What it is
A 181-page standardized reference manual developed jointly by IOC-UNESCO, Conservation International, and IUCN for measuring biomass, soil carbon stocks, and greenhouse gas emissions in mangrove, salt marsh, and seagrass ecosystems. The manual provides field protocols, laboratory methods, data analysis procedures, and quality assurance guidelines. It is the internationally recognized standard for blue carbon MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification).
Why we picked this
Credible carbon accounting requires standardized methods. This manual is the field standard: every serious blue carbon project references it for methodology design, and carbon credit verifiers use it to assess project claims. The protocols are detailed enough for field deployment yet accessible to trained non-specialists. For anyone entering blue carbon project development, carbon credit verification, or coastal ecosystem research, this is the essential technical reference.
Key takeaways
- The manual standardizes methods across all three blue carbon ecosystems, enabling cross-site comparisons and global meta-analyses for the first time.
- Soil carbon measurement protocols specify sampling depths, core extraction methods, and laboratory analysis procedures that determine credit issuance accuracy.
- Available as a free PDF download, making high-quality MRV methodology accessible to projects in developing countries where most blue carbon ecosystems are located.