The Blue Carbon Mapping Project
The project, in partnership with WWF, RSPB and the Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS), provides the first ever estimate of the amount of carbon stored in UK seabed habitats, including in Marine Protected Areas.
The report highlights how physical disturbances to the seabed, including from human activity such as bottom trawling, as well as moorings and offshore developments, pose threats to blue carbon stores.
WWF, The Wildlife Trusts, and the RSPB are calling on governments across the UK to strengthen protections for valuable blue carbon stores – including in MPAs – by minimising the impacts of human activities on the seabed. Most MPAs were not designated to protect blue carbon, and failing to protect these areas from disturbance could threaten climate and biodiversity goals – including net-zero and protecting 30% of seas by 2030.
The report highlights how physical disturbances to the seabed, including from human activity such as bottom trawling, as well as moorings and offshore developments, pose threats to blue carbon stores.
WWF, The Wildlife Trusts, and the RSPB are calling on governments across the UK to strengthen protections for valuable blue carbon stores – including in MPAs – by minimising the impacts of human activities on the seabed. Most MPAs were not designated to protect blue carbon, and failing to protect these areas from disturbance could threaten climate and biodiversity goals – including net-zero and protecting 30% of seas by 2030.