The Pacific Blue Carbon Program
The Pacific Blue Carbon Program (PBCP) is a DFAT-funded activity Supporting Pacific Island Countries with Blue Carbon Policy and Science. The primary objective of the PBCP is to support national climate action and livelihoods in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Fiji, through enhanced measurement, management and investment in coastal blue carbon ecosystems. CSIRO is focused on building the national capacity of the PNG and Fijian governments to gather baseline data and develop their technical capacity to measure, report and verify, their blue carbon stocks.
Mangroves: Credit Mat Vanderklift
Our team is primarily involved in providing assistance with the development of better mapping capability of mangrove and seagrass habitats and routine change detection (Work package 6). This work draws upon access to freely accessible moderate resolution remotely sensed imagery, supplemented where necessary for specific sites with higher resolution commercial imagery and the development of automated workflows for the processing and analysis of this imagery.
Mangrove forests density and composition as well as seagrass extent is required in order to adopt the ecogeomorphic approach for soil collection and subsequent modelling of soil carbon stocks and fluxes. The derivation of soil organic carbon stocks from satellite- based estimates of above ground biomass using allometric methods requires assessment as well as the quantification of associated uncertainties. There is a need to develop consistent methods for the mapping of mangroves and seagrasses including digitisation, classification and accuracy assessments. The application of datacube technologies and the production of analysis ready data (ARD) that facilitates consistent and effect change detection will improve mapping processes.
Seagrass – Credit: Mat Vanderklift
This work is collaboration between O&A and L&W colleagues and relevant technical agencies to support the use of datacube technologies for measurement of habitat extent and change detection of mangrove forests and seagrass meadows. In-country partners will be supported to develop new maps for selected regions and to validate maps and undertake accuracy assessments.