Turning the Tide A Financier's Guide to Investing in Blue Carbon Ecosystems 2026

Introduction1 This paper provides practical guidance for financial institutions on how to support blue carbon ecosystem conservation and restoration. It outlines strategic entry points into financing projects and enterprises, clarifies the roles different institutions can play, and highlights the enabling interventions needed to unlock private finance. The paper was developed through extensive expert engagement and a series of multistakeholder regional and global consultations convened by the Forum. While it is hoped that this paper will be useful to readers globally, its insights and recommendations are grounded in the South-East Asian context – a region with globally significant blue carbon ecosystems, and the central locus of the Forum’s Blue Carbon Action Partnership programme. South-East Asia has almost 50,000 km2 of mangrove cover, equating to one-third of all mangroves globally. Indonesia alone has 21% of the world’s mangroves.9To ensure that they reflect ground realities, insights on the four financing avenues, key barriers and recommended interventions have been drawn from in-country workshops in Indonesia and the Philippines, and targeted discussions with project developers, financial institutions, insurers, corporates, experts and intermediaries active in blue carbon value chains. Both countries are pioneering national blue carbon ecosystem conservation and restoration frameworks under their National Blue Carbon Action Partnerships and embedding these systems in national priorities, including through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). They are thereby providing opportunities for engagement in credit markets, and creating linkages to support coastal community well-being and livelihoods. Lessons from the region can inform a global model for mobilizing capital towards high-integrity blue economy investments. Turning the Tide: A Financier’s Guide to Investing in Blue Carbon Ecosystems 5