Blue carbon ecosystems

Blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes are coastal and marine habitats that naturally capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

• As informed by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the Namami Gange Programme (National Mission for Clean Ganga – NMCG) is a comprehensive river rejuvenation initiative.
• While it mainly focuses on sewage treatment, riverfront development, afforestation, wetland and biodiversity conservation, and public awareness, some of which indirectly support blue carbon sequestration.
• Under this programme, scientific afforestation along the Ganga has been undertaken based on a Detailed Project Report (DPR) by the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun.
• India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement do not specifically mention “blue carbon ecosystems” as a separate target.