Blue Carbon Governance: Insights from Pahawang Island by Orima Melati Davey of the Research Group Ocean Maritime Climate

As Indonesia’s role in global blue carbon markets grows, so does the importance of ensuring that climate action upholds principles of fairness and local empowerment.

Our recent knowledge-sharing session—“Blue Injustice in Pahawang Island”—was delivered by Orima Melati Davey, an associate researcher at our Legal Lab and member of the Research Group Ocean Maritime Climate. This discussion shed light on the risks and remedies involved in implementing blue carbon projects in coastal regions.

Blue carbon—the carbon captured by mangroves, seagrass beds, and tidal marshes—represents a major opportunity in climate mitigation. However, without appropriate safeguards, these projects may unintentionally sideline the very communities that sustain these ecosystems.

Orima Davey is a Master of Laws graduate from Universitas Lampung with deep specialization in law of the sea and marine environmental issues. She previously interned at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg and presented her work on marine debris and climate change at the United Nations Headquarters during the 1st Women in the Law of the Sea (WILOS) Conference. She is also co-founder of the Lampung Sweeping Community, and an active researcher-advocate for GISLI (Gerakan Ingat Selamat Layar Indonesia).

From her session she share that, four pillars emerged to guide equitable and effective blue carbon governance:

1. Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)
   Communities must be consulted meaningfully before any intervention begins—both ethically and under frameworks like the Nagoya Protocol.

2. Transparent Benefit-Sharing Mechanisms
   Economic gains from carbon credit sales must be distributed fairly through participatory and accountable structures.

3. Community Co-Management
   Local organizations and traditional ecological knowledge should be central in managing and monitoring blue carbon ecosystems.

4. Legal Coordination & Institutional Oversight
   Projects must be aligned with national registries (SRN-PPI), ministerial authorities, and sustainable marine policy.

Pahawang Island’s example reflects a broader truth: climate solutions must work with communities, not around them. Only by embedding equity into every step of project design can Indonesia lead a truly just blue carbon transition.

If your organization is exploring blue carbon credits, marine ecosystem financing, or coastal community governance models, our legal and research teams are ready to collaborate.

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S.F. Anggraeni

Managing Partner

[email protected]

Orima Melati Davey

Legal Researcher

Ocean-Maritime-Climate Research Group

[email protected]