Vietnam is moving to scale up blue carbon initiatives from pilot projects into national climate policy. A recent assessment by Flinders University and Landscape Alliance found that mangrove restoration across seven Mekong Delta provinces failed to keep pace with ongoing losses between 2016 and 2024, resulting in net emissions of 14.5 million metric tons of CO2. Ca Mau province alone accounted for 77 percent of that impact. The country has strengthened its policy foundation with an updated Nationally Determined Contribution, the establishment of a National Blue Carbon Action Partnership Secretariat, and a mandate for the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to lead a national blue carbon roadmap. UBS Optimus Foundation-backed projects in Can Tho, Ca Mau, and An Giang are testing practical approaches to mangrove conservation and restoration. The key challenge now is aligning future blue carbon financing with national measurement, reporting, and verification standards, and ensuring carbon revenues reach local communities. Vietnam's experience shows that local implementation and national policy must evolve together for blue carbon to deliver real climate impact.
