This resource guide provides advice on how to better integrate marine and coastal components within National Determined Contributions (NDCs) for enhanced climate action. It presents the concepts of blue economy, blue carbon ecosystems and nature-based solutions (NbS) and discusses opportunities for their inclusion in NDCs. It does so by providing practical tips on how to better incorporate blue economy and NbS for the protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems in their NDCs and climate policy documents. Recognizing there are already valuable resources published on the topic, this guide draws from several existing resources, presenting them in a summarized and user-friendly way, while directing the reader to further tools and methodologies that they may wish to review in-depth based on their needs. This guide also reviews the status of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to integrate these concepts into their NDCs and identifies opportunities where LAC SIDS can enhance actions to support a blue economy and blue carbon initiatives. 

This resource guide is intended for policymakers and technical experts who are supporting work on blue economy. While the the analysis and cases studies in the guide draw from LAC SIDS experience, the publication can be used by any country that is considering a blue economy approach. Its purpose is to pull together relevant knowledge and offer a summarized compilation of these materials highlighting the main findings and instruments for mainstreaming blue economy.