Carbonsink is proud to announce the official launch of the “SEAFOREST LIFE” project.
The project to safeguard the Posidonia oceanica meadows, approved and approved for funding by the European Community, was developed by D.R.E.Am. Italy, the company that deals with sustainable rural development, environmental protection and redevelopment of the territory.
SEAFOREST LIFE has been realized in collaboration with numerous partners including Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero – Unità Operativa Oristano, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Paragon Limited, l’Ente Parco nazionale dell’Arcipelago di La Maddalena, Ente Parco Nazionale dell’Asinara, WATER RIGHT AND ENERGY FOUNDATION, Ente Parco Nazionale del Cilento, l’Università della Tuscia con il Dipartimento per l’ Innovazione nei sistemi biologici, agroalimentari e forestali (DIBAF).
Carbonsink is enthusiastic about being part of this project group, whose main objective is to increase the capacity of the carbon reservoirs of the Posidonia meadows by reducing erosion and subsequently consolidating the habitats.
CO2 stock to protect biodiversity
Posidonia oceanica is a key element for the conservation of Mediterranean ecosystems, Posidonia meadows are an important ecosystem both from the point of view of biodiversity, as they act as nursery for many species of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, plants and others living beings, but above all play a primary role as producers of oxygen and as a carbon deposit, storing about 50% of the carbon buried in marine sediments, or twice the terrestrial forests.
The main threats to the Posidonia meadows are maritime constructions, pollution of coastal waters, anchorage, artificial beaches and the elimination of dead leaves from the beach. And it is for this reason that the project wants to actively contribute to the conservation of Posidonia meadows, fundamental for the balance of marine ecosystems.
The inventories carried out in Italy show that in the regions of Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Liguria, Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily and Tuscany there are 204 meadows covering an area of 1,400 ha on average, for a total of 285,600 ha.
Based on the available data, these meadows store up to 830 tonnes of CO2 per hectare. It is therefore possible to calculate that the prairies of the Italian coasts have a total of 236 million tonnes of CO2. Taking into account the annual 7% destruction rate, if the SEA FOREST project were applied to all Italian banks, a positive carbon balance of 17 million tons would be obtained.
The project will contribute to EU policy on greenhouse gas emission standards resulting from land-use activities, and especially the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the EU’s General Environment Action Program. European, “LIFE Climate Change Mitigation”.
Climate Finance and carbon credits for sustainable development
The role of Carbonsink within SEAFOREST LIFE, in particular, will be to deal with the creation of a carbon credit market generated by the project and its activities.
Carbonsink’s main objective is to support and support the design of a long-term climate change mitigation strategy, able to achieve sustainability goals through innovative solutions. The mechanism of Climate Finance is nowadays essential to encourage the transition to so-called Climate Neutrality and towards sustainable development.
The protection and conservation of these ecosystems represents a valid strategy for achieving the climate change mitigation objectives established with the Paris Agreement.
