Seagrass meadows and saltmarshes are vital ecosystems for sequestering carbon emissions, yet human activities are impacting their health. Protecting and restoring these ecosystems enhances nature, the climate and human welfare. Targeted projects that conserve and restore these ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems are essential to tackling climate change, pollution and the decline of biodiversity. 

For the past two years, the Gulbenkian Blue Carbon project, a collaboration between the Gulbenkian Foundation, ANP|WWF and the University of the Algarve’s Marine Sciences Centre (CCMAR), aimed to map and characterise the blue carbon ecosystems in mainland Portugal and promote investment in their conservation and restoration. 

The Foundation and project partners will now invest in a feasibility study to evaluate the potential of interventions in protecting and restoring blue carbon ecosystems in the Tagus Estuary. This is one of the most threatened estuaries in Portugal, and contains around 16% of mainland Portugal’s blue carbon ecosystems. For this reason, the salt pans in Alcochete were identified as a possible area of intervention. Expected to run until the end of 2025, the study will analyse the area’s potential to boost carbon capture and retention and protect marine biodiversity, and will identify co-benefits, such as benefits to local communities. 

Th​is​ ​feasibility assessment​ ​– the first of its kind in Portugal – ​will include novel scientific research, legal and policy assessment, stakeholder engagement and the development of a detailed implementation plan​ which will follow the best international guidelines and practices​ for a pilot project of this nature​.​

Supporting blue carbon ​ecosystems ​conservation 

Over the past two years, the Gulbenkian Blue Carbon initiative has compiled existing knowledge about carbon sequestration provided by Portugal’s marine and coastal ecosystems and has developed a roadmap for conservation and restoration projects. The data also helped the Foundation and partners advocate for marine ecosystems to be incorporated in a new decree-law establishing Portugal’s Voluntary Carbon Market – promoting national interest in protecting these ecosystems, which are vital for meeting biodiversity and climate targets.  

Insight from the project can benefit other organisations working on marine conservation – in Portugal and beyond – by providing guidelines for blue carbon strategies that can benefit both nature and people. Data and recommendations from the first phase of the project are available via three reports, available in English and Portuguese: 

• Blue Carbon: Roadmap for a voluntary market in Portugal 
• Scientific Report I: Assessment of blue carbon ecosystems in mainland Portugal 
• Scientific Report II: The 10 main blue carbon ecosystems in mainland Portugal 

Gulbenkian Blue Carbon identified an estimated 11,700 hectares of blue carbon ecosystems in mainland Portugal – comprised of approximately 10 thousand hectares of salt marshes (86% of the country’s total blue carbon ecosystem) and 1,7 thousand hectares of seagrass meadows (14%). 

The assessment studied the 10 largest estuarine-lagoon systems on the coast of mainland Portugal: the Ria de Aveiro, the Mondego Estuary, the Óbidos Lagoon, the Tagus Estuary, the Sado Estuary, the Mira Estuary, the Ria de Alvor, the Arade Estuary, the Ria Formosa, and the Guadiana Estuary. 

The Roadmap provides step-by-step guidance on blue carbon project development and certification. It clarifies how it will be possible to promote investment in the conservation and restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems in Portugal. With the support of project partners, ANP|WWF led the creation of the roadmap and led on a consultation with​ national and international,​ public and private entities on the development of blue carbon projects in Portugal.  

The Scientific Reports offer detailed information on the blue carbon ecosystems in mainland Portugal, from a detailed study from CCMAR. The second volume presents datasheets for each of the 10 ecosystems studied, covering location, the types of habitats and the area they occupy, protection statutes, estimates of carbon stocks and sequestration rates, environmental quality, threats and potential conservation interventions. 

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The future of blue natural capital

Coastal and marine habitats in Portugal – similar to what has happened across the globe – have suffered significant losses due to agriculture, urban​, touristic​ and port development, aquaculture and salt production.  

Protection of existing blue carbon ecosystems is the most effective conservation measure in safeguarding the ability of these ecosystems to act as carbon sinks, since restoring degraded coastal and marine ecosystems can take a long time. ​However, restoration is also an essential investment to reverse biodiversity loss and contribute to mitigation and adaptation to climate change.​ 

To prevent the decline of each estuarine-lagoon system along the Portuguese coast, specific protection measures are recommended, such as designating new protected areas or regulating threatening human activities. 

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation recognises the need to address biodiversity loss and climate change in an integrated manner, and acknowledges that the restoration of marine and coastal areas is a high-potential ‘nature-based’ solution that can tackle the impacts of climate change while protecting people and safeguarding biodiversity.  

Beyond the new study of the Tagus Estuary, the Gulbenkian Foundation’s Sustainability programme – which encourages climate and ocean solutions that work for both people and nature – is sharing other lessons from Gulbenkian Blue Carbon and promoting holistic ocean conservation in Portugal and beyond.