Indonesian Waters Absorb Millions of Ton of Carbon

Manado, North Sulawesi (Antara)- Waters within Indonesia's maritime boundary can absorb around 138 million tons of carbon annually, Marine and Fisheries Minister Sharif C Sutardjo said here on Thursday. "Marine and coastal ecosystems in Indonesia contribute extensively to absorbing carbon, such as green house gas emission and carbon-dioxide from human activities," the minister said during the Blue Carbon International Symposium 2014 in Manado, North Sulawesi. Sharif noted that scientists have recently discovered an important function of tropical waters and coastal ecosystem as absorbent of blue carbon. According to him, the tropical waters and coastal ecosystem are able to store up to around 830 tons of carbon per cubic meter per hectare, especially in the sediment under sea-grass beds. In addition, the mangrove ecosystem is also known to have a high productivity in the carbon cycle. He added that such an ecosystem can store a large amount of carbon in organic sediment. "That means the mangrove ecosystem plays a major role in climate change mitigation," the minister noted. (*)