BROCHURE THE OCEAN AND CLIMATE CHANGE COAStal AND MARINE natURE-BASED SOLUTIONS TO SUPPORT Mitigation AND ADAPtation ACTIVITIES Climate change and ocean acidification are severely and rapidly impacting species, ecosystems and people around the globe. As both international • Action Recommendations for and national strategies to address the challenges are being discussed, it is Ecosystem-based Mitigation vital to ensure that the impacts of greenhouse gases (GHG), especially CO2, are properly reflected in national emission reduction strategies and that the • Action Recommendations for role of our oceans and coasts in mitigation and adaptation strategies are adequately factored into the solutions proposed. Ecosystem-based Adaptation Over 70% of the planet is covered by the ocean. The ocean is the major • The Impacts of Climate Change regulating force in the earth’s climate system and represents the largest and Ocean Acidification carbon sink on the planet. Healthy marine and coastal ecosystems, and their services, are essential to maintain the earth’s life support system. • A changing Ocean – A changing Climate change and ocean acidification are jeopardizing food security, Land shoreline protection, the provision of income, livelihood sources and sustainable economic development. • The Need for Immediate Action An accelarated push for rapid and significant action is needed now. ACTION RecommendationS FOR ECOSYSTEM-BASED Mitigation Climate change and ocean acidification continue to have serious, adverse impacts on the marine environment with significant implications for people. Several mitigation approaches are being developed and implemented in order to achieve a significant and rapid decrease in GHG emissions. Coastal ecosystem-based SIGNIFICANTLY AND PROMOTE RESEARCH AND mitigation activities can be RAPIDLY CUT GREENHOUSE MONITORING OF THE OCEAN’S used alongside other land use GAS EMISSIONS ROLE IN THE GLOBAL CARBON change and forestry activities • Set stabilization targets for atmospheric CYCLE to reduce ongoing emissions CO2 which adequately reflect not just • Recognize the role of marine and sequester new carbon. warming of land but particularly the ecosystems, including the deep sea, impacts of anthropogenic carbon on as vital global carbon pools and sinks. the ocean (i.e. ocean acidification) and • Enhance long-term monitoring of the significant warming effects on the carbon in the ocean and support global ocean. further efforts to quantify the ocean’s • Include the environmental and social role in the global carbon cycle. costs of ocean acidification and ocean • Engage industry and sectoral warming in climate change mitigation management bodies in efforts to actions. enhance research, monitoring and • Utilize ocean expertise in climate sharing of data on ocean health, change mitigation decision making and human activities and impacts and planning processes. the ocean’s role in the Earth system, including the global carbon cycle. RETAIN, MAINTAIN AND RESTORE NATURAL COastal CARBON QUICK FACTS SINKS The ocean absorbs nearly one third of • Effectively apply carbon and coastal all the carbon dioxide (CO2) we emit management, conservation and each year. restoration strategies, including REDD+, NAMAs, MPAs and integrated Increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and thus in the ocean coastal zone management, to increase cause ocean acidification. the world’s natural coastal carbon sinks (mangroves, salt marshes The ocean’s capacity to store new and seagrasses) and support other carbon emissions is decreasing, ecosystem functions and services. thus more significant CO2 mitigation actions are needed in order to lower • Build and improve upon simulation the impacts of climate change. models, in collaboration with field studies, to develop tools for improving Vital coastal carbon sinks are being and enhancing management plans, damaged and lost at a dangerous including optimal scenarios for carbon rate, thus contributing to climate allocation, CO2 uptake and carbon change. management schemes. Healthy and resilient ecosystems • Apply the 2013 Supplement to the support climate change mitigation 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National strategies. Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands in national GHG accounting. ACTION RecommendationS FOR ECOSYSTEM-BASED Mitigation DEPLOY CARBON CAPTURE AND APPROACH LARGE-SCALE MARINE GEO- STORAGE (CCS) WITH EXTREME CAUTION ENGINEERING ACTIVITIES WITH EXTREME • Refrain from directly altering ocean chemistry by injecting CAUTION CO2 into the water column or the deep-sea. • Prohibit large-scale ocean fertilization and other geo- engineering activities with a potential to impact ocean and • Refrain from setting investment incentives that could divert coastal ecosystems or communities until there is sufficient attention from the development and deployment of other scientific basis on which to justify such activities. more environmentally-friendly mitigation strategies. • Refrain from selling or offering carbon credits or offsets for • Adopt effective measures and regulations, on global, regional ocean fertilization or other geo-engineering projects unless and national scales, to ensure that potential risks of CCS their safety, long-term effectiveness and net environmental schemes have been carefully considered. benefits have been established. • Introduce permits for CCS projects only if based on prior • Develop and implement a transparent and effective regulatory environmental impact assessments, advanced notification mechanism for geo-engineering-related research to ensure and consultation, and use of independent scientific reviews. that these activities are subject to appropriate control and • Require continuous monitoring, reporting and inspection of consultation. CCS sites. What IS THE IUCN GLOBAL MARINE AND POLAR PROGRAMME DOING? The Blue Carbon Initiative is a global programme working to mitigate climate change through the restoration and sustainable use of coastal and marine ecosystems. It brings together governments, research institutions, non-governmental organisations and communities from around the world. It is coordinated by IUCN, Conservation International (CI) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (IOC-UNESCO). The GEF Blue Forests project builds on existing activities in selected countries to apply the blue forests concept - the promotion of better coastal ecosystem management by harnessing the values associated with carbon and other ecosystem services - from theory to practical application. The Ocean Acidification international Reference User Group (OA-iRUG) is a key means of conveying scientific results to non-scientific audiences and science end-users, in particular policy and decision makers. It brings together scientists and stakeholders from various backgrounds such as industry, governmental and non-governmental organizations, to allow networking and the presentation of key findings to interested non-scientific parties. IUCN - International Union for the Conservation of Nature | Page 3 ACTION RecommendationS FOR ECOSYSTEM-BASED adaPtation Mitigation is absolutely essential to avoid long-term climate change and ocean acidification, the impacts of which are already seen and felt by humans and natural ecosystems in many regions of the world. Due to geophysical time- CONDUCT VULNERABILITY IDENTIFY AND ENSURE lags, the consequences of ASSESSMENTS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF EBA AS AN ocean warming and ocean ECOSYSTEM MAPPING ADAPTATION OPTION acidification will continue to • In order to determine the priorities and • Conduct cost-benefit analysis and become more pronounced for urgency with which EbA strategies consider, as appropriate, linking EbA decades to come. Ecosystem- should be implemented with hard(er) infrastructure based adaptation (EbA), as • Obtain information regarding the • Increase ecosystem resilience and part of larger climate change relative magnitude of social and ensure continued provision of adaptation portfolios, can environmental impacts and costs ecosystem services by reducing support and help people adapt of climate change and ocean other human stressors on the marine acidification. environment, including: pollution, to climate change. destructive fishing practices, habitat • Gather and analyze information destruction and unsustainable coastal on ecosystems (mapping, service development. provision, non climate impact assessment) • Protect natural buffers and plan for inward migration of coastal • Develop EbA plans with properly ecosystems such as mangroves and targeted scenarios and strategies, wetlands. included in larger national and sub- national planning efforts (national • Integrate the full suite of EbA actions development plans and marine spatial into poverty reduction, sustainable plans) and prepare for adaptive development plans and disaster management responses. risk reduction strategies, whenever possible. STRENGTHEN AND DEVELOP What is EbA? LONG-TERM MONITORING AND EbA is the sustainable management, RESEARCH PROGRAMS conservation and restoration of • Ensure long-term monitoring to allow ecosystems to assure the continued for adaptive management actions. provision of vital services that help people adapt to the adverse effects • Incorporate socio-economics into of climate change. environmental monitoring projects. EbA increases ecosystem resilience • Determine top research priorities and to reduce human vulnerability in support the most appropriate existing the face of climate