Freiss, Daniel A., Gajre, Radhika Bhargava, Amir, Aldrie, Arifanti, Virni, Aung, Toe, Chaiklang, Preeyaphat, Gevana, Dixon T, Htay, San San, Lee, Soon Loong, Lwin, Kay Khaing, Mook, Domingos, Myda, Chhinh, Pimple, Uday, Quevedo, Jay Mar D., Salmo III, Severino G, Sasmito, Sigit Deni, Shribman, Zoe, Sidik, Frida, Trinh, Hien Thuc, Vinh, Truong Van, Vo, Tuan Quoc, and Zhang, Zhen (2026) Mangrove blue carbon in Southeast Asia. Nature Reviews Earth and Environment. (In Press)

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Abstract

The blue carbon capacity of mangroves is an important contributor to climate change mitigation. Southeast Asia holds one-third of the world’s mangroves, although these ecosystems have previously experienced substantial loss and degradation, with large areas now available for restoration. We describe the distribution of mangrove carbon across Southeast Asia and the threats mangroves face, estimate their climate change mitigation potential, and synthesize progress and challenges in using mangroves as a regional natural climate solution. Mangrove conservation in Southeast Asia can avoid 13.53 Tg CO2e per year of emissions from land use change and sequester 0.96 Tg CO2e per year through restoration. Progress is being made in the implementation of blue carbon projects, with most countries incorporating mangroves into National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and Paris Agreement targets, and multiple commercial carbon credit schemes registered or under evaluation. However, socio-economic and governance constraints limit mangrove blue carbon strategies, potentially allowing only 5.5–34.2% of biophysically suitable restoration to be realized. Constraints include national and local enabling conditions, double counting of carbon for national and commercial offsetting, ambiguity in land tenure and carbon rights, financial barriers and capacity gaps. Overall, the mangroves of Southeast Asia have the potential to contribute to climate change mitigation, but substantial constraints to their conservation and restoration must first be overcome.

Item ID:	94538
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2662-138X
Copyright Information:	© Springer Nature Limited 2026.
Date Deposited:	03 Nov 2026 02:12
FoR Codes:	41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4102 Ecological applications > 410299 Ecological applications not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes:	19 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL HAZARDS > 1903 Mitigation of climate change > 190301 Climate change mitigation strategies @ 100%
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