Social and policy science perspectives of local blue
carbon initiatives in the Coral Triangle Region andconsiderations for upscaling the restoration
RYO KOHSAKAGraduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences,
The University of Tokyo

Prof. Ryo KOHSAKAEMPLOYMENT RECORD
2022Professor at Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
2019 - 2022 Professor at Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University
2018 IPBES external review panel / Asia-Pacific Regional Assessment Coordinating Lead Author
2017 - 2018 Visiting Professor at Seoul National University
2016 - 2019 Professor at Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Japan
2012 - 2016 Associate Professor at Graduate School of Human and Socio-Environment Studies, Kanazawa University
2008 - 2012 Associate Professor, Economics, Nagoya City University
2006 - 2008 Professional Officer at UNEP Secretariat CBD
2004 - 2006 Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Tokyo, Tokyo Japan
1997 - 1998 Project Officer at the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), Hungary. Honoured as Life Fellow
EDUCATION
2000 - 2004 Ph.D. Univ. Freiburg, Germany
1998 - 1999 M.Sc. in Environment and Development, University of East Anglia
1994 - 1998 B.Sc. in Rural Dev., Agricultural Faculty, University of Tokyo

The BLUE CARBON (BC) Concept
BC refers to organic carbon that is captured and stored bycoastal and marine ecosystems, particularly by mangrove
forests, seagrass meadows, and tidal marshes [Nellemann et al. 2009]
Salt marshes

https://sites.google.com/site/isla
Mangrove Forests
ndecology2011/salt-marsh
Seagrass Beds

BLUE CARBON ECOSYSTEMS(BCEs)
Among the most productive ecosystems
offering beneficial services that directly or indirectly
enhance people’s well-being and supporting local
communities and national economies [Crooks et al. 2017]

Provisioning (e.g., food, timber)
Supporting (e.g., habitat forcommercially important species)
Cultural (e.g., aesthetic, spiritual)
Regulating (e.g., coastal protection,
natural buffer)[Primavera 2000; Uddin et al. 2013; Mukherjee etal. 2014; Hansen and Reidenbach 2017;
Dasgupta et al. 2019]

key service they provide is the capacity
to mitigate climate change
Carbon (atmosphere) captured bycoastal environments[Pidgeon 2009]

Stored Organic Carbon in Biomassabove and below ground[Mcleod et al. 2011; Alongi et al. 2016]

THREATSTHREATS
Natural disasters

Reclamation, deforestation,engineering andurbanization, transformation
to aquaculture ponds[Primavera 2000]

Warming Sea Surface
Temperatures[Duarte et al. 2013][Fortes 2018]

BLUECARBONECOSYSTEMS(BCEs)GLOBALINITIATIVES

CO2CO2CO2CO2CO2GLOBALINITIATIVES
Scientific studies andpeer-reviewed journals

EFFECT
When degraded or destroyed, they can be a SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, withthousands of years of sequestered carbon released over a period of years to decades [Crooks et al. 2011]

BCE-related studies have progressed over the years

Review paper (Miwa et al. forthcoming)
as of 2019 (limited to peer-reviewed articles)

Natural science disciplines are more focused as research topics (e.g., carbon sequestration rates) in the scientific community[e.g., Alongi et al. 2015, Friess et al. 2016, Macreadie et al. 2017]

Social science-related studies on BCEs are limited globally, despite being an essential part of the researchand practice of BCE management

Social and policy science perspectives of local blue
carbon initiatives in the Coral Triangle Region andconsiderations for upscaling the restoration

INDONESIA

We provide insights on the current local blue
carbon initiatives in Indonesia and thePhilippines, where BCEs are among the main
resource of many communities, yet, arecontinually being degraded by utilizing socialand policy science assessments tools

Community perceptionsof BCE services

Insights from Busuanga Island, Philippines and Karimunjawa Island, Indonesia

Awareness level of mangrove ES in Busuanga
is fairly consistent, with 27.6% to 35.7% of therespondents being “very aware” of all the ES
Recognition of seagrass ES depends on the typeof service; provisioning, supporting, and cultural
benefits are highly recognized while regulating
services are poorly known (“not aware”)
Awareness level of mangroves and seagrasses’
ES have the same trends in Karimunjawa;
respondents were “extremely aware” ofsupporting (serves a nursery, feeding, andbreeding area), regulating (coastal protectionand natural buffer), and cultural (recreational andeducational) services

How Blue Carbon Ecosystems Are Perceived by Local Communities in the Coral Triangle: Comparativeand Empirical Examinations in the Philippines and Indonesia[Quevedo et al. 2021]

Interestingly, almost half (43.5% to 45.7%) of therespondents are “not aware” of provisioning
services of BCEs

Communityparticipatory
mapping

Insights from Derawan Island, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Three datasets

Community participatory
mapping helps identify thedrivers affecting the BCEs
and existing BC initiatives

Derawan Island
Perception: Drivers

The proposed triangulating frameworkprovide a holistic approach of understanding
the land-use change, its drivers and existing
policy strategies

Land Use Changes Assessment using a triangulated framework:
Perception Interviews, Land-Use/Land Cover Observation,and Spatial Planning Analysis in Tanjung Batu and Derawan
Island, Indonesia [Lukman et al. 2021]

LULC map: Change in thevegetation detected
Policy map: Island isclassified as strategic
zone for environment
conservation and tourism
activities

Current placement of BCE initiatives in provincial scale
Among the 27 provincial spatial plans of
INDONESIA that were analyzed, only threeprovinces (Central Kalimantan, Jakarta and Papua)
mentioned the carbon storage cluster
Example: Jakarta aims to reduce 30% of
greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 - carbon
sequestration of mangrove ecosystems has been
introduced [Rahmawati 2018]

Indonesia Provincial Spatial Plans on mangroves in era ofdecentralization: Application of content analysis to 27
provinces and “blue carbon” as overlooked components[Lukman et al. 2019]

In 2018, Berau – as part of the East Kalimantan
province – issued a new strategic plan namely theBerau Forest Carbon Program (PKHB), which aims toreduce carbon emissions and improve carbon stock
through forest management and conservation[Yuwono and Hamzah 2018]

Current placement of BCE initiatives in local scale

Are Municipalities Ready for Integrating BlueCarbon Concepts?: Content Analysis of Coastal Management
Plans in the Philippines[Quevedo et al. 2021]

Present coastal management plans of selectedmunicipalities (local) were analyzed for BC
management strategies
Not much has been discussed in terms of carbon
sequestration and storage benefits of BCEs at thelocal level

The least mentioned cluster is carbon
sequestration with a total frequency of 1, indicating
the relatively low or lack of knowledge towards
carbon sequestration and the economic
potential it could offer to coastal communities
There is an opportunity to incorporate “bluecarbon” concepts into coastal management plan
at local scales
Cluster ranks, cluster frequencies per ecosystem,and overall total cluster frequencies

Enhancing awareness of BC functionsof mangroves and seagrasses(Regional to Global Scale)

Applying lessons learned in other regions with similar
demographic settings; linking local initiatives with internationallevel frameworks or programs

upscaling BC initiatives

Enhancing community awareness of BC
functions of mangroves and seagrasses(Local Scale)

Empowering local stakeholders through community-based
management and involving them in decision making
Collaborating with other stakeholders (e.g., academe, NGOs) in
preparing appropriate BC strategies
upscaling the BC initiatives

Current BC-related
initiatives

Low awareness of carbon
sequestration functions
compared to other ES

Weak to nonexistent BC-themed
management strategies at local andprovincial scales

Social and policy science perspectives
Coral Triangle Region (Philippines, Indonesia)

To know more about our works on social and policy science
perspectives of blue carbon initiatives in the Coral Triangle Region,please feel free to check the links below.

THANK YOU for listening

Various stakeholders’ perceptions of BCE services
https://doi.org/10.1080/13416979.2019.1696441
https://doi.org/10.1080/21664250.2021.1888558
https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1703.12325

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2021.101820
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104462
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105451
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105181
https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010127
Current BC initiatives at local and provincial scales
https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2021.1928455
https://doi.org/10.1080/13416979.2019.1679328
Community perceptions and GIS integration
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-021-01608-9

Blue carbon ecosystems in Eastern Samar, Philippines

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-021-00253-w

Acknowledgements
Comprehensive Assessment and Conservationof Blue Carbon Ecosystems and Their Services
in the Coral Triangle (Blue CARES)

Enhancing capacities of local stakeholders in Coral Triangle
in managing Blue Carbon Ecosystems for climate mitigation
and adaptation (CBA2020-05SY-KOHSAKA)