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

Ingrid TimboePolicy Director

Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA)

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.

J. Leifeld &

L. Menichetti (2018)

Actual estimated GHG emissions from peatlands

29/08/19Seite 9

Potential GHG emissions from peatlands

29/08/19Seite 10

J. Leifeld & L. Menichetti (2018)

A quick look at Policy – Paris Agreement and 2030 Agenda

29/08/19Seite 11

29/08/19

Climate

Change &

Freshwater

Ecosystems

Seite 12

29/08/19Seite 13

© G

IZ / R

an

ak

Ma

rtin

Thank you!

Lucilla MinelliSenior Advocacy Officer

Wetlands International

Francisco RillaDirector, Science and Policy

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Robin AbellFreshwater Lead

Conservation International

Rajiv Ranjan MishraDirector General

National Mission for Clean Ganga

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

James RobinsonDirector of Conservation

Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust

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

Engaging local people in the change

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

Building resilience for communities and biodiversity -

Lake Sofia, Madagascar

Building resilience for communities and biodiversity -

Lake Sofia, Madagascar

• 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

james.robinson@wwt.org.uk

Aleeza MithaStrategic Partnerships Manager

Aga Khan Foundation

AGA KHAN FOUNDATION

Community Based Approaches for Sustainable

Development

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

Maria Carreño LindelienProject Officer, Global Water Programme

IUCN

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.