Can the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve provide perfect teething ground for a blue carbon based REDD+ pilot project?
2014
Ammar, A. A. | Dargusch, P. | Shamsudin I.
Mangroves provide a variety of ecosystem services and are among the most carbon-rich forest types on earth. While much attention has beengiven in policies and scientific literature to the opportunities mangrove blue carbon can potentially provide for climate change mitigation, sustainable development and ecological conservation, little attention has beenpaid to identifying a location that can serve as a conducive site for the development of a climate changemechanism. This paper proposes to address this gap by analysing the advantages of integrating a blue carbonbased REDD+ pilot project at the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve. The Matang Mangrove Forest Reserveis an interesting case study because it is a large contiguous mangrove forest area (40,466 ha) that has beenprimarily managed for the production of charcoal for more than a century and has been well managed toachieve favourable outcomes for local communities and ecological health. It is also one of the most studiedmangrove forests in the world. However, of late, there have been clear evidences of drastic deterioration inthe provision of several of its ecosystem services. REDD+ could offer the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve analternative management tool to formulate an enhanced sustainable forest management plan. On the otherhand, the unique characteristics and structure of the mangrove forest reserve could serve as a conducivepilot project site for the development of the climate change mechanism into a reliable and effective climatecombating tool. The proposed blue carbon based REDD+ pilot project could potentially be a crucial buildingblock in the development and implementation of Malaysia’s National REDD+ Strategy.
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