The Seaweed Aquaculture Carbon Specialist provides support to the Global Aquaculture division of the Provide Food and Water business unit, in collaboration with other TNC business units that administer and advance restorative seaweed aquaculture training programs and research projects. They will serve as the key global analyst that will recommend whether or not TNC should invest into and support carbon crediting for nearshore tropical and temperate seaweed farmers in TNC’s existing and future seaweed projects. The current TNC projects and geographies that will be a focus will include seaweed farms in Indonesia, Tanzania, Belize, and the Pacific Northwest of the US.

The scope of work will include:

• External relationship development with key partners in the emerging seaweed aquaculture carbon crediting space to determine current status, the nearshore sediment seaweed aquaculture methodology development, seaweed biostimulant or other seaweed product development that could result in carbon credits, and next steps for research and implementation, including where and how TNC can advance this work. Partners will include but are not limited to: the main organizations that have created verified carbon standard programs, and government and NGO partners working in this space, including those that are working on nearshore seaweed farm sediment methodologies for carbon crediting.
• Creating an economic and environmental assessment of how carbon crediting is likely to impact the economics of seaweed farming in both tropical geographies and in the Pacific Northwest and the extent of carbon that can be sequestered if the program is successful.
• Identification of the processes, organizational structures, and mechanisms TNC would need to create in order to establish, verify, and administer nearshore seaweed aquaculture carbon accreditation for small scale seaweed farmers in TNC seaweed field programs, with a focus on determining a step-by-step approach for on-the-ground implementation of a verified carbon standard or other carbon standard, if/when available.
• Internal coordination and integration of seaweed aquaculture into the TNC global blue carbon and global carbon crediting programs to ensure inclusion in databases, science efforts, and tracking systems; and providing active guidance to and coordination of TNC field programs that are interested in or investigating carbon sequestration potential of seaweed aquaculture in both temperate and tropical locations.
• Development of a final report for internal and external partners that includes a recommendation as to whether or not TNC should pursue carbon crediting for nearshore tropical and temperate seaweed farmers, based on best science. The report shall include an assessment of the potential carbon, economic benefits, and mechanisms, processes, and associated costs for implementation to TNC seaweed field programs and seaweed farming partners.
• Other activities as assigned to support carbon and/or climate resiliency crediting for the restorative seaweed aquaculture initiative under TNC’s global aquaculture program.