NESP MaC Project 1.15 – Coastal wetland restoration for Blue Carbon in northern Australia 2021-2022 (UQ)

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "Coastal wetland restoration for Blue Carbon in northern Australia". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata.

Investment in restoration of coastal wetland ecosystems is increasing due to concerns around habitat loss, water quality, decline in fish catches, coastal inundation and erosion, and climate change. Coastal wetlands, including mangroves, saltmarshes, seagrasses and tidal freshwater forests like Melaleuca have significant capacity to sequester carbon dioxide contributing to blue carbon stocks. They provide habitat for coastal fisheries and a range of biodiversity and are culturally important. This project aims to develop a method, that can be widely used across Australia, to prioritise coastal wetland restoration sites for Blue Carbon projects based on a value-based framework that considers biophysical suitability, balancing of wetland values, condition, regulation and policy adequacy, and economic feasibility.

Planned Outputs
• Spatial data outputs from the Fitzroy Basin QLD, south-west WA and northern Australia analysis [spatial dataset]
• Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]