Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is fast-tracking the Carbon Economic Value (NEK) or carbon pricing initiatives in the marine and fisheries sectors to support the blue economy.Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the ministry is focusing on three main pillars of carbon pricing implementation.”The first one is the regulatory aspect. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is currently drafting a technical regulation as a follow-up to Presidential Regulation Number 110 of 2025,” he said during a meeting with Commission IV of the House of Representatives.Furthermore, the ministry is focusing on strengthening data and information management, including mapping blue carbon ecosystems, establishing emission baselines, and ensuring accurate calculations of CO2 sequestration potential.”The third pillar is blue carbon restoration pilot projects and emission reduction programs in the fisheries sector,” he stated.According to him, the total blue carbon potential from mangroves under the ministry's jurisdiction covers 997,733 hectares, with a projected carbon sequestration capacity of up to 6.3 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year.Meanwhile, the seagrass ecosystems span 860,156 hectares, with the potential to absorb 3.7 million tons of CO2 equivalent annually.”Thus, the potential from the mangroves under our authority and the seagrass meadows reaches around 10 million tons of CO2 equivalent in total,” he added.To optimize this potential, Trenggono emphasized the need to integrate marine spatial planning, carbon unit registration systems, and oversight of blue carbon trading mechanisms while maintaining national blue carbon sequestration targets.“The use of marine space is the primary characteristic that distinguishes blue carbon from land-based sectors. Every carbon mitigation action must obtain approval for marine spatial compliance, which serves as the fundamental prerequisite for a project’s location legality,” he explained.He added that the ministry has already established trading procedures in accordance with Presidential Regulation Number 110 of 2025, taking into account the impact of carbon pricing, which will have tangible contributions to the state and coastal communities.