unep 2009 role ecosystemmanagement1

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The Role o Ecosystem Management inClimate Change Adaptation and

Disaster Risk Reduction

Copenhagen Discussion Series

June 2009

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P E R

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T e UNEP C pen agen Discussi n Series are w r ingpapers pr duced UNEP and its partners in t e lead upt t e UNFCCC Climate Tal s in C pen agen in Decem er2009. T e aim t c ntri ute t t e discussi ns n climatec ange issues, including t se under c nsiderati n in t eUNFCCC Climate Tal s.

T e UNEP C pen agen Series d n t aim in an wa tprejudge t e climate neg tiati ns ut rat er c ntri uteanal sis and n wledge t t se neg tiati ns. C mmentsand eed ac n t e c ntents are er welc me ands uld e sent t [email protected]

T e c ntents t is discussi n paper series d n t necessarilre ect t e iews r p licies UNEP r t e edit rs, n r aret e an cial rec rd. T e designati ns empl ed and t epresentati n d n t impl t e expressi ns an pini nw ats e er n t e part UNEP c ncerning t e legalstatus an c untr , territ r r cit r its aut rit rc ncerning t e delimitati n its r ntiers r undaries.

June 2009

C er P t : Edit rs: Ric ard Munang, Jian Liu and I ra im T iawDesign: Amina Darani


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SUMMARY

T is Issues Paper rstl anal zes t e ici us spiral etween climate c ange impacts, ec s stem degradati nand increased ris climate related disasters;

sec ndl , de nes t e central r le ec s stem management in climate c ange adaptati n and disasterris reducti n and t eir multi aceted lin ages;

and t irdl , assesses t e c allenges r en anced ec s stem management r climate c ange adaptati nand disaster ris reducti n.

Gi en t e increasing imp rtance ec s stem management in adapting and resp nding t climate c angeimpacts and ass ciated disaster ris s, t e paper c ncludes t at p litical c mmitment at t e ig est le el isurgentl needed i ec s stem management is t a e t e adequate weig t it deser es in t e p st 2012 climatec ange agreement.

It is urt er rec mmended t at adequate nancial, tec n l gical and n wledge res urces e all cated rintegrating ec s stem management in t e climate c ange and disaster ris reducti n p rt li s, including wit innati nal p lic setting, capacit uilding, planning and practices, particularl in de el ping c untries ulnera let climate c ange impacts and increased ris s climate related disasters.

1.

VUlneRAble coMMUnitieS

At RiSk: CLIMATE ChANGE, ECoSySTEM DEGRADATIoN AND INCREASING RISk oF CLIMATE-RELATED DISASTERS

Science has established that global climate change increases the requency and intensity o climate-relateddisasters such as oods, res, and droughts, and causes ecosystem degradation. This in turn reduces the resilienceo ecosystems and human societies against the impacts o climate change and the increased risk o disasters.Ecosystem degradation compromises the carbon sequestration ability o natural systems, and may turn thesesystems rom carbon sinks to sources, thus exacerbating the downward spiral. Unwise use o ecosystems by humanbeings aggravates this vicious cycle as illustrated in Figure 1 below.

VulnerableCommunities

Climate Changeincreases the requency and

intensity o climate related disasters,and exacerbates ecosystem degradation

Increased Disaster Riskundermines ecosystem and

community resilience and exacerbatesimpacts o climate variability and change

Ecosystem Degradationtriggers more disasters,

reduces resilience andreleases more GHGs to the atmosphere

Figure 1.Simplifed illustration o the complicated interactions

between climate change, ecosystem degradation and increased disaster risk


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a) Climate change increases the riskso climate-related disasters, which causethe loss o lives and livelihoods, and weakenthe resilience o vulnerable ecosystems andsocieties. Communities around the world arealready vulnerable to the impacts o climaterelated hazards. Figure 2 shows a sharp increasein the occurrence o natural disasters such as

oods, droughts, extreme temperatures, andwild res rom 1960 to 1989, and an even morerapid increase since 1990. While this trend maynot be wholly attributable to climate change,the increase in the requency and intensityo climate related hazards does correspondto temperature increase, and is projected tocontinue even i greenhouse gas emissions wereto be stabilized today (IPCC, 2007), thus urtheraggravating the vulnerability o communities,assets and livelihoods.

b) Climate change exacerbates ecosystem

degradation. The IPCC Fourth AssessmentReport (AR4) projected, The resilience o manyecosystems is likely to be exceeded by 2100 byan unprecedented combination o change inclimate, associated disturbances (e.g., ooding,drought, wild re, insects, ocean acidi cation),and other global change drivers (e.g., land-use change, pollution, over-exploitation o resources) (high con dence). Tundra, boreal

orest, mountains, Mediterranean-typeecosystems, mangroves and salt marshes,coral ree s and the sea-ice biomes are amongstthese vulnerable ecosystems. Substantialchanges in the structure and unction o terrestrial, reshwater and marine ecosystemsare very likely to occur. In particular, 20-30%o species assessed so ar are likely to be at anincreasingly high risk o extinction as globalmean temperatures exceed 2 to 3oC above pre-industrial levels. I the temperature increasesby more than 4oC, ew ecosystems will be ableto adapt, more than 40% o global ecosystemsare projected to be trans ormed, and majorextinctions will occur around the globe.

c) Ecosystem degradation triggers moredisasters and reduces natures and societiesresilience against climate change impacts anddisasters. Ecosystem degradation is a processwhich will eventually lead to the collapse o theecosystem. The degradation process reducesthe capacity o the ecosystem to bufer theimpacts o climate change, or example,more requent heavy rains, droughts, meltingglaciers and sea level rise. Biodiversity loss

rom ecosystem degradation could cause thebreak down o ood chains and eventually the

collapse o the ecosystem, leading to biologicaldisasters such as the invasion o new species.Hence ecosystem degradation also increasesthe vulnerability o natural and human systemsto the impacts o disasters such as oods,landslides and storm surges. The worst case

scenario is the collapse o the ecosystem, leading to the total loss o itsbufering ability and other services to human well-being.

d) Ecosystem degradation reduces carbon sequestration in theecosystems and may turn them rom carbon sinks to sources, exacerbatingthe vicious spiral. The IPCC projects that the terrestrial biosphere is likelyto become a net carbon source by 2100, while ocean bufering capacitybegins saturating, thus ampli ying climate change, given continuedgreenhouse gas emissions at or above current rates and other unmitigatedglobal changes, such as land use changes (high con dence).

2.

bReAking the VicioUS SpiRAl: ThE MULTIPLE bENEFITSoF ECoSySTEM MANAGEMENT

In a world where climate change is resulting in more unpredictableweather patterns, sea level rise and more requent and extreme storms,the regulating services provided by ecosystems are critical or climatechange adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Examples o these servicesinclude climate and water regulation, protection rom natural hazards suchas oods and avalanches, water and air puri cation, carbon sequestration,and disease and pest regulation. These services determine the central roleo ecosystem management in climate change adaptation and disaster riskreduction as shown in Figure 3 on the next page.

a) Ecosystem management increases the resilience o natural systemsand human societies to climate change impacts. Managing ecosystemsto conserve and improve their health is crucial or sustaining the variousecosystem services important to human well-being. Healthy ecosystemsalso act as bufers, increasing the resilience o natural and human systemsto climate change impacts and disasters.

Ecosystem-based adaptation strategies cut across all sectors. Someexamples o these strategies include using mangroves or coastal de ense,

ood plain management or ood de ense, and maintaining geneticdiversity or adaptation in the agricultural sector. Good practices alreadyexist on the ground, such as wind-sheltering and breaks to increaseresilience o rangelands in Sudan, re- orestation o mangroves to protectshorelines rom storm surge and sea-level rise in the Philippines, sea-levelrise land acquisition programmes in the US, and drought adjustment o

Figure 2. Number o natural disasters in the world, 19402008.Sources: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database: www.em-dat.net

and EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database: www.emdat.be Universit Catholique de Louvain Brussels Belgium


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planting dates and crop varieties in Mexico andArgentina. However, these practices are limitedand very much on an ad hoc basis, and muchmore needs to be done. Two major approaches

or adapting to and managing climate risksare already in place to enhance the role o ecosystem management, and ull advantageshould be taken o them: Integrated WaterResource Management (IWRM) to manage

increasing water scarcity, and IntegratedCoastal Zone Management (ICZM) to managethe threat o sea level rise.

b) Ecosystem management alsomaximizes co-bene ts o mitigation o climatechange by reducing emissions and xingcarbon through good practices such as LandUse, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF)activities and Reduced Carbon Emissions

rom De orestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), reducing the loss o natural habitat and de orestation as well as increasing or maintainingcarbon stocks in ecosystems. Managing ecosystems to enhance biologicalcarbon sequestration (biosequestration) is a promising tool in the eforts tomitigate climate change, and may o ten also support the achievement o other societal goals. The discussion about possible ways o reducing carbonemissions in various land uses, such as orestry and agriculture, is gainingmomentum. Given the high rates o global orest loss and associatedGHG emissions (18-25% o annual emissions), reducing emissions rom

de orestation and orest degradation would make a major contribution tomeeting emission stabilization targets.

c) Ecosystem management provides physical de ense rom climate-related disasters. Healthy ecosystems protect societies rom disasters andimprove their ability to cope with the impacts. Mountain meadows, bushesand orests protect people in the downstream rom landslides and ash

oods rom glacier lake outbursts due to the accelerated melting o highmountain glaciers and snows. Coral ree s provide ofshore breakwaterswhich reduce the impacts o sea surges and tropical storm waves be ore

Ecosystem Managementincreases the resilience o ecosystems and

communities to climate change impacts, protectsthem rom disasters, and sequestrates carbon

Disaster Risk Reductionincreases the resilience o ecosystems

to disasters and complementsclimate change adaptation eforts

Climate Change Adaptationincreases the resilience o

ecosystems to climate change impactsand supports disaster risk reduction

Figure 3.Central role o ecosystems in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation

Ec s stem management is de ned in t ispaper as an integrated pr cess t c nser eand impr e ec s stem ealt t at sustainsec s stem ser ices r uman well eing.It is a summar man de niti ns c eringtw streams t in ing: (1) maintaining

r impr ing ec s stem ealt ; and(2) ensuring t e deli er ec s stemser ices t uman well eing.

Climate c ange adaptati n is de ned t e IPCC as adjustment in natural r

uman s stems in resp nse t actual rexpected climatic stimuli r t eir efects,w ic m derates arm r expl its ene cial

pp rtunities.

Disaster ris reducti n is de ned UNISDRas T e c ncept and practice reducingdisaster ris s t r ug s stematic ef rtst anal se and manage t e causal act rs

disasters, including t r ug reducedexp sure t azards, lessened ulnera ilit

pe ple and pr pert , wise management land and t e en ir nment, and impr ed

preparedness r ad erse e ents.


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they reach the shoreline. Mangrove orests act asrevetments or dikes: depending on their healthand extent, mangrove orests can mitigate 70-90% o the energy rom wind-generated waves(UNEP-WCMC 2006).

d) Climate change adaptation anddisaster risk reduction increase the resilienceo ecosystems. There is a need or proactiveadaptation and disaster management measuresto reduce the negative impacts o climatechange and disasters on ecosystems. Welldesigned adaptation measures can increase theresilience o ecosystems, and also reduce therisk o climate-related disasters. Adaptationis a process starting rom identi ying andprojecting climate change impacts to ullyresponding to these impacts by reshaping thedevelopment pathways and ways o ecosystemmanagement. It helps disaster risk reduction interms o being prepared or and protected rom

uture climate-related disasters. On the otherhand, disaster risk reduction contributes to theoverall adaptation process, and i done well, canenhance the adaptation process by establishingthe oundation or addressing long-term climatechange impacts. Climate change adaptation anddisaster risk reduction are both dependent onthe regulating services provided by ecosystems,and contribute to building their resilience.

3.enhAncing ecoSYSteM

MAnAgeMent: FRoM SCIENCE ToPoLICy To ACTIoN

The acts shown above make clear thecentral role o ecosystem management inclimate change adaptation and disaster riskreduction, both o which are signi cant prioritiesin the international environmental and politicalagenda such as those o the UNFCCC andHyogo Framework or Action. However, whilethe science is clear, corresponding policy needsto be more explicit and action on the groundneeds to be enhanced.

The science is clear and calls or action, yet there is no explicit recognition o the roleo ecosystems or actionable policies set inthe UNFCCC or its Bali Action Plan agreed atCOP13. While the Hyogo Framework or Actionrecognizes ecosystem management as anessential element o reducing underlying risk

actors, eforts at environmental management

or disaster risk reduction have been largelyon an ad hoc basis. Amongst the multilateralenvironmental agreements, only the Conventionon Biological Diversity (CBD) through its AdHoc Technical Expert Group on biodiversityand climate change, has started addressing the

linkages between ecosystem management, climate change adaptation anddisaster risk reduction.

National policies and local actions taking an integrated approachto address the downward spiral o climate change impacts, ecosystemdegradation and increased climate-related disasters are largely lacking.The current National Adaptation Programmes o Action (NAPAs) under theUNFCCC are limited to least developed countries and merely include avague role o ecosystem management. It is o paramount importance to

prioritize the role o ecosystems across all countries. Climate change cantrigger a broad shi t towards a global civilization that is sustainable, butonly when we seize the opportunity and start acting now. A ew vulnerablecountries are taking action despite the slow political processes in theinternational negotiations.

4.

keY MeSSAge to cop15: URGENT NEED FoR hIGhESTLEvEL PoLITICAL CoMMITMENT

It is obvious that many countries have been quick to show commitmentto climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. However, therole o ecosystem management, though central to both climate changeadaptation and disaster risk reduction, has yet to be well recognized at thepolitical level. In recent years, several Parties to the UNFCCC have startedto recognise the central role o ecosystem management in climate changeadaptation and disaster risk reduction, and called or ecosystem-basedadaptation in the context o the Long-term Cooperative Actions (LCA) atthe 14th Con erence o the Parties in December 2008. More work howeverneeds to be done be ore this recognition becomes the consensus o all theParties to the UNFCCC. COP 15 in December 2009, rom which the worldis eagerly expecting a post-2012 climate change agreement, will provide

a crucial opportunity or increasing the pro le o ecosystem managementand highlighting its important role in climate change adaptation anddisaster risk reduction.

Given the increasing importance o ecosystem management inadapting and responding to climate change impacts and associateddisaster risks, political commitment at the highest level is urgently neededi ecosystem management is to have the adequate weight it deserves inthe post-2012 climate change agreement. Political support is also needed

or the systematic integration o ecosystem management into climatechange adaptation and disaster risk reduction policy rameworks andpractices. It is urther strongly recommended that adequate nancial,technological and knowledge resources be allocated correspondingly orintegrating ecosystem management in the climate change and disasterrisk reduction port olios, including in national policy-setting and awarenessraising, capacity building, planning and practices, particularly in developingcountries vulnerable to climate change impacts and increased risks o climate-related disasters.

The UNFCCC Secretariat at its Vienna con erence (2007) onInvestment and nancial ows to address climate change estimatedthat by 2030 developing countries will require additional nancial supportbetween 28-67 billion USD a year to enable adaptation to climate change.Globally, overall additional investment and nancial ows needed oradaptation in 2030 amount to several tens o billion USD. There are

allocations in this estimation or various sectors, yet adequate nancialresources should also be explicitly allocated or ecosystem management inthe climate change port olio. The United Nations Collaborative Programmeon Reducing Emissions rom De orestation and Forest Degradation inDeveloping Countries (UN REDD), supported by the Government o Norway,has set a very good example o the use o ecosystem management or


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biosequestration and reducing carbon emissions.It is recommended the same approach be appliedto use ecosystem management or climatechange adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

Meanwhile, knowledge and technology

support to vulnerable countries should alsobe adequate and timely. For instance, there isa need to start developing guidance on mixed

engineered/ecosystem-based adaptation anddisaster risk management solutions.

An unprecedented level o cooperation isurgently required rom the policy and scienti ccommunities to act on the combined threatso climate change, disasters and continuousecosystem degradation. This will help ostercloser links between ecosystem management,climate change adaptation and disaster riskreduction communities, as well as betweenscience and policy such as the links between

the IPCC and UNFCCC and IPCC, CBD and theIPBES process, and catalyze North-South andSouth-South cooperation.

RefeRenceS AND FURThER READING

1. CBD, technical series papers 10 and 25

2. CCSP, 2008: Preliminary review o adaptation options or climate-sensitiveecosystems and resources. A Report by the U.S. Climate Change ScienceProgram and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. [Julius, S.H., J.M.West (eds.), J.S. Baron, L.A. Joyce, P. Kareiva, B.D. Keller, M.A. Palmer, C.H.Peterson, and J.M. Scott (Authors)]. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,Washington, DC, USA, 873 pp.

3. Martin Parry, Osvaldo Canziani, Jean Palutiko etc 2007, Chapter 4 andTechnical Summary o Working Group II report, IPCC Fourth AssessmentReport, Climate Change 2007.

4. Millar, C. I., Stephenson, N. L., and Stephens, S. L. (2007). Climate Change andForest Change and Forests o the Future: Managing in the Face o Uncertainty.Ecological Applications 17, 2145-2151.

5. Milly, P. C. D., Betancourt, J. L., Falkenmark, M., Hirsch, R. H., Kindzewicz,Z., Lettenmaier, D. P., and Stoufer, R. J. (2008). Stationarity is dead: WhitherWater Management- Rethinking approaches to planning and design in achanging climate. Science 319, 573-574.

6. Prato, T. (2008). Conceptual ramework or assessment and management o ecosystem impacts o climate change. Ecological Complexity 5, 329-338.

7. R.K. Pachauri etc. 2007, The Synthesis Report o IPCC Fourth AssessmentReport, Climate Change 2007.

8. UNDP (2004). Reducing Disaster Risk: a challenge or development.A global report. Bureau or Crisis Prevention and Recovery, NY, USA,Pp 146.

9. UNEP, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005

10. UNFCCC, the Convention 1992, the Bali Action Plan 2007

11. UNISDR, Hyogo Framework or Action, 2005

12. UNU (2006). Healthy ecosystems bufer against natural disaster. Issue 41,Available rom: http://update.unu.edu/issue41_20.htm.

13. Simms, Andrew and Hannah Reid, 2005; A rica Up in smoke?The second report rom the Working Group on Climate Changeand Development

14. Ecosystems, Livelihoods and Disasters (2006), UNISDR WG on Environment& Disasters publication Environment and Vulnerability

15. ProAct Network The Role o Environmental Management and Eco-engineeringin Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (2008).


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