npj Climate Action - Decoding governance functions to navigate ocean-based climate action

Blue carbon projects are expanding, yet their implications for tenure security remain uncertain. Analysis of 122 guidance documents reveals that rights are narrowly interpreted and key international o...

‘Blue carbon’ is a label for carbon stored in mangrove, seagrass and tidal marsh ecosystems. These ecosystems are located in the territories of coastal communities, small-scale fishers and Indigenous peoples. Blue carbon projects are gaining popularity as an opportunity to meet national climate targets through habitat conservation and restoration, and the formation of markets — claimed to generate billions of dollars of future investment potential globally. However, without careful attention, blue carbon projects risk being the latest wave of dispossession as projects are typically foreign led and require permanence (usually 100 years for carbon storage), meaning rightsholders forgo their rights to use, access and manage resources (known as ‘tenure’), losing power and agency to govern their territories and benefit from vital livelihood services. It is timely to critically examine tenure rights treatment in blue carbon guidance (beyond as a condition for project approval) by specifically asking how, and by whom, will the rights of Indigenous peoples, communities and small-scale fishers be respected and upheld as a prior and continuing obligation in the design, governance and implementation of the blue carbon agenda. Our analysis of 122 blue carbon guidance documents reveals most guidance is produced by international non-governmental organizations, governments and...

New James Cook University-led research warns that rising interest in blue carbon projects could pose significant risks to the tenure rights of coastal communities, small-scale fishers and Indigenous P...

Gender equality is a ubiquitous national goal, yet sectoral gender data gaps to support this goal persist. These gaps are both structural and sexist, concealing women’s contributions and impeding acti...

A UN meeting this week considered a motion on a suite of technologies known as ‘solar radiation modification’, but no consensus could be reached on the controversial topic.

As climatic impacts in oceans intensify, novel marine climate interventions are increasingly popular. However, little is known about whether such interventions are socially responsible. Our analysis o...

Marine systems are rapidly changing in response to global heating. The scale and intensity of change are triggering a host of novel interventions to sustain oceans and ocean-dependent societies. Howev...

Climate interventions are accelerating in our oceans—but without responsible governance, they could do more harm than good, according to new research.

Marine systems are rapidly changing in response to global heating. The scale and intensity of change are triggering a host of novel interventions to sustain oceans and ocean-dependent societies. Howev...

James Cook University (JCU) is creating a brighter future for life in the Tropics and beyond, through education and research that makes a difference locally and globally.  We now have an opportunity a...

Oceans are on the front line of new planned climate actions, but understanding of novel marine-climate intervention development and deployment remains low. Here a survey among intervention practitione...

Oceans are on the front line of new planned climate actions, but understanding of novel marine-climate intervention development and deployment remains low. Here a survey among intervention practitione...