Earth Equity News

Loss of Natural Ocean CCS Systems (Marine Plant Life) Put at 7% a Year. ByFrank Pope, London Times,October 14, 2009. "Mangrove forests, salt marshes and seagrass... together they cover less than 1% of the world's seabed, [but] they lock away well over half of all carbon to be buried in the ocean floor. They are estimated to store 1,650 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year -- nearly half of global transport emissions -- making them one of the most intense carbon sinks on Earth. Their capacity to absorb the emissions is under threat, however: the habitats are being lost at a rate of up to 7% a year, up to 15 times faster than the tropical rainforests. A third have already been lost. Halting their destruction could be one of the easiest ways of reducing future emissions, says the report, [Blue Carbon: The Role of Healthy Oceans in Binding Carbon, PDF, 80 pp], a collaboration between the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and Unesco.. With 50% of the world's population living within 65 miles of the sea, human pressures on nearshore waters are powerful. Since the 1940s, parts of Asia have lost up to 90% of their mangrove forests, robbing both spawning fish and local people of sanctuary from storms. The salt marshes near estuaries and deltas have suffered a similar fate as they are drained to make room for development."