GRID-Arendal Highlights Blue Forests Project Launch

December 2014: GRID-Arendal's interim marine newsletter highlights the launch of the Global Environment Facility's (GEF) Blue Forests Project, which will explore how to harness the value of carbon and other coastal ecosystem services to improve ecosystem management.

The Blue Forests Project aims to increase recognition of the role of mangroves, seagrasses and saltmarshes in climate change mitigation and adaptation. It will also address knowledge gaps on the role of blue forests in storing and sequestering carbon and sheltering towns from storms. The project will be implemented in Ecuador, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as in a to-be-determined location in Central America.

The newsletter also highlights: the Norwegian Blue Forests Network, an initiative that focuses on harnessing the potential of blue forests to capture and store atmospheric carbon as well as other ecosystem services; and a GRID-Arendal and Blue Climate Solutions report, ‘Fish Carbon: Exploring Marine Vertebrate Carbon Services.' The report highlights the potential of marine vertebrates to address climate change and prevent global biodiversity loss and presents eight "fish carbon" mechanisms.

GRID-Arendal also announced that it will begin producing a common newsletter for all its programmes beginning in January 2015, making this newsletter the last one focused solely on marine issues. More

[GRID-Arendal Newsletter] [GRID-Arendal News on Blue Forests Project] [Blue Forests Project Website] [GRID-Arendal News on Norwegian Blue Forests Network] [Publication: Fish Carbon: Exploring Marine Vertebrate Carbon Services]

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Blue Carbon Photo Contest - Life on the Coasts ˆ Blue Carbon.

Blue Carbon Photo Contest - Life on the Coasts ˆ Blue Carbon.

We are inviting grassroots organisations involved in coastal and marine conservation to participate in UNEP/GRID-Arendal's Blue Carbon Photography Contest. Selected photographs are intended for use in a special publication for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa (COP17), and for an online image resource - the Blue Carbon Photo Library.   

The theme of the contest Life on the coasts - Blue Carbon focuses on the importance of a healthy marine environment in coastal livelihoods.

 We are looking for iconic images in two categories ˆ People & the Environment, and Coastal & Marine Ecosystems. Examples include coastal and underwater scenes, community based restoration and conservation projects, our connection to healthy coastal ecosystems (e.g. fisheries, tourism), and how a changing ocean and climate impact the daily life of people and communities living along the coast.

As long as there is a clear affiliation with a grassroots organisation, all professional and non-professional photographers worldwide are welcome to submit. Organisation logos will also be highlighted in the special publication. Blue Climate Solutions has offered a digital underwater camera as a prize for the best image.

 **To SUBMIT your images, please see the Competition Rules and send all submissions to:

 photocontest@grida.no

 **The DEADLINE for submitting pictures to UNEP/GRID-Arendal is SEPTEMBER 30, 2011. Finalists will be announced in October 2011.

Personal Release forms are required for all images that include recognisable subjects and children (see Competition Rules).

After reviewing the following Competition Rules, you will be fully prepared to enter the contest.

Contest information and COMPETITION RULES can be found at:

http://www.grida.no/marine/activities/blue-carbon.aspx?id=4804

(see Photo Contest pages)

For further information contact:

Jessica Holterhof

Blue Carbon Photography Contest Manager

UNEP/GRID-Arendal

Arendal, Norway

Email: photocontest@grida.no