Conservation (blue carbon).
Moderate development potential
Overview.
Blue carbon ecosystems are central to ASEAN’s climate, biodiversity, and coastal‑resilience strategies, supporting critical ecological functions while underpinning food systems, cultural identity, and community livelihoods. Mangroves and seagrass meadows across the region store some of the world’s highest densities of organic carbon and play essential roles in buffering coasts from storms, supporting fisheries, and sustaining marine biodiversity. Yet these ecosystems face increasing pressures from deforestation, land‑use change, pollution, and development, resulting in significant carbon losses and heightened vulnerability for communities who rely on healthy coastal environments.
Across Southeast Asia, efforts to strengthen blue‑carbon governance and coastal conservation are increasing through coordinated regional strategies, knowledge networks, and integrated marine planning. Initiatives such as the Regional Strategy for Sustainable Mangrove Ecosystem Management and the ASEAN Mangrove Network (AMNET) aim to harmonise restoration efforts, build institutional capacity, and expand science‑based approaches to ecosystem management. Complementary programmes, including ENMAPS and activities under the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, are enhancing marine‑protected‑area networks and supporting national actions aligned with global commitments such as the CBD 30×30 target. At the same time, countries are advancing responses to land‑based pressures, including marine debris, through regional action plans and monitoring systems, while reef and fisheries initiatives under CTI‑CFF extend support for biodiversity conservation and climate‑resilient resource management. However, progress remains uneven due to capacity disparities, governance complexities, and limited long‑term monitoring and benefit‑sharing arrangements.
Within this wider sustainability and governance landscape, blue carbon and coastal conservation intersect with fisheries, tourism, coastal protection, land‑use planning, and traditional knowledge holders because healthy ecosystems underpin food security, hazard reduction, cultural practices, and sustainable tourism economies. These cross‑sector dynamics shape resilience, livelihoods, and long‑term development pathways, while advancing circular‑economy and climate‑mitigation goals through habitat restoration, carbon sequestration, pollution reduction, and the protection of natural capital that sustains communities and marine ecosystems across ASEAN.
Explore how Conservation (Blue Carbon) is positioned for each of the
Blue Economy Capitals.
Financial Capital.
Financial Capital.
ASEAN contains a substantial share of the world’s mangrove ecosystems, giving the region considerable blue‑carbon potential. However, efforts to translate this value into revenue through carbon markets or to attract major financing remain limited (Montemayor, 2025). To date, regional blue-carbon finance is largely confined to grants and technical assistance, typically in the tens of millions of dollars (UNDP, 2025). ASEAN-UK Green Transition Fund (GTF) supports nature-based solutions, including mangrove and blue-carbon initiatives, with a focus on technical assistance and project preparation rather than capital investment (International Development, 2025). Similarly, the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF), managed by the Asian Development Bank, offers up to USD 5 million per project in blended finance and grants, with coastal nature-based solutions and mangrove resilience identified as eligible sectors (Asian Forest Cooperation Organization, 2024).
At the regional level, several global and Indo-Pacific initiatives channel blue-carbon readiness finance into ASEAN. The Australia–IUCN Blue Carbon Accelerator Fund (AUD 7.25 million) provides grants of up to AUD 240,000 for mangrove and seagrass project preparation across the Indo-Pacific (DFAT, 2025). Mangroves for the Future (Phase 3) and the Japan–ASEAN Integration Fund similarly support planning, pilots, and community-based mangrove initiatives rather than large-scale infrastructure (Warren, 2020). International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s Deep Blue report confirms that blue-carbon projects still represent a marginal share of overall carbon-market and climate-finance flows, indicating substantial untapped investment potential despite growing momentum (IFC, 2023). Broader marine governance financing reinforces these efforts. The GEF-funded ASEAN ENMAPS programme (2024–2029, USD 12.5 million) strengthens marine protected area governance and connectivity across four Large Marine Ecosystems (UNDP, 2024; ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, 2024).
Marine plastic responses are guided by the ASEAN Regional Action Plan (2021–2025) and supported by the World Bank’s PROBLUE programme, including a USD 20 million regional grant for the SEA-MaP programme to reduce marine plastic pollution through coordinated regional action (World Bank, 2021,2022). Overall, ASEAN’s biodiversity and blue-carbon finance is shaped by regional strategies. The ASEAN Biodiversity Plan 2024–2030, for example, proposes an ASEAN Biodiversity Fund and is aligned with frameworks like the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action. Despite this, scaling finance, implementation capacity, and monitoring remain key challenges (ASEAN Biodiversity, 2024; DFAT, 2025).
Physical Capital.
Physical Capital.
Southeast Asia’s mangrove and seagrass ecosystems store an estimated an estimated 4.778,66 Teragrams of organic carbon across more than 12 million hectares, ranking among the world’s most carbon-rich coastal habitats (Becker et al., 2025; Thorhaug et al., 2020). The region contains approximately 37 percent of global mangroves and 23 percent of seagrass meadows, underscoring its critical role in carbon storage, biodiversity conservation, and coastal resilience (RSIS, 2024). However, mangrove cover declined from 5.07 to 4.82 million hectares between 1996 and 2020, driven largely by deforestation and land-use conversion, resulting in significant carbon losses (Rahman et al., 2024).
Marine conservation and blue carbon progress in ASEAN increasingly hinges on physical capital that cuts pollution at the source and keeps plastics out of coasts. Regionally, the ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris (2021–2025) sets a joint framework for policy, capacity building, and private sector engagement to improve collection and recycling systems across member states (ASEAN, 2021; World Bank, 2021). Nationally, Indonesia’s Plan of Action on Marine Plastic Debris (2017–2025) targets a 70% reduction in marine debris by 2025, supported by measures to expand collection and community recycling (Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs & Investment, 2018; World Bank, 2022). To backstop delivery, development finance is flowing into waste and leakage reduction, for example ADB’s Reducing Marine Debris Program and associated policy reforms (ADB, 2024). These actions create enabling conditions for healthier seagrass, mangrove, and reef systems that underpin ASEAN’s blue‑carbon potential (UN ESCAP, 2024).
Nature positive infrastructure is also scaling. Indonesia launched a presidential priority to rehabilitate 600,000 ha of mangroves (2020–2024) and is now implementing the Mangrove for Coastal Resilience (M4CR) program with the World Bank; efforts include silvo fishery designs and community training across priority provinces (World Bank, 2022; Government of Indonesia, 2020). In Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta, mangrove cover increased by ~11,184 ha (2015–2020) through state and NGO backed projects, and new pilots combine hybrid engineering (breakwaters) with mangrove regeneration to stabilise eroding coasts (Tinh et al., 2022; Dinh et al., 2025). Singapore is advancing nature-based coastal protection (e.g., Pulau Ubin, Kranji Coastal Nature Park) alongside targeted mangrove restoration to reduce erosion and enhance carbon sinks (NParks, 2021; MND Singapore, 2022). Elsewhere, Sabah (Malaysia) has begun seagrass planting pilots with university partners to strengthen blue carbon storage and habitat functions (Miwil, 2024), while Thailand is scaling community-led mangrove and seagrass initiatives and exploring national alliances to improve restoration quality (Cowan, 2024; International Climate Initiative [IKI], 2025).
Finally, achieving durable outcomes depends on the availability of strong support facilities, including scientific education, research, and training, to measure carbon impacts, track biodiversity, and upskill local teams. Singapore has established the Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute and is implementing a national coastal protection plan alongside supporting legislation to better align engineering solutions with nature-based approaches (National Climate Change Secretariat [NCCS], 2025; PUB Singapore’s National Water Agency, n.d.; Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment [MSE], 2026). In the Philippines, long-standing investments in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park illustrate how protected area governance and science capacity can sustain high ecological integrity (Dygico et al., 2013; IUCN, 2025). This conservation initiative includes research and monitoring activities and trust-funded enforcement measures. Across the region, assessments emphasise closing data and MRV gaps for blue carbon and integrating these ecosystems more fully into NDCs and finance pipelines (UN ESCAP, 2024).
Human Capital.
Human Capital.
ASEAN is rapidly strengthening technical and human capacity for blue-carbon assessment and marine governance. In June 2025, UNDP held a Bali-based regional training to build ASEAN capacity in standardised seagrass and peatland blue-carbon profiling, covering remote sensing, carbon accounting, and field protocols (UNDP, 2025). The training forms part of the ASEAN Blue Carbon and Finance Profiling (ABCF) Project, launched in May 2025, which engaged over 100 stakeholders to advance blue-carbon profiling and regional planning integration across ASEAN (UNDP, 2025).
Capacity development is reinforced by complementary initiatives. The ASEAN Blue Economy Innovation Project supported 60 innovators across ASEAN, many of whom are now advancing community-level blue-carbon and blue-economy solutions, indicating a growing pipeline of practitioners and social entrepreneurs (UNDP, 2025). For marine protection, the ASEAN ENMAPS programme (2024–2029), spearheaded by UNDP with the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, provides a multi-year platform for training and practice in networked MPA and marine-corridor management across four large marine ecosystems, beginning with 11 pilot sites in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand (UNDP, 2024; ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, 2024).
Regional capacity is further anchored through established communities of practice. Under the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI-CFF), a capacity-building stocktake identified 126 organisations engaged in MPA management, monitoring, enforcement, and community stewardship, supported by ongoing practitioner platforms such as the CTI MPA Learning Network (CTI-CFF, 2021). In parallel, ASEAN is scaling human capital on marine plastic pollution through workshops and knowledge partnerships aligned with the ASEAN Regional Action Plan on Marine Debris (2021–2025). Major regional convenings, including a 2023 ASEAN workshop with 147 participants and the 2025 ASEAN Conference on Combating Plastic Pollution with more than 400 participants, demonstrate the strengthening of technical networks and sustained regional knowledge exchange (GIZ, 2023; ERIA, 2025).
Additionally, at the community level, ASEAN mangroves support the livelihoods of approximately 2.6 million coastal residents, through fisheries, forest products, and tourism (Nature Commitments, 2025). Regional commitments promote community-based mangrove management, local training, and stakeholder capacity-building, indicating a large social base directly linked to blue-carbon ecosystems.
Social Capital.
Social Capital.
ASEAN’s blue-carbon social capital is increasingly formalised through regional institutions and repeated multi-stakeholder engagement, rather than ad-hoc cooperation (ASEAN, 2023). The ASEAN ENMAPS programme (2024–2029) is a core platform. It links government agencies, MPA managers, NGOs, research institutions, and coastal communities across four Large Marine Ecosystems. Its governance model emphasises peer learning, cross-boundary coordination, and shared decision-making, shifting conservation from site-based management to networked collective action (UNDP, 2024; ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, 2024).
ASEAN has strengthened blue-carbon governance through the Regional Strategy for Sustainable Mangrove Ecosystem Management (2024–2030) and the ASEAN Mangrove Network (AMNET), promoting coordinated, science-based, and inclusive mangrove conservation and restoration across Member States (ASEAN, 2024). ASEAN is also advancing networked marine protection through the ENMAPS programme (2024–2029), implemented by UNDP and the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity with support of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), which enhances connectivity of marine protected areas and marine corridors through integrated coastal management and spatial planning (ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, 2024).
For coral reefs and associated blue-carbon ecosystems, ASEAN’s strongest social-capital architecture aligns with the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI-CFF). CTI-CFF operates through technical working groups, MPA learning networks, and multi-stakeholder forums. A regional stocktake identified engagement with 126 organisations across government, academia, NGOs, and regional bodies, forming a dense transboundary community of practice (CTI-CFF, 2021). Peer-reviewed research confirms that CTI-CFF has generated high trust, repeated interaction, and shared governance tools, which are critical for effective marine conservation (Fidelman et al., 2020).
Social capital for marine plastic management is structured through the ASEAN Regional Action Plan on Marine Debris (2021–2025), which relies on cross-sector collaboration rather than enforcement alone (ASEAN, 2021). Regional communities of practice are expanding rapidly. A 2023 ASEAN workshop convened over 140 participants, while the ASEAN Conference on Combating Plastic Pollution 2025 attracted more than 400 participants, reinforcing region-wide learning and coordination (GIZ, 2023; ACCPP, 2025). ASEAN has adopted the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, further strengthening shared norms and regional identity (GBF, 2024).
Regionally, the ASEAN Mangrove Network (AMNET) functions as a platform for inter-country cooperation and knowledge exchange. A 2025 regional dialogue on implementing the ASEAN Regional Strategy for Sustainable Mangrove Ecosystem Management (2024–2030) reinforced principles of science-based management, local knowledge integration, and community leadership (ENA, 2025). Blue-carbon science–policy workshops, including UNDP’s ASEAN Blue Carbon Profiling Workshop (2025), are further building a cross-border epistemic community. Overall, ASEAN’s blue-carbon social capital now combines millions of dependent coastal residents, formal regional networks, and growing communities of practice.
Natural Capital.
Natural Capital.
ASEAN has expanded its conservation frameworks, protecting 15.6% of terrestrial and ~4% of marine areas by 2021 (ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, 2021). Regional conservation networks have grown: the ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) network reached 69 sites (~11.87 million ha) in 2025 (ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, 2025; ASEAN Clearing House Mechanism, 2025). Area-based conservation is ASEAN’s main mechanism for securing this natural capital; however, a considerable gap remains. To address these pressures, ASEAN is placing greater emphasis on regional coordination and connectivity.
The ENMAPS programme for the period 2024 to 2029 is strengthening interconnected marine protected area networks across four Large Marine Ecosystems, namely the Bay of Bengal, the Indonesian Seas, the South China Sea, and the Sulu Celebes Sea, marking a shift from isolated sites toward connected seascapes (UNDP, 2024; GEF, 2023; ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, 2024). Coral Triangle cooperation bolsters reef protection, with 2,532 MPAs reported across CTI CFF member states as of 2019 (CTI‑CFF, 2020). In parallel, ASEAN’s Regional Action Plan on Marine Debris (2021–2025) targets land‑based pollution pressures that continue to constrain coastal ecosystem health (ASEAN, 2021).
Southeast Asia’s ~12 million ha of mangroves and seagrass meadows constitute one of the world’s largest blue carbon reservoirs, with regional syntheses estimating 4778.66 Teragrams of organic carbon stored across these ecosystems (Thorhaug et al., 2020). Regionally, seagrass meadows store an average of 121.95 ± 76.11 Megagrams organic carbon ha⁻¹ (mean ± SD), totalling 429.11 ± 111.88 Teragrams of organic carbon, with the Philippines accounting for the largest share (78%) (Stankovic et al., 2021). ASEAN’s mangroves, covering approximately 4.5 million hectares, represent a critical natural capital asset for climate mitigation and coastal resilience. However, with only about 4 percent of coastal and marine areas under protection, ongoing habitat loss poses a serious threat to long term carbon storage and overall ecosystem stability (ASEAN, 2023; ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, 2021). ASEAN Member States have designated 26,592 km² of Ramsar wetlands (ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, 2021). Despite these measures, blue carbon ecosystems remain under pressure: mangrove cover fell from 5.07 to 4.82 Mha (1996–2020) (Rahman et al., 2024); seagrass meadows decline by ~20,000 ha yr⁻¹ (RSIS, 2024); and Integrated Coastal Management assessments highlight uneven monitoring and enforcement (PEMSEA, 2025).
Overall, ASEAN’s blue-carbon natural capital, particularly mangroves and seagrasses storing capacity represents a major opportunity for nature-based climate mitigation and coastal resilience, while ongoing degradation poses a critical risk to both climate outcomes and ecosystem stability.
Assessment of Capacity for Growth
Assessment of Capacity for Growth
MODERATE DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL
Despite ASEAN’s global significance as a blue-carbon hotspot, continued losses of mangroves and seagrass driven by development, aquaculture, pollution and erosion make area-based growth challenging in the short term. Instead, development potential lies in protecting remaining ecosystems, restoring degraded sites and enhancing the quality, resilience and carbon-storage efficiency of existing blue-carbon stocks. Value-based strategies, such as improved mapping and carbon profiling, ecosystem restoration, community-based stewardship and emerging blue-finance mechanisms, offer pathways to strengthen conservation outcomes without increasing pressure on coastal ecosystems. Through regional cooperation and coordinated implementation of ASEAN frameworks, the region can advance science-based, community-anchored blue-carbon conservation that delivers greater climate impact.
Mangrove restoration in Southeast Asia is being positioned as a core pillar of regional climate and biodiversity policy and is explicitly linked to emerging blue‑carbon governance under UN processes (He & Cao, 2026) and to ASEAN’s new science‑and‑finance platform for blue carbon (ASEAN, 2025; ASEAN Centre for Diversity, 2025). Current programmes prioritise the rehabilitation of degraded coastal ecosystems to increase long‑term carbon sequestration, stabilise shorelines, and sustain local livelihoods, reflecting evidence from restoration science and ecosystem‑service reviews (Lovelock, Barbier & Duarte, 2022; Beselly et al., 2025). ASEAN‑led efforts emphasise community‑based implementation, integration with nationally determined contributions, and alignment with international frameworks under the UNFCCC and the Convention on Biological Diversity, as set out in the draft regional strategy and related guidance (ASEAN, 2024; UNFCCC, 2022; CBD, 2018). By positioning mangroves as high‑integrity blue‑carbon sinks, governments and partners aim to unlock innovative finance, strengthen resilience to climate impacts, and advance conservation and sustainable‑development outcomes across the region (UNDP, 2025; World Economic Forum, 2025; IUCN NL, 2025).
