(VOVWORLD) - The administration of Quang Tri Province, central Vietnam has approved a research project under which researchers will explore the carbon storage capacity of seagrass beds and suggest effective and sustainable solutions to the management, restoration, and exploitation of seagrass meadows in the province.
 Quang Tri province will research seagrass beds to sell carbon credits. (Photo: Hoang Tao/baodantoc.vn) |
The research aims to determine the carbon stock and value in seagrass meadows at two local beaches, namely Cua Tung and Cua Viet, and Con Co Island, the provincial administration said in a statement made on Thursday.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quang Tri, the project’s investor, underlined the important role of seagrasses in the marine ecosystem.
The value of seagrass meadows around the world is an estimated US$3.8 trillion, reaching an average $212,000 per hectare per year.
Seagrasses are capable of storing some 19.9 billion metric tons of organic carbon, some three-fold higher than the storage capacity of evergreen forests with the same area unit, according to the department.
The conservation and development of seagrasses can create tradable carbon credits.