NEWS Umeå University is leading a collaborative research project that has been awarded over SEK 5 million by Vetenskapsrådet and Formas. The goal is to develop a roadmap for blue carbon policy in least developed countries, especially focusing on southeast Asia.
Blue carbon ecosystems are intimately connected to society, such as these mangrove forests located in shrimp farm aquaculture in northern Vietnam.
ImageHeidi BurdettPoverty and climate change are closely linked, so they must be tackled together. This is especially important in least developed countries, which have the lowest social, political and environmental resilience to climate change. Nature-based solutions, where we use natural processes to address a sociopolitical problem, could achieve this, and “blue carbon” – the storage of carbon in coastal ecosystems - has particular potential in least developed countries.
Dr Heidi Burdett, Associate Professor at Umeå University.
ImageHeidi Burdett“The goal of this project is to understand and compare the potential for blue carbon in Cambodia and Vietnam, considering natural resources, community values and political challenges. The project’s vision is to create a foundation for sustainable development in southeast Asia”, says Dr Heidi Burdett, Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology & Environmental Science and the Umeå Marine Sciences Centre at Umeå University.
Blue carbon is emerging as a popular tool in environmental policy because it has joint social, political and environmental benefits, with the potential to tackle many of the problems we face because of climate change.
“Cambodia, Vietnam, and southeast Asia more widely, are facing incredible challenges over the coming decades, and we honoured to be able to collaborate with researchers in the region on a project that will have real positive impact on their future”, says Dr Heidi Burdett.
The project is in collaboration with Thuyloi University, the University of Khanh Hoa and Vietnam National University in Vietnam, and the Mekong River Commission in Cambodia. Vetenskapsrådet and Formas will co-fund the project with SEK 5.375 million over three years.
