About the Hub

IORA is committed to the development and promotion of the Blue Economy, in which Blue Carbon initiatives play a critical part, due to its role in generating employment, food security, poverty alleviation and ensuring sustainability in business and economic models in the Indian Ocean.

Blue Carbon ecosystems enhance food security and livelihoods, especially by supporting fisheries and tourism. They can also play an important role in climate change mitigation and adaptation, and can reduce the impacts from natural disasters like storms and tsunamis. However, when degraded these benefits diminish or disappear, and they can become significant sources of greenhouse gases. Rates of degradation in the Indian ocean are high: robust science, policy and governance frameworks are key to protection and restoration efforts.

The IORA Indian Ocean Blue Carbon Hub was formally announced in September 2019 and aims to build knowledge and capacity in protecting and restoring blue carbon ecosystems throughout the Indian Ocean. Blue carbon allows multiple development goals to be addressed through a single policy framework that incorporates economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness — making it potentially a key element of blue economies.

The Hub aims to complement efforts in IORA and others that seek to establish sustainable blue economies by:

• Providing a knowledge hub to provide advice and capacity building expertise to IORA Member States
• Engaging in and facilitating research that seeks to improve knowledge and provide the evidence base for development of robust policy and finance mechanisms
• Helping to conserve and restore blue carbon ecosystems
• Establishing best practice and disseminating information about best practice
• Developing partnerships with organisations that can assist with implementation of activities that meet these objectives.

The Hub currently has two nodes of operation:

• Blue carbon science
• Blue carbon finance.

Project activities align with these nodes.

Contact the hub operations manager if you have any questions: