Herr, Dorothée

Nature-based solutions (NbS) -- centred on the protection, restoration and sustainable management of the world's ecosystems -- have a vitally important role to play in addressing both the causes and consequences of climate change. As countries revise or prepare new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in support of the Paris Agreement in the run-up to 2020, there is a major opportunity to increase global ambition on climate change through strengthening the role of these natural solutions.

This 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, target_idal saltmarshes and seagrasses, as climate mitigation or adaptation solutions.

Mangroves are among the most important ecosystems on the planet. They provide nursery grounds for a wide variety of marine and landbased species, sustain livelihoods of coastal populations, and protection from ocean swell and extreme weather events. However, mangroves are being cleared, degraded, or lost at a rapid pace. This report is targeted at project developers, donors and investors.

The value and role of mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrasses for climate change mitigation was established back in 2009 by reports by IUCN and UNEP to focus attention on addressing a critical gap in national carbon accounting and management. Despite the acknowledgement of the importance of these ecosystems in stemming climate change, many countries have yet to prepare for and implement targeted climate and carbon policies for coastal carbon ecosystems alongside other coastal priorities, challenges and demands. This National Blue Carbon Policy Assessment Framework is helping to do just that.

In this publication, several case studies from the African continent illustrate the "nature-based solutions" approach and offer hope that effective solutions to the climate change dilemma can be addressed through local responses that also achieve mutual benefits for biodiversity conservation and community resilience.

Wetlands have been the focus of conservation and restoration efforts for over a century, and governments, international actors (NGOs and academia) and local communities around the world are now increasingly engaging in wetland restoration or avoiding wetland degration activities for climate change mitigation. Yet despite the rapidly growing attention on wetland activities for climate mitigation, finding the appropriate funding sources to set up a wetland carbon project or develop a national wetland carbon program is often a challenge.

As the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere rises, an increasing amount of the gas is absorbed by the ocean, making it more acidic. Both the academic challenge as well as the practical urgency to find solutions to ocean acidification within the broader field of environmental law and governance have spurred some initial analysis on this topic.

Development and implementation of blue carbon-based activities now requires strategic policy and incentive mechanisms to achieve coastal conservation, restoration and sustainable use, and provide disincentives to drain or damage coastal systems. A first effort to develop such a strategic program was set out in the first edition of the Blue Carbon Policy Framework. Based on additional information and current progress a revised Blue Carbon Policy Framework 2.0 has now been developed. It updates the previous version and adds a detailed coordinated program of policy objectives and activities.

Development and implementation of blue carbon-based activities now requires strategic policy and incentive mechanisms for coastal conservation, restoration and sustainable use, and and disincentives to drain or damage coastal systems. Currently no broad, strategic program exists to achieve this. To address this, a Blue Carbon Policy Framework has been developed, detailing a coordinated program of policy objectives and activities, needed for the integration of blue carbon into existing initiatives and to support the implementation of coastal management activities.