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Coastal blue carbon ecosystemsOpportunities for Nationally Determined Contributions. Policy briefD. Herr, E. LandisThe designation of geographical entities in this policy brief, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, WWF, Blue Climate Solutions and GRID-Arendal concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, WWF, Blue Climate Solutions and GRID-Arendal.Citation: Herr, D. and Landis, E. (2016). Coastal blue carbon ecosystems. Opportunities for Nationally Determined Contributions. Policy Brief. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN and Washington, DC, USA: TNC.AcknowledgementsThe analysis was supported by Chelsey Bryson and Raphalle Flint. A special thank you goes out to Lisa Schindler Murray for her extensive review and comments. Extremely valuable input and review was also provided by Pipa Elias, Jennifer Howard, Angela Martin, Dylan Murray, Emily Pidgeon, Karen Petersen, and Lauren Spurrier, for which the authors are extremely grateful for.This publication has been made possible in part by funding from the UNEP/GEF Blue Forests Project (gefblueforests) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The maps have kindly been produced by GRID-Arendal / Elsa Lindevall.For the Appendix, please see:Martin, A., Landis, E., Bryson, C., Lynaugh, S., Mongeau, A., and Lutz, S. (2016). Blue Carbon - Nationally Determined Contributions Inventory. Appendix to: Coastal Blue Carbon Ecosystems. Opportunities for Nationally Determined Contributions. Published by GRID-Arendal, Norwayments and reactions to the paper are very welcome. Please address to dorothee.herriucnPicturesCover: Ethan Daniels; p. 5: Camerapix/ Flickr; p. 9: The Nature Conservancy (Tim Calver);p. 15: The Nature Conservancy (Venessa Salvucci); p. 19: The Nature Conservancy (Tim Calver); p. 20: The Nature Conservancy (Marjo Aho); p. 21: Tom Blagden; p. 24: Hunter Nichols; p. 25: Brian Jones / Blue Ventures; Back Cover: Bridget Besaw.About IUCNIUCN is a membership Union composed of both government and civil society organisations. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its 1,300 Member organisations and the input of some 15,000 experts. IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. iucnAbout The Nature ConservancyThe Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect the lands and waters on which all life depends. With more than 1 million members and 600 scientists, the Conservancy has protected 120 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide, and operates more than 100 marine conservation projects globally. natureAbout Conservation InternationalBuilding upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, CI empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, for the wellbeing of humanity. Founded in 1987, CI has headquarters in the Washington, DC area, and nearly 900 employees working in more than 30 countries on four continents, plus 1,000+ partners around the world. conservation About World Wildlife FundWWF is one of the worlds leading conservation organizations, working in 100 countries for over half a century. With the support of almost 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat climate change. worldwildlife About Blue Climate SolutionsEstablished in 2008, Blue Climate Solutions is a non-profit project of The Ocean Foundation, and is the worlds first organization with a sole focus on blue carbon. We promote measurement and valuation of oceanic carbon services to enable development of policies that recognize the climate change mitigation and adaptation roles of the oceans, their ecosystems and inhabitants. bluecsolutionsAbout GRID-ArendalGRID-Arendal is a Norwegian foundation and a centre collaborating with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), supporting informed decision making and awareness-raising. grida.no About The Blue Carbon Initiative The Blue Carbon Initiative is the first integrated program with a comprehensive and coordinated global agenda focused on mitigating climate change through the conservation and restoration of coastal marine ecosystems. The Initiative currently focuses on mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses. The Blue Carbon Initiative brings together governments, research institutions, non-governmental organizations and communities from around the world. thebluecarboninitiative About UNEP/GEF Blue Forests ProjectThe UNEP/GEF Blue Forests Project is a global initiative focused on harnessing the values associated with coastal marine carbon and ecosystem services to achieve improved ecosystem management. The project is implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with partners worldwide and addresses key blue forests knowledge gaps, as well as providing experience and tools to help ensure greater global application in the future. gefblueforests/6Table of contents1 Blue Carbon and NDCs. Purpose and context of this paper 52 Introduction 72.1 The Paris Agreement and Nationally Determined Contributions 72.2 Using nature to support climate change mitigation and adaptation 72.3 Coastal blue carbon. Mitigation and adaptation benefits 9 2.4 Blue carbon opportunities to increase ambitions 93 Blue carbon ecosystems in Nationally Determined Contributions. An overview 113.1 Climate mitigation 11Coastal wetlands as part of LULUCF and other forest commitments 11Coastal wetlands as part of general mitigation aims 143.2 Climate adaptation 15Coastal wetlands as part of conservation, protection and restoration efforts 17Coastal zone management for climate adaptation 18Adaptation in the fisheries sector 183.3 Mitigation and adaptation. Coastal wetlands to create synergies 194 Beyond NDCs. Other blue carbon efforts around the world 215 Where next with blue carbon within the NDC process 236 A refined look for blue carbon efforts in future NDCs. A Conclusion 25TablesTable 1. Different NDC categories of blue carbon efforts 10Table 2. A schematic overview of how to address, and scale up the mitigation contribution of coastal blue carbon efforts, while aligning with existing or planned adaptation efforts for future NDCs 25References 27Table of Contents5Blue Carbon and NDCs1 Blue Carbon and NDCs. Purpose and context of this paperThis policy brief examines the existing Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and ratified National Determined Contributions (NDCs) with regard to the inclusion of specific efforts addressing blue carbon ecosystems, namely mangroves, tidal saltmarshes and seagrasses, as climate mitigation or adaptation solutions.Prior to and during the 21stConference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 163 INDCsihave been submitted and 81 Parties have submitted their NDC1,2. The INDCs are meant to outline Parties fair and ambitious contributions to addressing climate change and achieving the objective of the Convention as set out in its Article 2 and further strengthened in Article 2 of the Paris Agreement. Amongst other infomration, Parties were requested to include information on the scope and coverage i In this number, the individual Member States of the European Union (EU) are all represented by a single NDC. In this paper, each EU Member State is treated individually.of their mitigation and adaptation efforts, as well as on methodological approaches including those for estimating and accounting for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and removals.3As part of the Paris Agreement, Parties are now committed to regularly submit revised NDCs every 5 years, with a review process that is intended to continually increase ambition (Art 4.3 and 4.9 of the Paris Agreement). For the time being, the INDCs submitted by a country prior and during COP21 will automatically count as itsfirst NDC when the country ratifies the Paris Agreement, unless decided otherwise.4While the current NDCs are a significant contribution, the existing commitments will not reach the 2C target necessary to combat climate change. Scientists have calculated that the NDCs collectively will lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but will still allow for a warming of 2.63.1 degrees Celsius by 2100.5This reality is recognized in the Paris Agreement, and this policy briefs aims to highlight the opportunity for countries to consider nature-6Blue Carbon and NDCsbased solutions beyond what was originally submitted, including recognizing blue carbon as an opportunity to fill this emissions gap.This brief outlines how Parties have up until now included and addressed the management of coastal wetland (blue carbon) ecosystems in their NDC climate mitigation and adaptation solutions to date.It also offers a short outlook on areas where coastal wetlands contributions can be improved and strengthened in the future, allowing for more ambitious NDC Highlights:151 countries contain at least one blue carbon ecosystem (seagrass, saltmarshes or mangroves) and 71 countries contain all three.Inclusion in NDCs 28 countries NDCs include a reference to coastal wetlands in terms of mitigation 59 countries include coastal ecosystems and the coastal zone into their adaptation strategies. This can be viewed as an opportunity to include relevant activities in blue carbon ecosystems (mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrasses) for mitigation ambitions, if relevant and as appropriateNoting this, there is a significant opportunity to include and expand blue carbon ecosystems clearly into the mitigation section of future, revised NDCs of all coastal countries. Overall the climate mitigation opportunity of blue carbon ecosystems shows as:If half of the annual coastal wetlands loss was halted, emissions would be reduced by a 0.23Gt CO2yr-1. This is equivalent to offsetting the 2013 emissions of Spain.If coastal wetlands were restored to their 1990 extent, it would have the potential to increase annual carbon sequestration 160Mt CO2yr-1which is the equivalent to offsetting the burning of 77.4 million tonnes of coal.submissions. In many coastal nations these ecosystems provide a significant mitigation and adaptation value, as a carbon sink and as coastline protection and food security, respectively. Thus, the inclusion of coastal ecosystems can be considered an important asset in a more ambitious revision of the NDC for many Parties.7Introduction2.1 The Paris Agreement and Nationally Determined ContributionsThe Paris Agreement was adopted by all 196 Parties to the UNFCCC at COP21 in December 2015. This landmark agreement marked a turning point with nations now striving for a low-carbon economy using innovation in technology, energy, finance, and conservation sectors. The Agreement entered into force on November 4th2016,6less than one year since its adoption. This is considered extremely fast for an international treaty and signals the overall sense of urgency to address climate change.7One of the most important elements of the Paris Agreement is that countries can independently decide how to lower their emissions through its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). These national level climate action and emissions reduction plans are prepared to reflect countries economic and environmental differences. Each successive NDC is to represent a progression from the previous one, representing the highest possible ambition (Art. 4.3 of the Paris Agreement) and each party shall communicate a revised NDC every five years (Art 4.9 of the Paris Agreement). One of the principles that will be applied to ensure enhanced ambition of these commitments over time includes the principle of “no backsliding.” While it is a non-legal aspect of the Agreement, it indicates that the current level of ambition is the baseline, and that for each review period countries should increase their ambition accordingly. 2.2 Using nature to support climate change mitigation and adaptation.The contribution of conservation and restoration of ecosystems to climate change mitigation and adaptation are often referred to as nature-based solutions for climate change8or natural climate solutions.9Sustainably managing natural extractive resources and agricultural lands along with restoring natural or modified ecosystems and conserving the intact systems offer opportunities to address the societal challenges of climate change. Simultaneously these actions provide human well-being and biodiversity co-benefits.10Parties can develop their NDC mitigation actions and priorities based on a portfolio of measures including nature-based solutions. The role of ecosystems has been integrated in the UNFCCC since its adoption in 1992, in Art 4.1(d), when referring to the commitments of Parties in the Convention when “taking into account their common but differentiated responsibilities and their specific national and regional development priorities, objectives and circumstances.”11Promote sustainable management, and promote and cooperate in the conservation and enhancement, as appropriate, of sinks and reservoirs of all greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol, including biomass, forests and oceans as well as other terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems;As well as the need to address coastal areas through appropriate coastal zone management, in Art 4.1(e):Cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the impacts of climate change; develop and elaborate appropriate and integrated plans for coastal zone management, .The Paris Agreement reiterates the importance of the conservation and enhancement, as appropriate, of sinks and reservoirs of the greenhouse gases referred to in the Convention (Art.5.1) and noting the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including oceans, and the protection of biodiversity (preambula).2 Introduction8Introductionsediments accrete vertically in response to rising sea level, when ecosystem health is maintained.18Therefore, the rate of carbon sequestration and the size of the carbon sink may continue to increase over time.AdaptationCoastal wetlands play a unique role in protecting coastlines from the increasing impacts of climate change
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