Delta Blue Carbon Mangrove Restoration

The Delta Blue Carbon project seeks to to restore degraded lands through large-scale mangrove reforestation on the Indus Delta in Pakistan. While the area was previously covered in mangroves, which sequester 3-5 times more CO2 per hectare than upland tropical forests, they largely disappeared by the 1980s. The project will ultimately plant mangroves on nearly 225,000 hectares of land and estimates that it will remove over 2.4 million tonnes of CO2e per year. This makes it the largest restoration program in the world. Despite inherent challenges involved in mangrove restoration projects, Delta Blue is also highly regarded, with Renoster stating that its "governance, design, and execution is well orchestrated and scientifically rigorous."

Nature-based projects like this one face some risk of reversal. During the life of the project, carbon storage may be affected by flood, fire, or logging. After the project’s end date, land use changes may also reduce carbon storage.