THE BAHAMAS PUTS SEAGRASS AT THE CENTER OF ITS BLUE CARBON FUTURE

As the country measures the global climate value of its seagrass, protecting these habitats locally becomes increasingly important.

The Government of The Bahamas announced in September that the country's extensive seagrass biome is being incorporated into its updated climate strategy as part of a national Blue Carbon Programme.

The announcement is significant.

Seagrass beds are more than underwater vegetation. They provide habitat and nursery areas for marine life, help stabilize sediments, support fisheries and contribute to the storage of carbon within marine ecosystems.

The Government says scientific work is underway to better quantify The Bahamas' carbon removals and incorporate its seagrass resources into its updated Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement. The final conclusions remain subject to scientific validation and government review.

This national conversation has particular relevance as environmental disputes involving seagrass habitat continue throughout The Bahamas—including the debate over dredging and infrastructure proposed around Sampson Cay.

There is a broader policy question worth considering.

If Bahamian seagrass is sufficiently valuable to form part of the country's international climate strategy, its environmental value should also be carefully understood when decisions are made about dredging, marinas, docks and coastal development at home.

Economic development, climate policy and marine conservation should not exist in separate conversations.

They involve the same natural resources.

The waters, wetlands, mangroves, reefs and seagrass meadows surrounding our islands are part of The Bahamas' environmental inheritance, its tourism economy and increasingly its climate assets.

Protecting them requires knowing their value before they are altered—not after they are gone.

SOURCE: Office of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, September 25, 2026.