Sec. 101. Blue Carbon Program
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The Administrator shall establish and maintain a Blue Carbon Program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the purposes of furthering conservation objectives for fish and wildlife habitat conservation and restoration and coastal resilience including the development of ways to incorporate ecosystem services from carbon storage into existing domestic and international policies, programs, and activities. In conducting the Program, the Administrator may enter into and perform such contracts, leases, grants, or cooperative agreements as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this subtitle on such terms as Administrator considers appropriate.
The Administrator shall coordinate activities carried out under this section with the Assistant Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Assistant Administrator of the National Ocean Service. The Administrator shall lead the development and coordination of the strategic plan described in section 106(e) and conduct the following activities: Collaborate with Federal agencies, the interagency working group, State agencies, Tribes, and non-governmental organizations on research, restoration, and protection efforts relating to blue carbon ecosystems.
Develop a database of blue carbon stocks and fluxes in the United States. Assist in exploration of the potential for a market for carbon credits for restoration initiatives, including research and development of protocols. Raise awareness of blue carbon ecosystems as a tool to further conservation objectives through education and extension activities. Use existing models or develop new models to assess blue carbon storage potential that include quantification, verifiability, additionality as compared to a historical baseline, and permanence of those benefits.
Quantify current total and net ecosystem carbon storage in coastal and marine areas. Project future total and net ecosystem carbon storage under different scenarios influenced by human population growth, sea level rise, and other system-wide changes. Develop and use protocols for inclusion of blue carbon projects in carbon markets. Protect and restore habitats, waters, and organisms that are long-term carbon sinks or will be subject to habitat change as a result of climate change and development.
Provide staff and technical expertise to the interagency working group. Quantify co-benefits, including flood risk reduction, habitat restoration for endangered and threatened species, maintenance of biodiversity, water quality improvements, habitat maintenance and creation, cycling of nutrients other than carbon, commercial and recreational fishing and boating benefits. Assess regional and national ecosystem and socioeconomic impacts of carbon sequestration and storage. Research variability, long-term storage, and innovative techniques for effective, long-term, natural ocean or coastal ecosystem-based carbon sequestration.
Identify blue carbon hot spots. Assess legal issues of landownership in blue carbon markets, and develop guidelines to help landowners navigate the requirements of such markets.