The loss of blue carbon ecosystems results in significant levels of carbon emissions and decreased supply of other ecosystem services. West Africa contains approximately 14% of the world’s mangrove area but despite 25% of coverage loss between 1980 and 2006, the region’s mangroves have not been well studied. This study aims to provide a first step toward increasing the knowledge of the region’s blue carbon stocks, with a focus on mangroves, and of their financial value based on their carbon storage benefit alone. The best available data suggest that the region contains 1.97 million hectares of mangroves storing 854 million metric tons of carbon in above- and below-ground biomass and the top meter of soil; 4.8 million hectares of seagrass storing 673 million metric tons of carbon; and 1.2 million hectares of salt marshes storing 303 million metric tons of carbon. Even without including values for other benefits of intact mangroves, the conservation of mangroves in the region appears viable. Specifically, the discounted value of 20-year emission reductions under a conservation scenario is estimated to be between $341.2–569.0 million at an 8% discount rate and carbon prices of $3 and $5 per metric ton respectively.

中文翻译：

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西非的蓝色碳保护：可行性初步评估

蓝碳生态系统的丧失导致大量的碳排放，并减少了其他生态系统服务的供应。西非约占世界红树林面积的14％，但尽管在1980年至2006年之间覆盖面积损失了25％，但尚未对该地区的红树林进行深入研究。这项研究旨在为增加对该地区蓝色碳储量的了解提供第一步，重点是红树林及其仅基于碳储量收益的财务价值。现有的最佳数据表明，该地区有197万公顷的红树林，在地上和地下的生物量以及土壤的最上层存储了8.54亿公吨的碳；480万公顷的海草储存了6.73亿公吨的碳；和1。200万公顷的盐沼储藏了3.03亿公吨的碳。即使不包括完整红树林的其他利益价值，该地区的红树林保护似乎也是可行的。具体而言，在节约情景下，以8％的折现率计算的20年减排量的折现价值估计在341.2-5.690亿美元之间，碳价分别为每公吨3美元和5美元。