76 JUNE 2025 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG sediments (Figure 1). As the criteria of international organizations are set to change, HyundaeHaeyang examines why mudflats, seaweeds, and marine sediments are gaining attention and explores the scientific basis and policy trends. What is International Certification? The carbon absorbed and stored by marine and coastal ecosystems is referred to as ‘blue carbon.’ Unlike terrestrial forests, marine ecosystems physically and chemically fix carbon dioxide and have contributed to the fight against climate change. The concept has been discussed internationally since 2009, when it was jointly proposed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The trend of recognizing marine ecosystems as carbon sinks has gradually expanded. So far, blue carbon has focused on coastal ecosystems with vegetation, such as mangrove forests, salt marshes, and seagrass beds. These ecosystems have been included in the IPCC’s greenhouse gas inventory guidelines since 2013 and have been officially quantified and reflected as carbon sinks in governments’ mitigation reports. The IPCC is an intergovernmental organization under the auspices of the United Nations that develops guidelines for estimating greenhouse gases to inform countries in formulating climate policies. The ecosystems included in these guidelines are more than just concepts; they are policy assets that can be incorporated into international reporting systems, such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Inventory Reports (NIRs), among others. Tidal flats, seaweeds, and marine sediments are likely to be recognized by the IPCC as new carbon sinks. The 62nd Session of the IPCC (IPCC-62) in February discussed an outline of guidelines for including marine ecosystems as carbon sinks, and technical discussions on the topic have been largely finalized. Final adoption is expected at the IPCC-63 in the second half of this year. Coastal ecosystems that have received institutional recognition as carbon sinks have been limited to vegetation-based systems such as salt marshes, seagrass beds, and mangroves. However, the current discussion is significant because it may expand the scope of official recognition of marine ecosystems outside the institutional framework, such as non-vegetated mudflats, seaweeds, and marine KOREAN CHAPTER CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: K-Blue Carbon on the Verge of International Certification Na, Jun Su (HyundaeHaeyang) FIGURE 1. South Korea's seaweeds, tidal flats, and marine sediments are getting closer to gaining official international recognition as carbon sinks. The carbon absorbed and stored by marine and coastal ecosystems is referred to as ‘blue carbon.’ Unlike terrestrial forests, marine ecosystems physically and chemically fix carbon dioxide and have contributed to the fight against climate change. The concept has been discussed internationally since 2009, when it was jointly proposed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The trend of recognizing marine ecosystems as carbon sinks has gradually expanded.
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