The Role of Accounting Education Students in Supporting Blue Carbon Financing through Digital Innovation

Abstract

The global marine crisis, characterized by increasing pollution and unsustainable fishing practices and further exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, demands a fundamental systemic transformation in natural resource management and a stronger role for education in supporting environmental sustainability. Indonesia holds approximately 17% of the world’s blue carbon reserves, distributed across 3.44 million hectares of mangrove ecosystems and 293,464 hectares of seagrass meadows, giving the country significant strategic potential to contribute to global climate change mitigation efforts. However, optimizing this potential requires an approach capable of integrating environmental, educational, and technological dimensions. This paper aims to examine the role of marine-based accounting education, known as blue accounting, and digital innovation in supporting the management and conservation of blue carbon ecosystems. The study employed a literature review method by analyzing various scientific publications and documents discussing blue accounting, blue carbon, and digital transformation. The findings indicate that blue accounting can be used to identify, measure, and report the ecological and economic value of carbon stored in mangrove ecosystems, seagrass meadows, and coastal wetlands. Furthermore, digital innovation plays an important role in improving data quality, information transparency, and the effectiveness of coastal resource monitoring. Accounting education students also have an important role as agents of change in promoting awareness and sustainable blue carbon management practices. This study contributes to the development of accounting education that supports coastal ecosystem conservation and climate change mitigation.