National blue carbon policy assessment framework: towards effective management of coastal carbon ecosystems
The National Blue Carbon Policy Assessment Framework provides guidance to countries seeking to move forward with developing synergized conservation and restoration programmes and strategies through existing or new national laws, policies and initiatives. The Framework provides a flexible and affordable framework approach for countries to rapidly identify and analyse their potential for more streamlined sustainable coastal ecosystem management at the national policy level. It will help to understand how the management of mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrasses can be incentivised through existing coastal management efforts, while aligning with or creating new climate and carbon related policies and mechanisms. It is frequently the case that climate and carbon related policies and mechanisms have not been applied properly, or to their fullest extent, to coastal carbon ecosystems. Applying the Framework enables a fuller potential for action to be realised.