The Nywaigi people of Australia have found that by doing this, this behaviour can sequester carbon, boost biodiversity and create jobs.
It is thought that peatlands, store twice as much carbon as rainforests, so their protection and recovery is essential if we are to maintain the wonderful climate that has allowed the human race to flourish.
In this instance (not the place that the video comes from) just 1 decade ago, the area was bad. Much of it was freshwater pasture, with a load of invasive weeds that were choking both the land and the waterways. This was caused by a ‘bund’, an earth wall build 50 years ago, to block off incoming seawater, in order to transform the area into freshwater ponded pasture (to be used for cattle pasture). You can find a video on this project to restore this area, and the bottom of this article.
Unfortunately, this drove out most of the local native plant and wildlife. Through this transformation, it also meant that vast amounts of carbon and methane which was trapped in the ecosystem was released back into the atmosphere.
Back in 1999 the Nywaigi, which are the local Aboriginal people (and the traditional owners of the land) purchased it. Initially, they also inherited the bad farming practices of the people who had damaged it. However, in the time since, they have worked with scientists and environmental organisations, and have transformed the Mungalla Station (as it is called) back into its original saltwater wetlands. This has turned the whole area into a natural reserve for local wildlife (including saltwater crocodiles, a host of native plant life, and a huge quantity of birds that have returned to places that they would have once considered home.
This improvement, has also meant that the ecosystem is not leaking the wrong ingredients into the surrounding sea, and by extension, damaging the great barrier reef which passes near by.
While much effort has been put into artificial carbon removal by humans, it is being increasingly recognized, that green carbon storage (storage in areas like rainforests) can capture a lot of the carbon that needs to be removed. What is, more recently, becoming clear, is that blue carbon storage – coastal carbon storage, in areas such as estuaries, saltwater marshes and mangroves, can add to this, and might actually be capable of storing more carbon than the rainforests that we have praised for this ability for so long.
