Locking Carbon in a Water Vault:
Wetlands as Ecosystem-based
Mitigation
World Water Week 201929 August 2019
Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), Aga Khan Foundation, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ),
IUCN, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Wetlands International, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Marcel ServosPolicy Advisor, Sustainable Water Policy
Climate Change, Environment & Infrastructure
Department, GIZ
Wetlands & Climate Change - A quick look at Science and Policy
Marcel Servos – Policy Advisor – GIZ Sustainable Water Policy Program
Stockholm World Water Week 2019
Carbon (C) storage & uptake (sequestration) I
29/08/19Seite 5
Wetlands are carbon sinks
• Vegetation in wetlands absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere
• In wet (anaerobic) conditions dead plants can‘t fully decay
→ accumulation of organic matter
• This uptake-process of CO2 from the atmosphere in terrestrial or marine
reservoirs is called carbon sequestration
But: Different ecosystems have different sequestration rates
Carbon (C) storage & uptake (sequestration) II
29/08/19Seite 6
Wetlands are carbon storages
• Carbon stocks often grow over long time periods as a result of carbon sequestration
→ creation of significant global carbon storages
29/08/19Seite 7
Natural
peatlands
Sequester CO2 and
store it in peat
layers.
▼Net sinks of GHG
Oversaturated
peatlands
A lot of CH4 can be
released.
▼Potential net
sources of GHG
Drained
peatlands
Organic matter
decomposes.
Release of CO2
&N2O.
▼Major GHG sources
Restored
peatlands
After a while,
sequester more CO2
than they release.
▼Net sinks of GHG
Sink or Source? ► Water table is the decisive factor!
Peatland
Presence of water is key for making use of the
mitigation potential of wetlands!
29/08/19Seite 8
There is a crucial link between climate
mitigation efforts in wetland areas and
sustainable water resources management.
Wetlands in Ganga Basin:
Challenges and
Interventions
Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, IAS
Director General,
National Mission for Clean
Ganga
Ganga Basin
Namami Gange
Programme’, is an
Integrated
Conservation
Mission to
accomplish effective
abatement of
pollution,
conservation and
rejuvenation of
National River
Ganga.
The basin of river Ganga has diverse
wetland regimes
• High altitude lakes in the Himalayas,
• Marshes and swamps of the Terai
region,
• Floodplain and riverine wetlands in
the Gangetic alluvial plains
• Coastal wetlands in the deltaic tracts.
• Ramsar sites
• Urban and Rural Wetlands
These form key biodiversity habitats and
play an important role in providing
water, food, and climate security to the
basin’s million inhabitants.
Ganga Basin Dotted with Numerous Wetlands
• Environment (Protection) Act 1986
• National Environment Policy, 2006 – Ecosystem
Services by Wetlands
• India Signatory to Ramsar Convention
• River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and
Management) Authority Order, 2016
• Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rule, 2017
• State Wetland Authorities and National Wetland
Committee
• Inventory, Brief Document, Integrated Management
Plans
Legal and
Institutional
Framework
• Land use change
• Interrupted link in the surface -
groundwater equation
• Mining
• Agriculture
• Sewage discharge & industrial
effluent
• Infrastructural development
• Encroachment
• Identification of wetland and
providing protection
• Mapping of location and inclusion in
development plans
Challenges
• Groundwater recharge through wetland
restoration in the basin is being carried out by the
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
• Pilot project “Wetlands and Water Programme”
which aims to restore select wetlands of Ganga
basin through community involvement and low cost
investment.
• Formation of State Wetland Authority in Ganga
basin
• Detailed Conservation Plans of 101 wetlands in
Uttar Pradesh
• Jal Shakti Abhiyan providing momentum
Initiatives
Urban Wetlands• Mapping and prioritisation of urban wetlands.
• Models of wetland based sewage management
• Integrate urban wetland conservation in urban
planning policies and urban river management
plans.
• Urban River Management Plan –
Mainstreaming river rejuvenation with urban
planning
• Framework for citizen engagement in
monitoring the health of wetlands.
Wetlands
Inventory
and
Assessment
Management
Planning
Wetlands
Monitoring
Capacity
Development
and
Outreach
Development of toolkit for urban
waterbodies/ wetland
management
Thank
You
@cleanganganmcg
/cleanganganmcg
/National Mission for Clean Ganga
/namamigange
Follow on
Visit us at
Pavilion No. A 20, Tele 2 Arena
The Steart Coastal Management Project: a case study of
large-scale coastal habitat creation providing carbon
uptake and storage in the UK
WWT Steart Marshes – a landscape scale working wetland
Background
• A requirement on Environment Agency to compensate for loss of internationally important wetlands through process of coastal squeeze
• Steart peninsula identified through government strategy as having the potential to deliver significant proportion of this objective
• A site that demonstrates good practice and an exemplar of wetland creation, climate mitigation and adaptation, and people engagement: a
Working Wetland
WWT Steart Marshes – a landscape scale working wetland
Background
• A requirement on Environment Agency to compensate for loss of internationally important wetlands through process of coastal squeeze
• Steart peninsula identified through government strategy as having the potential to deliver significant proportion of this objective
• A site that demonstrates good practice and an exemplar of wetland creation, climate mitigation and adaptation, and people engagement: a
Working Wetland
WWT Steart Marshes – a landscape scale working wetland
A coastal wetland that reduces flood risk and
stores carbon
• Over 300 ha of saltmarsh providing a living, natural flood
defence
• An estimated 650 tonnes of carbon sequestrated per year
• Benefit to biodiversity, including fish stocks
• A working landscape underpinned by an extensive grazing
system
• We must work with local communities to develop
mechanisms that generate secure and resilient ecosystem
services and environmentally sensitive livelihoods
• Funding from NDCs could be used support community-
based conservation projects that secure resilient ecosystem
services
• We should think big, take some risks and deliver at a scale
that is meaningful
www.wwt.org.uk
Main pillars:
➢ participatory governance
➢ agricultural assistance
➢ enterprise development and employable skills
➢ natural resource management
➢ financial inclusion
➢ creation of rural infrastructure
Approach: Inclusive, broad-based & systemic
For over 30 years, the Aga Khan Foundation has worked in remote and fragile geographies to
effectively reduce poverty, ensure tangible food security and improve the livelihoods of
smallholder farmers and their families.
Emerging challenges
➢ climate change
➢ disasters
➢ stress on water
➢ energy provision
Community-led approaches for conservation & development
EXAMPLE: Madagascar
Inter-linked Objectives:
• Improving well-being of
communities
• Sustaining vital natural
resources
• Protecting the country’s
unique biodiversity
➢ Specific focus on land-use
& natural resource
management in
threatened watershed
environments
Building blocks for improved development outcomes
ACHIEVEMENTS – Positive Social, Economic & Environmental Impacts
Poverty reduction
Reduced lean season
Improved community satisfaction & social cohesion
Improved productivity of key value chains
Improved access, availability & quality of natural resources
Aga Khan Foundation | AGWA | GIZ | IUCN | Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
Wetlands International | Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Session “Locking Carbon in a Water Vault: Wetlands as Ecosystem-based Mitigation”A pledge from the co-conveners and audience World Water Week, Stockholm, 29 August 2019
We value wetlands and peatlands as crucial carbon sinks which play a critical role in the regulation of our climate (the majority of the global soil carbon pool is held in wetlands, and peatlands are the largest and long-term carbon
sinks of any ecosystem).
We are concerned about the fast degradation and loss of natural wetlands and we fear that without proper action these invaluable ecosystems will be irreversibly destroyed with tragic consequences for human security, livelihoods,
biodiversity and climate adaptation.
We welcome the findings of the IPCC Special Report on Land and Climate Change which openly recognizes wetlands and peatlands as critical resources for their multiple ecosystem services and functions, including climate change
adaptation and the protection of biodiversity.
We believe that Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) remain central to the Paris Agreement and that wetlands and peatlands should be prominently featured in the post 2020 climate action.
We advocate for the restoration of wetlands and peatlands worldwide and encourage countries, decision-makers and broader international community to scale up ambitions ensuring wetlands are a major component of the
forthcoming reviews of NDCs.
We, both as Organizations and Individuals, passionately strive to raise awareness about the importance of conserving these ecosystems for their intrinsic value and beauty as well as their vital co-benefits.