Excerpt from ‘Ferry Man visits Comox Valley Regional District members in person’ article by Scott Stanfield – Comox Valley Record
Published: October 20, 2011 6:00 PM
A Blue Carbon Pilot Project would remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, decrease fossil fuel dependence and create jobs, Project Watershed chair Paul Horgen said in a presentation.
The proposal deals with blue carbon storage by estuaries. The project would assess the effects of restoration efforts on eelgrass beds and salt marsh riparian zones on CO2 removal over time.
“Hopefully you see this as a win-win situation,” Horgen said. “I believe we can do something very special in the Comox Valley.”
Blue carbon occurs in aquatic environments where plants such as eelgrasses and sedges store carbon in soils and sediments. A blue carbon offset is a credit for greenhouse gas reductions achieved through uptake by plants and sediments.
The society hopes to reap $100,000 from carbon offset funds.
The committee approved sending a letter to the province requesting local governments be allowed to invest carbon offset funds into blue carbon projects.
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com