International scientific cooperation expands knowledge about the causes of and solutions to climate change and thus plays a central role in achieving the climate and environmental policy goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. The DAAD climate portfolio shows how the DAAD's funding programme strengthens international cooperation and is active for individuals and institutions across disciplines and national borders in three fields of action: promoting the acquisition of knowledge (1), boosting climate research (2) and putting climate knowledge to use (3).

This article is the second part of a three-part series of articles and is dedicated to the second field of action: the boosting of climate research. We report on the work being done by the Colombian Center of Excellence in Marine Science (CEMarin) in the field of the blue economy – the sustainable use of oceans, seas and coastal regions. You can read the first part in our series, about the promotion of knowledge acquisition, here.

Andrés Fernando Osorio Arias is on the move a lot these days. The marine coastal researcher from Bogotá is supervising  the EU-Colombian climate dialogue on nature-based climate solutions in coastal areas. Osorio organises workshops and training courses for researchers from all over the world; within the framework of the Colombian Network of Estuaries and Mangroves (RedCEM) he is also responsible for field research on the country’s Pacific and Caribbean coasts. “We address a wide range of topics, from soil erosion to coral reefs, waves and mangroves to biodiversity,” he explains. “With our integrative and interdisciplinary marine research, our aim is to contribute to the protection and sustainable use of the oceans – including through our work on the blue economy.”

Osorio is director of the Center of Excellence in Marine Science (CEMarin) in Colombia’s capital Bogotá, which is one of five centres of excellence worldwide that is supported by the DAAD with funding from Germany’s Federal Foreign Office. According to the DAAD’s Climate Portfolio, CEMarin combines interdisciplinary marine research with postgraduate training and international networks in various natural and social scientific disciplines. One effective instrument in this context is the International Conference on Marine Science (ICMS) that is organised every two years.

The blue economy research conducted at CEMarin is all about the sustainable use of the oceans, seas and coastal regions. “It all began over twelve years ago when we established a network of universities and institutes from Colombia and Germany,” Osorio explains. On the Colombian side, the participating universities include the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, the Universidad del Valle, the Universidad de Antioquia, the Universidad de los Andes and Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, while Germany is represented by Justus Liebig University Giessen and the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen. “Though we are still linked to them, we have been an independent organisation since 2015,” adds Osorio. Around 200 researchers work at CEMarin, nearly half of them early-stage researchers. The centre has long been a global player in international marine research: its research findings are used in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which summarise the current state of climate science.

Mangroves as carbon stores

Osorio and his team are focusing particularly on the ability of marine and coastal ecosystems to store large quantities of carbon. Carbon dioxide that is captured in this manner is also known as blue carbon. Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass and salt meadows remove huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and store it. This helps lower the carbon concentration in the atmosphere, thereby mitigating climate change. “It is fascinating how mangroves are in fact able to store up to four times as much carbon as forests on land,” says Ingrid Julieth Estrada Galindo. A scholarship holder at CEMarin, she is just completing her master’s thesis in marine biology. “What is even more impressive is the way mangroves manage, despite big differences in soil conditions, to preserve similar carbon stocks.”

Scientists carry out regular monitoring activities and use soil samples to record how much carbon is actually captured. They have discovered that carbon storage levels are particularly high on Colombia’s Pacific coast. “It rains a lot in this region, which is why there are many old and unusually tall mangroves there, some of them over 30 metres,” says CEMarin Director Osorio. “Because their roots reach further down into the ground, we took samples not only from the first metre of soil – which is the standard method – but also from lower levels. And we found that carbon storage there is three to four times higher than elsewhere in the world. That’s the scientific proof that the mangroves in the Pacific are especially valuable and must be protected at all costs.”

Involving local communities

However, this is only possible because CEMarin also involves local communities, thereby combining natural and social sciences. “We don’t simply travel to the coastal areas, gather data and then return to our desks to write papers,” says Osorio. “We work together with the people who live there. Communication is very important, as in our experience, carbon storage in the mangroves only works if it is anchored within a social framework.”

In practice, this means that Osorio and his team travel to the coastal areas, talk to community leaders there and build trust so that they can promote the protection of mangroves. “In the past, many communities would cut down the trees – to get firewood for cooking, for instance,” explains Osorio. “We show them how mangroves can contribute to the local economy and how protecting them becomes a genuine advantage.” Examples include ecotourism or sustainable fishing. The communities also take responsibility for monitoring the mangroves and get paid to do so by CEMarin, providing them with an additional source of income. In this way, climate research and climate protection are combined and complement one another. “We encourage the young people in particular to get involved,” the researcher says. “They are our most important actors.”

Blue carbon as a strategy to combat climate change

This is also true of the young researchers. Ingrid Julieth Estrada Galindo wants to continue working in this field and do her PhD on the subject. “Research into blue carbon helps us appreciate the value of these ecosystems,” she says. “They perform so many ecosystem services that benefit human wellbeing, so we should ensure their long-term sustainability.”

Julián Prato Valderrama, who is doing a doctorate in marine biology, agrees: “As a CEMarin researcher, I want to continue strengthening the network with other researchers worldwide with a view to finding better solutions for the world and our oceans. Because oceans and marine ecosystems are so important for capturing carbon, it makes sense to invest in blue carbon strategies to adapt to climate change and in climate protection strategies to find solutions for meeting human needs – based on the advantages these ecosystems offer.

Verena Kern (2. Mai 2024)