Protecting Seagrass ThroughPayments for Ecosystem Services:
A Community Guide

Edinburgh Napier University
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)© United Nations Environment Programme 2020
Date: May 2020
Front CoverSea turtle resting on a seagrass bed.
© Ewout Knoester
Back CoverSquids floating on seagrass beds
© Ewout Knoester
Inside Images
We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to
Dr Amrit Dencer-Brown for creating the illustrations within this document.
Degraded seagrass beds due to overgrazing by sea urchins.
© Ewout Knoester, Kenya
Seagrass meadows occuring adjacent to mangroves.
© Gabriel Akoko, Kenya
Seagrass monitoring.
© by Gabriel Akoko, Kenya.
Authors
Robyn Shilland, Association for Coastal Ecosystem Services; Anne Wanjiru, Kenya Marine and Fisheries
Research Institute; Ahmed Mohamed, United Nations Environment Programme; Gabriel Grimsditch, United
Nations Environment Programme; Mark Huxham, Edinburgh Napier University.
Citation
United Nations Environment Programme, 2020. Protecting Seagrass Through Payments for Ecosystem
Services: A Community Guide. UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya.
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Protecting Seagrass ThroughPayments for Ecosystem Services:
A Community Guide

A Community GuideiObjectives of this document
Seagrasses are an important part of many coastal
ecosystems worldwide. They are flowering plants,
or angiosperms, and grow as ‘meadows’ in subtidal
and intertidal zones in tropical, subtropical andtemperate seas. They provide many ecosystemservices – the benefits to people provided byecosystems – to those who live close to them andto people further afield. For example, they act as
a nursery habitat for fish and shellfish, many ofwhich are caught by fishers, and so help to boost
the populations of marine species which provide
food and income. They act as a coastal buffer,protecting the shore from erosion by waves andstorms. They also trap large quantities of carbon,
helping to mitigate climate change.
Seagrass meadows can be damaged and lost as
a result of various human activities. These threats
can be direct, involving the physical damage or
removal of seagrass meadows (for example byfishing gears), or indirect, including smothering bysediment from land erosion upstream. Globally,ii

the combined threats to seagrass have caused
the loss of 29% of seagrass coverage worldwide
in the last 100 years.
Seagrass is currently under-recognised bymany governments and inter-governmental
agreements. This is in part due to lack ofrecognition of the benefits that it provides topeople, and its perceived lack of charisma by the
public in comparison to other marine ecosystems
such as coral reefs and mangroves, which receive
more public attention. Even when appropriate
legislation is in place, implementation is often
lacking; the funds and expertise may not be
available and seagrass is easily forgotten whencompeting with more obvious priorities.
Community-based conservation provides anopportunity to fill this gap in seagrass protection.
Community-based
conservation
allowscommunity groups to manage natural resources
through an inclusive and structured approach

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

that can be tailored to the needs and resourcesof the community. The primary beneficiaries
and managers of a community-based seagrassconservation project will be the communities
who live adjacent to seagrass meadows anddepend on the seagrass for sustenance and/or
income. Through a community-based approach,communities are empowered to manage thenatural resources upon which they depend,delivering positive outcomes for both ecosystems
and people.
One means of facilitating and funding communitybased conservation is by Payments for Ecosystem
Services, or PES. Through PES, stewards of natural
resources can receive funds for environmental
protection, paid for by individuals or organisations
who will benefit either directly or indirectly fromtheir protection. PES transactions are usually
regulated by third parties and are based on
measurable outcomes – for example biodiversity
conserved or carbon sequestered.

To date, no Payments for Ecosystem Services
projects are focused exclusively on seagrassconservation. However, there are examples ofcommunity groups using PES to facilitate coastaland ‘Blue Carbon’ conservation projects (examplesof these are included here as case studies).
This document will explore the ways in which
community groups could use PES to run aseagrass conservation project. It will outline therequirements of running a project and include bestpractice guidance on governing and operating acommunity-based conservation project.

A Community Guideiii

Scope of this document
This document does not provide step-by-step
instructions on running a community-based
seagrass conservation project; it does however
provide guidance and best-practice advice on
how to do so and acts as a ‘signposting’ guide toresources elsewhere. The scope of the document
is intended to be global and so details of countryspecific legislation, cultural context or otherfactors that will be key considerations in runninga community-based seagrass conservation
project cannot be covered. It is intended for use bycommunity groups and project developers withan interest in establishing a community-based
seagrass conservation project. It provides generalguidance for doing so as well as supplementaryiv

information on setting up a Payments for
Ecosystem Services (PES) project. Here, wehave a particular focus on carbon-based PES.
This is because carbon trading provides the only
existing global market that is relevant to seagrass,
it is one of the best financed and most securely
developed and the authors have most experienceof dealing with it. However, this is not intended to
imply that carbon will be the best or only option
for seagrass-based PES in many situations; ourintention is to describe features of PES that will be
relevant in developing projects providing a rangeof services, but which generally use examples
from the carbon market.

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

Structure of this document
Sections 1 and 2 provide context for the
document, describing the importance andconservation status of seagrass, the issue ofclimate change and how, in the context of climatechange, seagrass conservation can capture andstore carbon.
Section 3 outlines the benefits of communitybased conservation in contrast to traditional,‘top-down’ governance.
Section 4 briefly outlines the factors to be taken into
consideration when first planning a communitybased conservation project. These are expanded
on in section 5, where the requirements aredescribed in more detail. Section 6 encourages thebuilding of professional networks to implement
a community-based conservation project, witha case study from the Mikoko Pamoja project inGazi Bay, Kenya.
Section 7 introduces Payments for Ecosystem
Services (PES), with a focus on carbon-based
PES. It outlines the principles of PES and how
a carbon-based PES project is implemented. It
describes the marketing and trading requirementsof a carbon-based PES project, as well as theincome that can be expected from a project. It
outlines an anticipated timeline for establishing a
project.
Contact details are given at the end of the
document for organisations wishing to seek
advice or support in establishing a communitybased seagrass PES project.

A Community Guidev

Table of Contents
Objectives of this document................................................................................................................... ii
Scope of this document......................................................................................................................... iv
Structure of this document..................................................................................................................... v
Glossary of terms.................................................................................................................................. vii
1.

Seagrass importance, threats and conservation status...........................................................1

2.

Climate change.............................................................................................................................23.

Benefits of community-based management/conservation.....................................................3

4.

Planning a project........................................................................................................................4

5.

Requirements of a community-based seagrass conservation project...................................5
5.1

Financial......................................................................................................................................... 5

5.2

Scientific & technical expertise/skills....................................................................................... 6

5.3

Governance................................................................................................................................... 6

5.4

Community engagement............................................................................................................ 7

5.5

Benefits sharing............................................................................................................................ 8

5.6

Legal rights to govern.................................................................................................................. 9

6.

Networks: value and how to engage...........................................................................................97.

Payments for Ecosystem Services........................................................................................... 11
7.1

What is PES?............................................................................................................................... 11

7.2

Principles of carbon PES ......................................................................................................... 11
7.2.1

Permanence.................................................................................................................... 11

7.2.2 Leakage............................................................................................................................ 127.2.3 Additionality.................................................................................................................... 12
7.3

Operating a carbon-based seagrass PES project............................................................... 12
7.3.1

Choosing a standard .................................................................................................... 127.3.2 Carbon accounting........................................................................................................ 13
7.3.3 Monitoring targets......................................................................................................... 14
7.3.4 Annual reporting............................................................................................................ 15
7.3.5 Marketing and sales...................................................................................................... 15
7.3.6 What income can a project expect from carbon credits?..................................... 16
7.3.7 Timeline for setting up a seagrass carbon project................................................. 17
8.

Conclusion..................................................................................................................................17vi

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

Glossary of terms

Above ground biomass (AGB)

Plant matter making up the shoots and leaves of plants

Allochthonous carbon

Carbon in an ecosystem that was produced outside of that
ecosystem (for example, carbon that flowed down a river into an
estuary and was trapped by a seagrass meadow)

Autochthonous carbon

Carbon in an ecosystem that was produced within that same
ecosystem (for example, seagrass leaves that drop from the plant andare trapped by the sediment)

Below ground biomass (BGB)

Plant matter making up the roots of plants

Carbon accounting

A means of estimating how much carbon a project will sequester(capture) through its interventions

Carbon credit

A unit (typically equivalent to 1 tonne of CO 2) available for purchaserepresenting carbon sequestered (captured)

Carbon sequestration

A process by which carbon is removed from the atmosphere andstored (for example, trees turning carbon dioxide into plant matter)

Carbon standard

A set of specifications required by a certifying body to certify a project
under their standard

Ecosystem service

The functions of an ecosystem from which humans benefit (forexample food provision or coastal protection)

Nursery habitat

A habitat that contributes disproportionately highly to the number,
growth and/or survival of juvenile forms of marine species (forexample, fish laying eggs in seagrass)

Payments for Ecosystem

Payments made to stewards to enhance or facilitate ecosystem

Services

service delivery (for example, paying to plant trees that will capture
carbon to compensate for emitting carbon elsewhere)

Sediment carbon

Organic carbon stored in sediment (in this context, in the sediment
underneath seagrass meadows)

A Community Guide

vii

viii

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

1.

Seagrass importance, threats and conservation status

Seagrasses are flowering plants, or angiosperms,
that grow in intertidal and shallow subtidal zones intropical to temperate seas across the globe. They
form ‘meadows’ that vary in extent and density
according to species and geographic location.
Seagrasses provide important ecosystemservices to the people who live alongside themand depend on them for sustenance and income,as well as for people worldwide. Healthy seagrassmeadows support fisheries through their role asa nursery habitat, giving young fish and shellfish
a safe place to shelter and a source of food. By
acting as a coastal buffer to waves they protect
the shore from erosion, reducing the need for
expensive infrastructure such as sea walls andhelping to maintain other coastal ecosystems
such as mangrove forests. They also provide
more far-reaching benefits for climate regulation
by sequestering large volumes of carbon in
their sediments, preventing its release into theatmosphere as carbon dioxide. The contributionof seagrasses to these ecosystem services have
only recently been widely recognised.

or indirectly by human activities. Seagrassmeadows may be removed to make way for
infrastructure such as marinas. Boat activity,
including anchoring and certain fishing methods
such as seine netting and dredging can damage
or destroy seagrass. Seagrass health can beaffected, in cases to the point of mortality, by
pollution and sedimentation caused by land use
practices including deforestation and fertilizer
run-off further upstream. Collectively, thesethreats have led to the loss of 29% of global
seagrass meadows1.
This decline in seagrass extent is continuing
because seagrass conservation laws are absent
or weak, or those that do exist are poorly enforced.
The importance of conserving seagrass has only
been recognised recently and few countries haveenacted laws to protect it; those that have often
fail to implement them. If action is not taken toprotect seagrass meadows, many of the benefits
that we gain from them could be lost.
1

Seagrass meadows are at risk of damage orloss due to various pressures caused directly

Waycott, M., Duarte, C., Carruthers, T., Orth, R., Dennison,W., Olyarnik, S., Calladine, a., Fourqurean, J., Heck Jr., K,
Hughes, R., Kendrick, G., Kenworthy, J., Short, F., andWilliams, S. (2009) Accelerating loss of seagrasses acrossthe globe threatens coastal ecosystems. PNAS 106(30)A Community Guide12. Climate change

Degraded seagrass beds due to overgrazing by sea urchins. © Ewout Knoester, Kenya

Earth’s climate is changing at an alarming
rate, driven by emissions of greenhouse gases
including carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
This is causing increasingly extreme weather
patterns, loss of biodiversity and growing risks ofcoastal flooding and storm damage. Conserving
coastal ecosystems is very important in the fightagainst climate change. They help to maintain theability of the earth to absorb carbon dioxide as
well as protect the coast and its inhabitants fromthe effects of climate change.

2

Seagrass, along with mangroves and saltmarsh,
act as a coastal ‘buffer’, a physical barrier against
the damaging effects of storms, tsunamis andrising seas. They also store large amountsof carbon – often many times more per unit
area than ecosystems further inland – hence
conserving them helps to prevent this carbon
being released into the atmosphere and maintains
their ability to capture more carbon in the future.
As sea levels rise, healthy coastal ecosystems
can help protect coastal communities from risingwaters and allow the coastline to adapt to newsea levels, for example by raising their own soil
or sediment levels in tune with the rising sea leveland by moving with the sea as it comes inland.

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

3. Benefits of community-based management/
conservation
Community-based conservation is where
community groups, sometimes in partnershipwith governmental and non-governmentalorganisations, take responsibility for and controlof managing their natural resources. Thisapproach to conservation has several benefits
over traditional conservation led by governments
and large non-governmental organisations:
1. Communities are more likely to benefit
from conservation projects. Communities
can design conservation projects thatare compatible with their lifestyles andlivelihoods, and outcomes are planned
according to what is important to local
people.
2. Community-based
projects
canreduce conflict between environmental
conservation and people’s lifestyles andlivelihoods. People are not disadvantaged
by restrictions imposed by governments
and large organisations. By putting people’s
needs at the centre of conservation,community-based conservation can bebeneficial for both people and the naturalenvironment.

3. Community-based conservation provides
opportunities for community groups toform a network with international andnational organisations, governmental
bodies and other community groups toshare skills and experience. This can benefit
all individuals and organisations involved
and improve communication between
all levels of society from government tocommunities.
4. Communities are empowered to manage
the natural resources upon which they
depend for sustenance and income.
Communities can take responsibility
for and ownership of natural resource
management that is typically held bygovernments.
5. Where there are insufficient government
resources to enforce and manage
conservation, local people can beempowered to act as stewards andmanagers, sometimes without requiring
additional salaries, provided they receive
some of the benefits of doing so.

Mangroves and seagrasses, among other coastal habitats, benefit fish populations that provide a source of food andincome for coastal populations

A Community Guide3

4. Planning a projectAt the early stages of your project planning,community groups should carry out anassessment of if and how the project can be
implemented. This will help groups anticipate
problems that might arise and take early action
to avoid or address them. Factors to consider are:
1. Do you have the technical ability to carryout the project (see section 5.2 Scientificand Technical), or are you able to bringin this capacity through staff or project
partners?
2. Do you have the legal right to govern the
project area (see section 5.6 Legal rights togovern), or can this right be secured?
3. Do you have the financial resources, or theability to secure these, to fund the project(see section 5.1 Financial)?

4. Is there community support for the project,or can this be gained (see section 5.4
Community engagement)?
Groups should clearly define roles andresponsibilities on the project, including in projectplanning, and who will hold these.
Groups may also want to consider integrating
multiple marine and coastal ecosystems (forexample, mangroves and/or coral reefs) alongsideseagrass into a single project. This may increase
the level of time, resources, skills and equipment
required for the project. However, doing so could
create a more robust project with greater capacity
for income from carbon credits or other sourcesof funding. Coastal and marine ecosystems areclosely linked and a joined-up approach to theirconservation will bring more environmental
benefits than conserving one alone.

Seagrass meadows occuring adjacent to mangroves.
© (Gabriel Akoko, Kenya)

4

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

An integrated coastal ecosystems approach has been taken by the Mikoko Pamoja project in Kenya.
The Mikoko Pamoja project operated solely as a mangrove conservation project funded by carbon
credits for 6 years before integrating seagrass as an additional benefit. The project design allowed
for monitoring of the seagrass that was robust yet simple and less costly than a full monitoring
programme that would be required if the seagrass were to be certified alongside mangroves. The
project, with the approval of the carbon standard, will market the seagrass conservation as an ‘added
benefit’ of the project to raise additional income. This approach allowed the project to avoid the heavy
financial and technical burden of certifying seagrass under a carbon standard, and instead include it
as an ‘add-on’ to an existing certified mangrove project.

Thorough and considered planning at an early stage will help to create a robust and effective project

5. Requirements of a community-based seagrassconservation project
5.1 Financial
How a project will be funded must be consideredat the project planning stage. Do not cut corners
here: a project that is sufficiently funded in theplanning stages will have an increased chance of
success further down the line.
Community groups are likely to need to apply for
grants or other sources of funding at least to planand initiate the project, even if the project is tobe self-sustaining later. Funding can be secured
from governments, NGOs and philanthropic
foundations, research programmes and othersources. Partnering organisations can assist inaccessing these funding sources (see section 6
Networks).

A plan of how the project will be funded, or atleast options for funding, should be clear fromthe start of the process. Community groups may
also wish to explore options for funds generated
by the project itself (for example PES), potential
funding streams or institutional commitment
from external organisations.
Monitoring of seagrass can be time-consuming
and costly, involving activities and equipment
including diving and use of laboratory equipment(see section 5.2 Scientific and technical). An
analysis of these costs should be carried out at the
project planning stage. Community groups mayneed to consult with organisations with relevant
experience in this area to accurately estimate the

A Community Guide5

costs of these activities. Even if PES funding isbrought in by the project, this may not be enoughto cover monitoring costs and supplementary
forms of income may need to be identified.
A means of receiving funds that is transparent
and accountable should be set up. This should bea bank account that is controlled by a constituted
body. Structures to facilitate democratic decisionmaking, such as an elected committee, may
strengthen the position of the organisation bydemonstrating community engagement and input
to donors. If this does not exist, you may wish toreceive funds by an existing organisation under anagreement for the use of the funds. This will givefunders the assurance that their money will be
responsibly handled.

5.2 Scientific & technical expertise/skills
A seagrass conservation project will involve
surveying and monitoring of seagrass meadows.
Internationally-used methods can be adopted toensure that monitoring is scientifically accurate.
These protocols are designed to be used by bothscientists and non-scientists, and so are simple tofollow. They include Seagrass-Watch, Seagrass
Spotter and SeagrassNet.
Monitoring using these methods will involve
people being in the intertidal zone at low tideand may (depending on project design) involve
wading, snorkelling and/or diving. Those carryingout monitoring activities should therefore
be confident in navigating the intertidal zone
between tides, and swimming or diving skills
may be necessary. Project design can exclude
diving or snorkelling activities from monitoring,but if so, the seagrass that can be included in the
project area will be limited to intertidal meadows
exposed at low tide. This may be a better option
for projects with fewer resources as surveying
the intertidal region by foot is considerably lesstime and resource-consuming than snorkelling or
diving.
Once monitoring data are collected, data andsamples need to be analysed. This will require
some scientific and mathematical skills and theuse of computers. Depending on the project design,
more advanced analysis may require specialised
equipment. The use of such equipment may
require access to a laboratory. Surveying in thefield will at least require appropriate clothing andfootwear to safely survey in the intertidal region,
quadrats and equipment to take sediment cores.
The laboratory analysis of samples may include
the use of acid to remove inorganic carbon anda furnace to measure organic carbon content.
Scientific skills and technically competent project
team members will be required for the analysisof the data produced by these analyses. If theseskills are not present within the community group,partners involved in the project may be able toassist with and/or teach these skills. Community
groups should plan carefully for the work that isrequired of a project and involve the necessary
team members and/or partner organisations –see section 6 Networks.

5.3 Governance

Seagrass monitoring. © by Gabriel Akoko, Kenya.

6

A community-based conservation project willneed strong community-level governance thatprovides structured oversight of the project,provides strategic guidance and ensures that
guiding principles are followed. The following

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

principles should be considered when project
governance is planned:
1. A governing body should be representativeof the communities who are involvedin the project. This may mean (but is
not limited to) taking into consideration
geographic locations of communities,
ethnic or religious groups, professions orindustries that are affected by the project,and minority demographic groups.
2. Governance should respect local andnational-level laws and customs. Thismay mean consulting community leadersand following appropriate customs andprocedures while also ensuring complianceat a national level, should this be relevant.
3. A governing body should establish andfollow clear and equitable procedures.
These should include consultation,
decision making, financial, reportingand grievance procedures, with clear
instructions as to how these processes
should be conducted and who is
responsible for them. Project participants(including community members) should
be made aware that these procedures
exist, and the procedures should be madepublicly available to community members
who wish to view them.
4. A governing body should be accepted
and recognised by the communities it
represents. Steps should be taken to
ensure that community members are
satisfied that they are represented and thatthe governance process is fair.
5. Membership of a governing body shouldbe open and democratic; election to agoverning body should be democraticallydecided by the community and all relevant
community members should have theopportunity to be elected to a governing
position.
6. Where relevant, provisions should be
put in place to allow disadvantaged orminority groups to be fairly represented ina governing body.

Community groups constituted as legal entities will
benefit from strengthened governance structures
as well as gaining national-level recognition andopportunities for international funding.

5.4 Community engagement
A community-based conservation initiative isalready founded in community values and likely
has the support of at least part of the community.
This existing support will be strengthened, andfurther support gained, by a formal community
consultation at the project planning stage andongoing engagement throughout the project.
An inclusive community consultation should invite
all members of the community to discuss the
proposed project and how it may impact on theiractivities; in particular concerted efforts need to bemade to include people and groups who are most
likely to be negatively affected by any proposedchanges, as well as those who for cultural,geographic or financial reasons are most often
forgotten. Running a formal consultation createsan open and welcoming space where community
members can learn more about the project andhave a say in it. It ensures that all stakeholders
are involved from the start and avoids unexpected
conflicts further into the project by ensuring thatstakeholders are well informed of, and have had
the opportunity to comment on, project design.
Crucially such a consultation must genuinely seek
consent. So project proposers must be ready tomodify or to abandon their plans if community
consent is not possible.
Engaging the whole community in the consultation
will benefit the work by bringing in ideas from
more people and groups that may not have been
considered by the project team. This could include
traditional knowledge, professional experienceand creative and innovative ideas from across thecommunity.
Ongoing community engagement throughout
the project is important to maintain community
support. This process can be built into theproject’s governing procedures, and existing
community gatherings or processes can be used
to hold these consultations. Clear and transparent
processes should be in place to allow community
members to contribute in a constructive way and

A Community Guide

7

Consulting with stakeholders and the wider community will ensure that the project is well-supported, as well as
providing an opportunity to gather ideas and knowledge from a wide range of people and organisations.

ensure that their views are heard and consideredby the right people.

5.5 Benefits sharing

these benefits are linked to the conservation
project to highlight that the costs of such a project
are balanced by positive impacts.

Environmental conservation projects canbring costs and benefits to local people who
rely on natural resources. Fair and equitablebenefits sharing is an important componentof a community-based conservation project,addressing inequalities that projects may createin access to resources.

A project design should plan for diverse benefits
and not be solely reliant on, for example,
increased income from tourism (which isnotoriously vulnerable to changing markets andpolitical shocks). Relying on one or two benefits
increases the chance of failure if that benefit does
not materialise – for example, if external factors
cause tourist numbers to fall.

The benefits of conservation can be: income
generated directly by project activities or indirectly
through increased tourism; enhanced and secured
ecosystem services; enhanced biodiversity;
opportunities for recreation, education andresearch; or cultural or historic preservation. It is
important to demonstrate to stakeholders where

The benefits of environmental conservation are
diverse and more difficult to directly measurethan costs. For this reason, comprehensive andongoing discussions with stakeholders regarding
both costs and benefits are needed to ensure that
benefits sharing it equitable and individuals and/or
groups are not unfairly disadvantaged by a project.

8

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

Benefits may not consist of direct handouts in theform of cash or other resources to individuals; if
direct financial benefits are generated by project
activities, these should be spent to maximise thewider community benefit and avoid individuals
benefitting disproportionately; especially where
resources are owned and managed communally,
benefits must be shown to benefit all those who
contribute and not only a few more powerfulindividuals. Should financial benefits be createdby the project, the funds must be responsibly
managed by a central and accountable body toensure appropriate spending.

5.6 Legal rights to govern
To be able to manage an area of land andbenefit from conservation, community groups
should ensure that they have the legal right todo so through land tenureship, land ownershipor contractual agreements with the landowners(who in most cases will be the government). This
will help (and in many cases will be essential) insecuring funding and will allow the community tolegally enforce their management measures.

6. Networks: value and how to engage
Community-based conservation does not need
to be carried out solely by the community groupthemselves. Partnerships in many types ofproject can enhance their success by engaging a
range of skills and expertise. Community groups
may benefit from support and partnerships fromexternal organisations including government
bodies, non-governmental organisations andresearch institutions, without detracting from thecommunity’s autonomy and ownership of the
project. These partnerships and collaborations
can and should be beneficial to all involved:
communities can develop skills and experiencethrough support from external organisations,while the project may provide opportunities forresearch and for collaborative work.

External contribution can be direct, throughfinancial or staff contributions to the project,or through skill sharing and opportunities forlearning. Many organisations seek collaborations
with community groups to carry out research andconservation activities, and so these partnerships
can and should be beneficial for all of those
involved. Many research organisations and NGOs
welcome proposals from community groupsinterested in working together. Community groups
should have a clear plan of what support theyneed and identify partners who may be able toprovide this before approaching potential partnerorganisations.

Governmental support and partnerships
For management measures within a community-based conservation project to be legally enforceable,
governmental approval and recognition of the community group as the managing body is needed.
Engagement with relevant governmental bodies (for seagrass, these will be bodies with responsibility
for marine and coastal management) should take place early in the planning stages of a project.
Some governments may allow for co-management of natural resources. Under a co-management
arrangement, community groups and governmental bodies share management responsibilities
to allow communities to benefit from management rights and governmental recognition andenforcement of management measures. Relevant legislation and government agencies should be
consulted regarding provisions for this.
Co-management arrangements should clearly define roles and responsibilities of parties within thearrangement, and these should be constructed so that communities are the primary beneficiaries ofthe project.

A Community Guide

9

Case study: Mikoko Pamoja blue carbon project, Kenya
The Mikoko Pamoja blue carbon project on the southern coast of Kenya is run by the Mikoko
Pamoja Community Organisation (MPCO). MPCO, whose objective is to restore mangroves
through the sale of carbon credits, consists of two project staff and an elected committee fromthe surrounding community, as well as an expert Steering Committee. MPCO has the on-site
support of the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), a government body whichhosts the staff and provides scientific and technical advice and assistance. The project area isgoverned under a co-management agreement between MPCO and the Kenya Forest Service(KFS), a government organisation which is responsible for forest management. In addition to
KMFRI, MPCO collaborates with international universities for scientific and technical support and
ACES, a UK-based NGO, to market and sell their carbon credits.
Through these collaborations the Mikoko Pamoja project gains skills, experience and services
that may not otherwise have been available to the Community Organisation alone, as well as
exposure on international platforms. The collaborating organisations gain the opportunity to
conduct research and to assist the Community Organisation in innovative blue carbon climate
mitigation activities.
These partnerships were built over years of exchanges and collaborations between theorganisations involved. The project’s successful network building has come as a result of clear
roles and responsibilities, shared trust developed over many years as well as mutual benefits frominvolvement in the partnership. Mikoko Pamoja’s success is mainly attributed to its community
engagement, support from a scientific institute, government support and international networks.

The Mikoko Pamoja project has engaged a wide range of organisations, both national and international, tocreate an effective project.

10

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

7.

Payments for Ecosystem Services

7.1 What is PES?

PES projects involve those who benefit from ecosystem services paying the stewards of the ecosystem

Payments for Ecosystem Services, or PES, isa mechanism for environmental protection
through which individuals and organisations pay
managers or stewards to carry out activities that
preserve or enhance the provision of ecosystemservices, sometimes to make up for damaging
activities, such as carbon emissions, elsewhere.
Those who pay for PES are motivated by direct
or indirect benefits. Manufacturers of food anddrink, for example, could benefit from improved
water quality for their products and so may pay
for environmental protection that enhances
water quality rather than pay for expensive
water treatment facilities. Other ‘beneficiaries’ of
PES may be indirect; a common example is thepurchasing of carbon credits, where individuals
or organisations whose activities (such as flying
by aeroplane) emit carbon pay for activities suchas the planting or conservation of trees thatsequester (trap) that carbon elsewhere. This
allows individuals and organisations to minimise
their environmental footprint.
PES transactions are generally regulated byindependent organisations. The benefits that they
deliver (such as biodiversity conserved or carbon

sequestered) are measured and sold as units,
such as 1 tonne of carbon dioxide sequestered.
The independent organisations inspect monitored
data for the project and certify that these units
have been created by the project’s activities.
This allows them to be sold. This independent
oversight gives PES buyers assurance that when
they make payments, their money is going to atrustworthy source.

7.2 Principles of carbon PES
There are several principles that you must keep inmind when designing a PES project to ensure thatit has a real benefit to the environment. These are
known as permanence, leakage and additionality
and are explained below. A standard will provide
guidance on each of these and how it expects
projects to address them.

7.2.1 Permanence
The permanence of a project is the length of timethat the carbon storage (or another ecosystemservice) will be delivered for. A project must beable to demonstrate that the benefits delivered
will not be reversed, for example by deforestation
or natural processes, for a reasonable timescale

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11

after the PES have been made. This is normallyassumed to be 100 years. It is of course
challenging to demonstrate now what will happen
to an ecosystem in 100 years’ time, however
project planners should consider how the land
might be managed after the end of the project
period. For example, are there national or local
policies allowing for community ownership ofland, that could prevent development? Is theecosystem at risk from other environmental
factors outside the project’s control that could
damage the ecosystem, and what is the likelihoodthat this will occur? Seagrass sediments, when left
undisturbed, are known to sequester carbon overhundreds to thousands of years, and scientificevidence demonstrating this will support projects
in demonstrating permanence.

7.2.2 Leakage
Leakage is the risk that damaging activities
excluded from a project area by management
measures or protection will simply occur
elsewhere instead, rather than being decreasedor prevented altogether. For example, excluding
wood cutting from one forest may simply force
people to cut in a nearby forest. A project must beable to demonstrate that it has taken measures
to prevent this activity from happening anywhere,
not just in the project location. This can be difficult
to assess and prevent, but standards recognise
this and can accept a project if reasonable steps
have been taken to prevent or compensate forleakage. For example, if anchoring is a local driverof degradation in seagrass and this is prohibitedin a protected seagrass meadow, designation ofanchoring points (potentially including fixed points
embedded in the seabed) would prevent boats
anchoring in non-protected seagrass nearby.
The Mikoko Pamoja project in Kenya
established community woodlots of Casuarina
trees, a terrestrial tree that could be harvested
to compensate for the loss of timber for building
and firewood resulting from the mangrove
protection. The woodlots were harvested andsold at a low cost to community members,
with income re-invested into the community.

7.2.3 Additionality
Proving additionality requires projects todemonstrate that their activities are additional
to what would have taken place in the absence ofthe project. This may mean demonstrating that12

existing effective protection is not already in place,that current trends will result in degradation or
removal of the ecosystem service under businessas usual scenarios or that alternative funding has
not already been secured to finance the same
work.
Project developers will be required to assess thebaseline conditions – what state is the ecosystem
in now and the trends in condition of the ecosystem.
By understanding these trends and predicting theimprovements in ecosystem condition that the
project will bring, the additionality of a project canbe demonstrated.
Project developers should also assess legal
frameworks and designations in place, such
as Marine Protected Areas, when considering
additionality. The presence of an existing
protected area should not automatically disprove
additionality; the effective management of thearea is vital and if this is not being delivered, then a
PES project within an already protected area could
be considered to be additional.

7.3 Operating a carbon-based
seagrass PES project7.3.1 Choosing a standard
If carbon-based PES is chosen as a means offunding a project, a ‘standard’ must usually bechosen to certify the project against. This is aset of guidance and rules by which a project
must adhere to be certified under that standard.
Standards are administered by organisations
linked uniquely to each standard; for example,
the Plan Vivo Foundation administers the Plan
Vivo Standard and Verra administers the Verified
Carbon Standard.
Several different standards exist, each suitable fordifferent types of projects. A community-based
seagrass conservation project should select astandard that is tailored towards small-scale,community let projects such as the Plan Vivo
Standard or the Verified Carbon Standard.
Project developers should evaluate different
standards and select one that is well-suited to theirindividual projects. Developers can and should
open discussions with the administering bodiesof these standards to discuss their projects at

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

Carbon can travel between and be stored within marine and coastal ecosystems

an early stage, as the standard will guide project
design. It is possible for PES projects to operate
without accreditation, in which case they must rely
on existing networks and trust in order to sell theirecosystem services; if you intend to access theopen market and sell to new buyers, certification
by a standard will make it much easier.

7.3.2 Carbon accounting
To fund a project through carbon-based PES,
a project must be able to estimate how muchcarbon its activities will allow to be sequestered.
This may be the carbon sequestered by new trees
planted, or by the trees that were prevented frombeing cut down. You will need to set out ‘baseline’(the condition of the ecosystem and trends in thiscondition at present, or before the project start)and ‘project’ (the anticipated improvements thatthe project will make to ecosystem condition)
scenarios for carbon sequestration. There areseveral methodologies for doing this: these
are called carbon accounting methodologies.
The most appropriate of these for small-scalecommunity projects may be the Verified Carbon

Standard methodology for Tidal Wetland andSeagrass Restoration2 . The carbon accounting
methodology used must be recognised by thestandard chosen by the project. The standard
2

https://verra.org/methodology/vm0033-methodology-fortidal-wetland-and-seagrass-restoration-v1-0/

may have its own methodology (for example, theVCS Methodology for Tidal Wetland and Seagrass
Restoration) or they may recognise a third-party
methodology. This can be discussed with the
body who administers the standard.
Carbon accounting methodologies are complex
and require strong scientific skills to interpretand apply. If these skills are not present in acommunity group, they will need to be sources
elsewhere through contractual support or
through partnerships with academic institutions
or science-based NGOs.
7.3.2.1 Carbon storage in the ecosystem
A carbon PES project must take into consideration
where carbon is stored within the ecosystem.
Carbon can be stored in the biomass of seagrass(the plant itself) and in the sediment beneath it.
Biomass carbon is categorised into above groundbiomass (leaves, stem and shoots) and below
ground biomass (roots). Seagrass biomass isvery minimal (with the exception of the below
ground biomass of Posidonia species) and is likely
to be transported out of the seagrass ecosystemand degraded when the seagrass dies. For thisreason, it is not expected that it would be included
in a carbon PES project. The sediment carbon,

A Community Guide

13however, is a much larger and longer lasting
carbon store. A carbon PES project is likely to be
based on this carbon.
7.3.2.2 Where did the carbon come from,and where will it go if the seagrass isdisturbed or destroyed?
A carbon PES project must consiader where thecarbon sequestered within the project area camefrom as well as what would happen to it if theseagrass meadow is damaged or destroyed.
Carbon stored in seagrass sediment can comefrom two sources. It can come from the seagrass
itself, as dead plant matter is incorporated into
the sediment - this is known as autochthonous
carbon. It can also come from outside the seagrass
habitat, as carbon from other sources such as
mangroves or rivers is trapped by the seagrassmeadow and incorporated into the sediment - thisis known as allochthonous carbon. It is argued
by some that allochthonous carbon should not
be included in estimates of carbon storage inseagrass as it cannot be proven that that carbon
would not have been stored elsewhere had it notbeen trapped by the seagrass meadow.
What happens to seagrass carbon in the case of
disturbance or destruction of the meadow also
needs to be taken into consideration. There is
uncertainty about what happens if the seagrass isdisturbed or destroyed – if the carbon is degraded
and returned to the atmosphere as carbon
dioxide, contributing to climate change, or if it istransported into deeper waters and stored there.
If it is transported elsewhere when disturbed
or destroyed, it cannot be claimed that theseagrass meadow protection is having a positiveeffect on carbon storage in the long-term. At thetime of writing there was no clear consensus
within carbon standards on how this should be
addressed, but this may develop in the future andthe issue should be considered by projects.

living tissues of seagrass or in the leaf litter, often
well decomposed, within the sediment. Inorganiccarbon is carbon stored in minerals – in seagrassecosystems, this is primarily in the form of thecalcium carbonate shells formed by shellfish
which live among and feed upon the seagrass andits sediments.
Calcium carbonate is formed by a process called
calcification. Although this process ultimately
stores carbon, the process under which it forms
emits CO 2 , resulting in a net loss of carbon overall.
This means that inorganic carbon cannot be
eligible for carbon credits.
The only carbon standard to address this at thetime of writing is the VCS Methodology for Tidal
Wetland and Seagrass restoration. This standard
requires calcium carbonate to be removed fromsamples prior to measuring total carbon, if it ispresent in significant quantities. This will havetechnical implications for the processing of
sediments to calculate total carbon content, as
calcium carbonate will first need to be dissolved.
No other carbon standards give guidance on how
a project should address the presence of inorganiccarbon in the ecosystem; this may develop if andwhen other carbon standards develop guidance
for seagrass carbon.

7.3.3 Monitoring targets
Carbon standards require projects to set out
how they will monitor the project’s progress andwhether it is meeting its aims. These monitoringtargets should be clearly defined, measurable andachievable in the context of individual projects.
These monitoring targets may include (but are
not limited to): Seagrass coverage of the seabed; Seagrass species composition;

7.3.2.3 Organic and inorganic carbon
Carbon can be found in two forms in ecosystems:
organic carbon (or Corg) and inorganic carbon (orCinorg). The type of carbon being measured within
an ecosystem may have implications for a project.

The targets that you select may be specified
by, or identified in conjunction with, the carbon
standard.

Organic carbon is the carbon found in, or derived
from, living beings or matter – for example, theYou may wish to align these targets, where
possible, with the data that are gathered by14

 Biodiversity indices.

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

monitoring methodologies such as SeagrassWatch.

example community benefit/development
projects;

You will be required to report against thesemonitoring targets on an annual basis, althoughdata can be gathered more often than annually(the robustness of your data will be improved bymultiple surveys each year). Your project will be
subject to auditing by a third party periodically(e.g. every 5 years), during which the accuracyof this data will be independently checked. You
should retain all original data collection sheets
and other materials used (e.g. aerial photography)
for inspection during these audits.

 Key events and successes throughout theyear;

7.3.4 Annual reporting
You will be required to report to the carbon
standard annually. This is to ensure that the projectis meetings its aims and objectives (or, if it isn’t, tocommunicate on challenges and barriers to doingso). The annual release carbon credits generated
by a project is dependent upon this report so thatbuyers can be sure that the carbon that they areoffsetting is being sequestered elsewhere.
This report will include (but is not limited to): Reporting against monitoring targets (see7.4.3 Monitoring targets); Reporting against any additional benefits
that your project may aim to deliver, for Community participation and involvement;
 Sales of carbon credits
The writing of these reports will require strong
literacy and numerical skills and the ability tointerpret and present scientific data.

7.3.5 Marketing and sales
Once your project is certified under a standard
and generating carbon credits, you will be able
to sell these to the public and organisations. You
will need to market your project’s carbon credits
and find buyers. These buyers may be national orinternational organisations or individuals.
Carbon markets are broadly categorised into
‘voluntary’ and ‘compliance’ markets. The
voluntary carbon market refers to transactions
made voluntarily – individuals or organisations
who are under no obligation to offset theircarbon footprint but choose to do so. In contrast,
the ‘compliance market’ refers to the tradingof credits required by law – for example, large
polluting organisations who, under national
and international obligations, are obligated to

A seagrass protection or restoration project will involve surveying the seagrass meadows

A Community Guide

15

reduce their carbon footprint. Small, communityled projects trade on the voluntary market;
compliance markets demand considerably higher
volumes of credits and require certification bystandards suited to large-scale projects.
The process of formally receiving and ‘retiring’(when you sell the credits to a buyer) is normallydone through an online third-party registry. The
process for this will be explained by your carbon
standard. Projects should have a transparentmeans of processing sales; if your project is likely
to be receiving international payments, a thirdparty payments system such as PayPal will be
helpful.
You may need to invest in marketing andcommunication materials to publicise your projectand sell the carbon credits, including a website,
leaflets, posters and information documents.
Collect photographs and videos of your work totell a story about your work to capture people’sinterest.
Carbon credits can be sold directly to buyers
or to ‘resellers’, who buy credits in bulk and sellthem to buyers themselves. There are pros andcons to each approach: selling directly to buyers
yourself will allow you to create a more personal
relationship with your buyers, leveraging long-term
support. Your project will also receive a higher
price, as there is no ‘middle-man’ to pay. However,it does involve more effort for the project inmarketing and processing sales. Using a resellermeans that you can sell larger volumes of credits
at once, minimising the time and resources onmarketing and sales. The reseller will buy yourcredits at a reduced price and keep a proportionof this money for their time spent on the process.
The best approach for a project (of course, you
can choose a combination of both) is dependent
on the project and the team involved, and whether
you wish or are able to invest time and resourcesin sales and marketing.

7.3.6 What income can a project expectfrom carbon credits?
It is important to have a clear idea from the start
about how much income a project can expectfrom selling carbon credits. You should make arealistic plan of how much the project will cost torun (see 5.1 Financial) and plan how you will secure16

any additional finances required to establish andoperate a project.
The price of carbon credits is variable according
to the market for them, which can rise or fall withchanging policies and public opinion of carbon
offsetting. At the time of writing (late 2019) there
was a strong demand for credits on the voluntary
market, and projects received ~US$8-12 per
tonne of carbon dioxide sequestered. Projects
should discuss anticipated carbon prices withthe administering body for the standard that theychoose, as the standard may have an influence on
the price that projects can expect for their carbon.
For example, following a standard that has astrong social and community ethos may allow
projects to leverage a higher carbon price as thiscan be seen favourably by buyers.
Seagrass sequesters approximately 1.38t3 ofcarbon per hectare per year (although this is anaverage figure and may be higher or lower inproject scenarios). This translates to 1.38 × 3.667= 5.06 tonnes of CO 2 (note that units can be
confusing; most of the voluntary market literaturedeals with CO 2 not C). The estimated income of a
project based on sequestration may therefore be
calculated as:(area of seagrass protected (ha)) x 5.06 x(market price for carbon)

So, for example, if a 100ha site and credits soldat US$10, a project can expect (100 x 5.06 x 10) =US$5,060 per year.
There may be additional credits (and income) fromavoided emissions as well as from anticipatedfuture sequestration. For example, a study in
Kenya4 estimated that 2.28 t C (or 8.36 t CO 2) was
lost following the first year of seagrass removalfrom small experimental plots. If a project canshow this is an additional benefit then it could
3

4

Protecting seagrass through Payments for Ecosystem Services

Based on a synthesis by McLeod et al. (2011): Mcleod, E. ,Chmura, G. L., Bouillon, S. , Salm, R. , Björk, M. , Duarte, C.
M., Lovelock, C. E., Schlesinger, W. H. and Silliman, B. R.
(2011), A blueprint for blue carbon: toward an improved
understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitats insequestering CO2. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment,
9: 552-560. doi:10.1890/110004
Githaiga MN, Frouws AM, Kairo JG and Huxham M (2019)
Seagrass Removal Leads to Rapid Changes in Fauna andLoss of Carbon. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 7:62. doi:
10.3389/fevo.2019.00062

claim for this carbon as well. A project design
can include areas for restoration and/or avoided
emissions; for example an area of degradedseagrass that will be allowed to recover as well as
an area of healthy seagrass that is protected fromdamage or removal.
Based on the calculations above, it may not be
viable to finance a project solely through sellingcarbon credits and other sources of income
should be sought.

7.3.7 Timeline for setting up a seagrasscarbon projectGroups should allow at least two years to establish
a seagrass carbon project. Below is a timeline
with brief activities. This is intended as a guideand will vary on a project-by-project basis.
Month 1: Project initiation. Gather the relevant
people (individuals and groups) and basic
information (e.g. types of fishing) for a seagrassproject.

Month 2-3: Draft project planning. Gather mapsof the area showing the status and distribution/
extent of the seagrass, draft proposedintervention(protection/restoration)areas,
identify stakeholders.
Month 4-6: Stakeholder consultation. Ensure all
relevant stakeholders (individuals and groups
whose activities overlap, directly or indirectly, withseagrass meadows). These may include fishers,
recreational users or other types of boats. Several
rounds of consultations may be required.
Month 7: Finalise project design. This will be
informed by the stakeholder consultation.
Month 8-24: Certification. Formalise project
design into a Project Design Document (PDD)
under a carbon standard and submit. This may
require additional data gathering and consultation
with experts. Do not underestimate the time andresources required to complete this. Make fulluse of advice from the carbon standard and work
closely with them to develop the PDD.

8. Conclusion
Conserving seagrass is vital to maintaining healthy
coastal ecosystems, including maintaining
productive fisheries. As a ‘Blue Carbon’ habitat,
it is an important carbon store and maintaining
healthy seagrass meadows will contribute tofurther carbon sequestration and prevent potential
release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
As many local communities rely on seagrassmeadows to make a living and as a source offood, they are well suited to management undera community-based conservation model that willallow local people to benefit from their sustainable
management. This conservation may be basedon a Payments for Ecosystem Services model,

allowing for results-based financial benefits tolocal communities for sustainable managementof seagrass meadows, which may be based oncarbon sequestration or other ecosystem services
including fisheries enhancement or coastal
protection. The frameworks that provide for thismodel are in their early stages however, and there
are many uncertainties in the science of seagrassecosystem services that may lead to challenges
in such a project. Despite this, PES provides auseful framework for seagrass conservation andcommunity benefit that may become increasingly
important as technical and regulatory issues areresolved.

EP #20-00741

A Community Guide

17

Support for communities interested in seagrass conservation
The UK-based NGO ACES (The Association for Coastal Ecosystem Services), who support communitybased coastal conservation, welcome interest from community groups interested in conserving seagrassmeadows.
If you would like more information or to discuss this, please see the ACES contact details below along withthose of our partners.
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Avenue, Gigiri
P.O. Box 30552 – 00100
Nairobi, Kenya
www.unep.org

The Association for Coastal Ecosystem Services (ACES)
Email: aces@aces-org.co.uk
Web: www.aces-org.co.uk

Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research InstituteHeadquarter and Mombasa Centre
P.O. Box 81651- 80100
Edinburgh Napier University
Sighthill Campus
Sighthill Court
Edinburgh
EH11 4BN

Silos Road,English Point,Mkomani
Mombasa, KENYA
Phone: +254 (20) 8021560/1,
Mobile: +254 (0) 712003853+44 (0)333 900 6040

Email: director@kmfri.go.ke
Website: www.kmfri.go.ke

studentrecruitment@napier.ac.uk
www.napier.ac.uk