The Buried Treasure in Panama's Mangrove Forests: the Carbon They Store

[Judi Lynn]

These ecosystems feed and shelter migrating birds and surrounding communities—and help fight climate change. By tapping some of that value, conservationists seek to ensure they’ll continue doing so.

By María Paula Rubiano A.
Reporter, Audubon Magazine

Summer 2022

Like a layer of thin skin, Panama Bay’s mangroves separate the continent from the Pacific Ocean, sheltering Panama City and 86 miles of rural coast from storms. The rich ecosystem, which includes enormous tidal mudflats, also feeds Panamanians and up to two million migrating shorebirds.

This year biogeochemist Jorge Hoyos-Santillán and a six-person team got personal with these trees, snuggling trunks with a measuring tape, bending to collect leaves from the muddy ground, and coring samples of soft earth until hitting soil so old it held no traces of decaying living material. “I tease the team a lot,” he says, “because we’re going into the field to literally hug trees.”

Their work here, as well as in Panama’s Parita Bay, is aimed at measuring a less visible service these ecosystems provide: soaking up and storing carbon, which helps mitigate climate change.

The multi-year project, managed by Audubon Americas and mainly financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, is a pivotal step towards creating Panama’s first carbon credits from ocean ecosystems. These “blue” carbon credits could entice new investors—and crucially, the national government—to conserve these key places, says Audubon Americas deputy director Matthew Jeffery.

More:
https://www.audubon.org/magazine/summer-2022/the-buried-treasure-panamas-mangrove-forests

[Deuxcents]

1. Interesting..

I hope what they learn will convince governments climate challenges are real.