CAN THE MATANG MANGROVE FOREST RESERVE PROVIDE PERFECT TEETHING GROUND FOR A BLUE CARBON BASED REDD plus PILOT PROJECT?

Mangroves provide a variety of ecosystem services and are among the most carbon-rich forest types on earth. While much attention has been given in policies and scientific literature to the opportunities mangrove blue carbon can potentially provide for climate change mitigation, sustainable development and ecological conservation, little attention has been paid to identifying a location that can serve as a conducive site for the development of a climate change mechanism. This paper proposes to address this gap by analysing the advantages of integrating a blue carbon based REDD+ pilot project at the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve. The Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve is an interesting case study because it is a large contiguous mangrove forest area (40,466 ha) that has been primarily managed for the production of charcoal for more than a century and has been well managed to achieve favourable outcomes for local communities and ecological health. It is also one of the most studied mangrove forests in the world. However, of late, there have been clear evidences of drastic deterioration in the provision of several of its ecosystem services. REDD+ could offer the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve an alternative management tool to formulate an enhanced sustainable forest management plan. On the other hand, the unique characteristics and structure of the mangrove forest reserve could serve as a conducive pilot project site for the development of the climate change mechanism into a reliable and effective climate combating tool. The proposed blue carbon based REDD+ pilot project could potentially be a crucial building block in the development and implementation of Malaysia's National REDD+ Strategy.