerative future by joining the Community of Practice and the Blue Carbon Academy.
They are also encouraged to leverage expert guidance on policy and regulatory developments via downloadable Enabling Conditions Country profiles. These allow investors and developers to see which country is ready for blue carbon and inform decision-making.
To learn more about these programs, please visit www.faircarbon.org.
Photo Banner Credit: Bluespotted ribbontail ray in the mangroves, Mission Beach, Australia by Matt Curnock
About Fair Carbon
Fair Carbon aims to facilitate the development and growth of a high-integrity blue carbon market for the many, not the few. Through these efforts, we are contributing to building nature markets that give communities and organizations, regardless of their size or location, a chance to play a role in protecting and restoring coastal and marine ecosystems.