New approach of accounting for carbon loss from mangrove deforestation
Dr Dan Richards and co-authors found that the loss of global carbon stocks from mangrove deforestation is not as dire as previously portrayed, with implications for carbon credit schemes.
A different approach to accounting for carbon loss from mangrove deforestation could lead to a different understanding of the state of our mangrove forests, the total amount of carbon lost globally, as well as how carbon credit is calculated.
The paper external pageQuantifying net loss of global mangrove carbon stocks from 20 years of land cover change by Dr Dan Richards, principal investigator of Natural Capital Singapore, and co-authors, was first published in Nature Communications.
The Straits Times published the article external pageMangrove loss may not mean release of all carbon stock: Study based on Dr Richards work, explaining his findings and the implications.
While global mangrove area had shrunk over the 20-year study period from 1996, about a quarter of the losses had been offset by the regrowth of mangroves due to human or natural reforestation. The findings suggest that the amount of carbon that would be creditable from a hectare of conserved mangrove forest could be less than what was previously expected.