Unlocking Southeast Asia’s blue carbon potential through advanced technologies

As Southeast Asia (SEA) holds the world's highest blue carbon stocks, Singapore is positioning itself as the regional hub for blue carbon expertise and innovation. Building on Singapore's established carbon services ecosystem and ongoing research programmes, WWF Singapore and Hatch Blue, supported by EDB, has launched Blue Catalyst in 2026 - a new open innovation challenge seeking start-ups and innovators to develop technological solutions for high-quality blue carbon credits across Asia. Apply here.
 

Overview of blue carbon and challenges in blue carbon project development

Blue carbon ecosystems, such as mangroves, seagrasses, peatlands and coastal wetlands, are among the planet’s most powerful natural climate solutions, storing carbon up to four times more efficiently than terrestrial forests. Mangroves buffer coastal communities from storms, support rich biodiversity, and in Singapore alone, provide habitat for over 3,000 insect species¹. These ecosystems not only sequester carbon at scale but also safeguard US $800 billion in food security and livelihoods annually. Yet, 40% of mangrove-dependent species are already threatened globally.

High-integrity carbon markets can generate reliable revenue streams by pricing both the carbon sequestered and the co-benefits to communities and biodiversity.

However, blue carbon project development is often challenged by complex implementation and monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). Projects require highly tailored approaches for restoration and protection and have long gestation and monitoring needs as mangroves have slower rates of carbon accumulation. These challenges are compounded with various risks for failure, such as low survival rates of mangrove seedlings and vulnerability of coastal habitats to sea level rise and ocean acidification due to climate change. MRV for blue carbon projects can also take 1-2 years before credit issuances and require extensive sampling and sophisticated measurement approaches and equipment. As up to two-thirds of carbon stock in blue carbon projects are found below ground, it is also challenging to use satellite or remote sensing technologies to scale or speed up the MRV process.

As demand for nature-based credits rises, the success of blue carbon projects hinges on trust and scalability, making innovation, technology, and collaboration more critical than ever.
 

Singapore’s existing efforts in blue carbon

While blue carbon can be found on almost every continent, SEA is home to the highest stock of blue carbon globally³. As a member of the region, Singapore aspires to be the centre for expertise, innovation, and high-integrity carbon solutions that drives regional and global climate action. By supporting efforts to unlock the full potential of blue carbon ecosystems, we want to enable regional decarbonisation, in addition to meeting national decarbonisation needs.

Apart from hosting 150 carbon services and trading firms across the value chain, Singapore has also been developing our capabilities to solve challenges in blue carbon project development:
 

National University of Singapore (NUS)
 

EARTH OBSERVATORY OF SINGAPORE
 

INTERNATIONAL BLUE CARBON INSTITUTE

Blue Catalyst and Call to Action

In 2026, The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore and Hatch Blue, with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) is organising Blue Catalyst, an open innovation challenge designed to unlock technological solutions to scale high-quality blue carbon ecosystems across Asia and beyond.
 

Hosted in Singapore, Blue Catalyst is a 12-month programme designed to attract and develop novel technologies that address technical implementation and MRV challenges in the generation of blue carbon credits. The programme will bring together stakeholders across the blue carbon ecosystem to provide problem statements and create or adapt solutions for SEA, where the majority of the world’s blue carbon is located. These stakeholders include research institutions, asset owners, project developers, investors, foundations, and corporations.

As part of Blue Catalyst, WWF will contribute expertise on blue carbon science, its global network of climate specialists, and best practices on innovation and carbon markets. Hatch Blue will provide critical expertise in preparing start-ups for investment, scaling businesses, and validating emerging technologies. EDB’s support for Blue Catalyst is part of Singapore’s wider efforts to grow as a carbon services and trading hub and to scale high-quality carbon markets in Asia.

We invite start-ups and technology providers to participate in Blue Catalyst to develop innovative solutions that can reduce and overcome the technical challenges of generating blue carbon credits, particularly in MRV and implementation. The areas of focus include, but are not limited to:

• Accurate Mapping / Geospatial Data
• Biodiversity Monitoring
• GHG Flux Measurement & Monitoring
• Carbon Stock Modelling
• Improving Sapling Mortality
• Accessing Remote and Fragmented Sites
• Stratified sampling and community monitoring
• Pooled / jurisdictional MRV solutions
• Digital MRV platforms and automation

An open call for applications, along with further details, has been announced by WWF and Hatch Blue in January 2026. Selected participants will be invited to join a workshop, culminating in a demo day and pitch competition to be held in May 2026 in Singapore. Interested participants and partners may visit this link for more information and to register their interest.
 

This case study is part of Net Zero Insight’s State of Climate Tech 2025 Q4 report.

Footnote: 

¹ The State of the World’s Mangroves 2024 Report, Global Mangrove Alliance

² Frozen Carbon Market May Thaw as 2030 Gets Closer, MSCI

³ The Business Case for Natural Climate Solutions: Insights and Opportunities for Southeast Asia, Conservation International