Ecobiz.asia – U.S.-based carbon management company Rubicon Carbon is exploring the development of a community-based blue carbon project in Indonesia’s North Java region, focusing on large-scale mangrove restoration in partnership with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP).
The proposed collaboration was discussed during the Unlocking Indonesia’s Blue Carbon Economy meeting in Jakarta on Tuesday (July 14), attended by Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, Director General of Marine Spatial Management A. Koswara, Rubicon Carbon’s Head of Asia and Head of Asset Management Flora Ji, and Chief Market Relations Officer Filipe Blackwood Oliveira.
Trenggono said the ministry and Rubicon Carbon are assessing a project covering 50,000 to 70,000 hectares along the northern coast of Java, with local communities expected to play a central role in its implementation.
“We want to develop a project in the North Java area, probably covering 50,000 to 70,000 hectares, together with the local communities,” Trenggono said, according to a post on the ministry’s official social media account.
The ministry has identified 18 indicative blue carbon sites in Indonesia’s national and provincial marine spatial plans, creating opportunities for collaboration with government agencies and private-sector partners.
Indonesia is estimated to have around 1.3 million hectares of blue carbon ecosystems, including mangrove forests and seagrass meadows, making it one of the world’s largest potential sources of nature-based carbon sequestration.
Flora Ji said the proposed collaboration aims to restore mangrove ecosystems while supporting the development of Indonesia’s blue carbon economy.
“We are very encouraged by Indonesia’s vision to develop the blue economy. We see this as true leadership in restoring mangrove ecosystems,” Ji said.
Founded in 2022, Rubicon Carbon supplies carbon credits to corporate buyers in the voluntary carbon market. In Indonesia, the company already sources credits from the Katingan Peatland Restoration and Conservation Project in Central Kalimantan, which focuses on the restoration and conservation of tropical peatland ecosystems. ***
