Belize Blue Carbon: Establishing a national carbon stock estimate for mangrove ecosystems

Mangrove ecosystems are among the most economically and ecologically valuable marine environments in the world. Mangroves are effective at long-term carbon storage within their sediments and are estimated to hold 12 billion metric tons of carbon worldwide. These ecosystems are therefore vitally important for carbon sequestration and, by extension, climate change mitigation. As part of the Paris Agreement, participating countries agree to provide plans to reduce their carbon emissions, or nationally determined contributions (NDCs). However, despite mangroves being recognized as important nature-based solutions, many countries still lack national data on carbon stocks and must use global or regional averages, which may not be sufficiently accurate. Here, we present the national carbon stock estimate of mangrove ecosystems for the NDC of Belize, acquired through a collaborative approach involving government agencies and NGOs. We conducted a comprehensive sampling of mangroves across the country, including a range of mangrove ecotypes. The mean total ecosystem carbon stock (TECS) for the nation was 444.1 ± 21.0 Mg C ha^-1, with 74.4 ± 6.2 Mg C ha^-1 in biomass stocks, and 369.7 ± 17.7 Mg C ha^-1 in sediment stocks. Combining these data with a recent mapping effort, we provide the first national comprehensive mangrove carbon stock estimate of 25.7 Tg C. The national mean from this study varies from previous global analyses, which can under- or overestimate TECS by as much as 0.6 Tg C and 16.5 Tg C, respectively, depending on the study. These data supported the NDC update of Belize, and can be used to inform the country's mangrove protection and restoration commitments. The collaborative approach of this work should serve as a blueprint for other countries seeking to conserve natural blue carbon sinks as a strategy to achieve their climate targets.