Hidden Strengths of Indonesia - Blue Carbon

Blue carbon ecosystems are ecosystems in which there are mechanisms for carbon capture and storage, or carbon that is captured and stored by marine and coastal ecosystems. This carbon is captured and stored by living organisms in the ocean and is sequestered in the form of biomass and sedimentation from mangrove ecosystems, intertidal saltwater ecosystems along the coast, seagrass meadows, and potential algal organisms.

Blue carbon represents the presence of carbon contained in marine and aquatic ecosystems, different from the presence of carbon in ecosystems that we commonly know, such as forest ecosystems. Therefore, although the habitat of plants or vegetation in marine ecosystems covers only about 0.5% of the ocean floor surface, this carbon storage accounts for more than 50% and can even reach up to 70% of the total carbon storage found in ocean floor sediments.

The term blue carbon itself actually refers to three types of vegetation habitats in coastal waters, namely: mangroves, or intertidal areas of saline waters, and seagrass beds, as well as the overall role of these ecosystem types in the global carbon cycle.

From the perspective of Blue Carbon, these three types of ecosystems have the main characteristics of a high level of carbon content buried within them and have advantages that can reach up to 40 times the carbon content possessed by storage systems in terrestrial ecosystem types.

Mangrove is a forest that is always green throughout the year; evergreen generally grows starting from a height parallel to the sea surface level up to the height of the land as far as the highest tide level, or at least almost 40 species of true mangrove trees are found in the coral triangle (Tomlisson, 1987). These species are found in three main zones, namely the coastal zone, the mid-zone or mesozone, and the landward zone. The border or transition area of mangroves to higher land is the origin for tree species and shrub habits referred to as mangrove association plant types, such as those found in lowland swamp forests.

Indonesia has a history of owning the largest area of mangrove forest to date. Overall, Southeast Asia has a mangrove forest cover area of approximately 4.5 million km2, which accounts for 39% of the world's mangrove biodiversity area (FAO, 2015). Of this area, Indonesia has the largest mangrove forest cover of 2.24 million ha, followed by Malaysia with a mangrove forest area of 521 thousand ha and then the Philippines with approximately 356 thousand ha. Meanwhile, Timor Leste and Singapore have the lowest mangrove forest cover area of only about 3 thousand ha.

The seagrass ecosystem, mangrove forests, and intertidal saltwater areas can trap carbon from the atmosphere by storing carbon elements in their sediment layers, as well as below the soil surface and in the biomass below the surface and litter. 

In the biomass of living plants such as leaves, stems, branches, and roots, blue carbon can be stored for years, even up to millions of years, in the form of underground sediment deposits. Thus, although these aquatic ecosystems have forest cover with a smaller area and have a lesser amount/volume of biomass above the ground compared to the volume of plant biomass on land, they actually have the potential for long-term carbon storage, especially in the form of sediment deposits.

 We all must immediately realize how important it is to maintain the sustainability of the earth for future generations.

#karbonbiru #coastal #indonesia #Indonesiaemas #oscarliving #sustainability #keberlanjutan #negarakepulauan #archipelago #kekuatanindonesia #indonesiahebat #belanjafurniturejadimudah #jagaekosistem