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

Since 2001, Yagasu, an Indonesian NGO, has led community-based initiatives advancing biodiversity conservation, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods across coastal Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi. With project partners, Yagasu has developed a number of mangrove carbon projects that have registered, or are seeking registration, with carbon standards to issue carbon credits. This includes an 8,750-hectare mangrove restoration project in Aceh and North Sumatra with Livelihoods Fund,28 an 8,000-hectare mangrove restoration and conservation project with the Global Mangrove Trust,29 and a mangrove project with Apolownia that Yagasu expects to list with Verra.30 Yagasu’s model demonstrates how multilayered financing can de-risk investment and sustain project viability over decades. The initiative stacks multiple capital sources, including carbon finance alongside philanthropic capital and technical assistance grants. These diversified capital sources support a resilient revenue stream, which, in turn, enables investors across the risk-return spectrum to participate via: –Technical assistance grants that fund adaptation and women’s empowerment programmes. –Carbon credit revenues structured to provide financing and long-term offtake agreements that generate a 30- year revenue base linked to verified climate outcomes. This creates stable cash flows that are more aligned with private capital providers’ expectations. –Supplementary income generated from mangrove and coastal by-products, including seafood production (crabs, fish, shrimp, oysters), as well as honey, handicrafts and eco-tourism ventures. Yagasu’s model demonstrates the power and financial durability gained by integrating carbon markets with tangible local benefits – empowering women, improving livelihoods and facilitating trade in new sustainable products. CASE STUDY 1 Yayasan Gajah Sumatra (Yagasu): Layering carbon finance to scale blue carbon restoration in Indonesia Turning the Tide: A Financier’s Guide to Investing in Blue Carbon Ecosystems 9