Image credit: Rekam Nusantara Foundation
Nipuni Perera reflects on her experience at an insightful blue carbon workshop held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The high integrity blue carbon market technical workshop held in Jakarta (11 – 14th June) was indeed an unforgettable experience to explore the depths, opportunities, and risks of blue carbon markets. The workshop was jointly organised by Grid-Arendal and Ministry of Fisheries and Marine affairs in Indonesia, under the support of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and facilitation of the Rekam Nusantara Foundation.
The primary aim of the workshop was to enhance the understanding of integrity of blue carbon markets among Indonesian government and non-government stakeholders and to explore the opportunities for Indonesian seagrass carbon in marine protected areas. Like-minded blue carbon enthusiasts from different corners of the world (Norway, Scotland, Kenya, Canada, Japan, UK, and Australia) attended the event, along with the local participants from Indonesian ministries; non-government and community organisations; and research groups.
Participants showing off the cool seagrass dance (Image credit: Rekam Nusantara Foundation)
The workshop kickstarted with the theme of “Communities come first” where the importance of community participation in high integrity blue carbon projects were emphasised and discussed in detail. Drawing from examples of Mikoko Pamoja in Kenya, the first community-led blue carbon project in the world, and comparing its application to Indonesia, this session delivered strong recommendations to consider the inclusiveness of local communities in blue carbon initiatives. The first day concluded with an engaging discussion on “Achieving high integrity blue carbon”, underpinning existing protocols to frame the concept of high integrity, and how this could be adopted from an Indonesian perspective.
Project coordinator Kassim Juma giving an overview about the community–led Mikoko Pamoja project.
The second day of the workshop centred on the topic “How can the value of seagrass carbon be harnessed?”. Spanning from insights of the creative carbon plus model in Vanga seagrass project under Plan Vivo Nature Standard, to Japan’s approach for carbon calculations in seagrass and macroalgal beds, the session highlighted globally successful examples of seagrass carbon projects. During an engaging panel discussion, Indonesian researchers emphasised the advancements and existing barriers to upscale the quantification of seagrass carbon in Indonesia.
Panel discussion on seagrasses (From left: Prof. Pramaditya Wicaksono from UGM, Dr. Hirotada Moki from PARI, Amber Baker from ACES, moderated by Rekam Nusantara Foundation)
Working group discussions facilitated brainstorming and knowledge sharing among local and international participants. It was absolutely thrilling to listen to the same idea from a variety of perspectives (including research, governance and policy, and community outreach) and to synthesise these recommendations for a broader, more holistic perspective.
James Morris from Blue Marine Foundation presenting the outcomes of working group discussions.
A field visit to Pari island on the third day to restore local seagrass meadows was a key highlight of the event. This was an incredible opportunity to engage with field scientists and to understand the factors that influence the success of seagrass restoration in Indonesia. Here, many participants experienced collecting and transplanting seagrasses for the first time.
Participants marking transects for seagrass planting (Image credit: Rekam Nusantara Foundation)
After four days of networking, brainstorming and panel discussions, the workshop concluded on a positive note. The final session led to an engaging dialogue around critically evaluating the state of blue carbon in a global context. Enhancing the coordination among ministries working on blue carbon, improving the clarity around land ownership and access to permits, and promoting strong community involvement were some of the major recommendations discussed. It was encouraging to see great interest from both local and international participants to enable high integrity blue carbon in Indonesia. Hopefully, the outcomes of this workshop will kindle the efforts of Indonesia to become a pioneer in blue carbon and enhance momentum for high integrity blue carbon worldwide.
