PNG spearheads region’s first blue carbon policy

MACBLUE Project Director Raphael Linzatti delivers his opening remarks during the two-days workshop.

The Papua New Guinea Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA) and the Conservation and Environmental Protection Authority (CEPA) has officially opened its National Blue Carbon Policy Roadmap Workshop this morning at the Stanley Hotel.

The workshop is expected to provide clear guidance on the joint objectives and content of the proposed National Blue Carbon Policy Roadmap.

Blue carbon ecosystems are oceanic carbon sinks such as mangroves, seagrasses and tidal marshes and their protection are crucial in climate change mitigation.

“Article 5 of the Paris Agreement calls for the conservation of sinks in order to achieve the long-term temperature goals of 1.5 degree Celsius,” said Acting Managing Director CCDA Debra Sungi.

“The country has a diverse area of blue carbon ecosystem and so the government is hoping to incorporate this into the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories as well as establishing a roadmap for a Blue Carbon policy,”

“Therefore, in this workshop we are to address the gaps and challenges in order to have a comprehensive and well-informed Blue Carbon policy,”

CEPA Managing Director Jude Tukuliya stated the development of the Blue Carbon Policy Roadmap will be the first in the Pacific marking Papua New Guinea’s serious commitment to safeguarding the country’s blue carbon ecosystems.

“Protecting and conserving blue carbon ecosystems, as well as restoring degraded sites is outlined clearly in the national marine program and is not only an environmental imperative but also an economic necessity,” Tukuliya shared.

The convening will include key stakeholders from government, provincial administrations, academia, non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations.

The workshop will feature presentations on inventory, data collection and mapping, reporting requirements, legal and institutional arrangement, financing and international commitments.

The workshop is supported by The Nature Conservancy and the Management and Conservation of Blue Carbon (MACBLUE) project.