PHOTO(S): © James Forte/National Geographic
This goal captures the ability of coastal habitats to store carbon given the amount of carbon they store and their health.
The current score indicates there has been a global decline in the assessed carbon storing habitats since 1980: mangroves, seagrass beds, salt marshes, and tidal flats.
The relatively high score for this goal suggest these habitats, despite declines, are relatively healthy and intact in many countries. However, this conclusion is uncertain because much of the data associated with these habitats are of poor quality (aside from mangroves). In particular, habitat health data are lacking, and with the exception of mangrove, they are not tracked over time. As a result, most of our habitat layers rely on global health values. For this reason, we see a relatively stagnant global score for the Carbon Storage goal.