role of protected areas in meeting climate challenge and iucn- saadullah ayaz

IUCN and Role of Protected Areas in meeting climate challenges

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

Saadullah Ayaz

Definitions of Protected Areas

IUCN’s definition

‘A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and

managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-

Term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and

cultural values’Dudley, N.(2008); Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories, IUCN

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

Dudley, N.(2008); Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories, IUCN

CBD’s definition

‘A geographically defined area which is designated or regulated and

managed to achieve specific conservation objectives’www.cbd.int/protected/pacbd/

Protected areas helping people cope

with climate change

Protected areas already cover over 13.9 per

cent of the world’s land surface and growing

Protected areas are are proven “green”

and cost-effective natural solutions to

help address the climate change. They;

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

help address the climate change. They;

• reduce greenhouse gas emissions through

carbon storage and sequestration

• maintaining the essential ecosystem services

upon which people depend.

http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/natsols_4pp_highres_single

_pages_with_cropmarks.pdf

Dual role of Protected Areas

MitigationCapture: At least 15% of the world’s terrestrial carbon stock is stored in PA globally.

Storage: Natural ecosystems capture more than 4.7 gigatonnes of carbon annually

AdaptationProtected areas maintain ecosystem integrity,

buffer local climate, and reduce risks and impacts

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

buffer local climate, and reduce risks and impacts

from extreme events

Maintain essential ecosystem services that help

people cope with changes in water supplies,

fisheries, disease and agricultural productivity

caused by climate change.

http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/natural_solutions.pdf

CC- Role of Protected Areas

Protected areas are proven tools for maintaining essential natural resources and

services, which in turn can help increase the resilience and reduce the vulnerability of

livelihoods in the face of climate change:

Water: both purer water and (especially in tropical montane cloud forests)

increased water flow

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

increased water flow

Fisheries: Marine and freshwater protected areas conserve and rebuild fish stocks

Food: Protecting crop wild relatives to facilitate crop breeding and pollination

services; providing sustainable food for communities

Health: Ranging from habitat protection to slow the expansion of vector-borne

diseases that thrive in degraded ecosystems to access to traditional

medicines

http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/natural_solutions.pdf

CC-PA in UNFCCC

• Recognises the role of protected areas as tools for permanent carbon

storage and sequestration and call for the implementation of robust

protected areas systems as a core component of national strategies to

achieve land-based emissions reductions

• Emphasises the role of ecosystems in climate change adaptation and

incorporate protection of natural ecosystems within national adaptation

strategies and action plans (including National Adaptation Programmes

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

strategies and action plans (including National Adaptation Programmes

of Action – NAPA) for protection of natural ecosystems as a cost-

effective alternative to technology- and infrastructure based adaptation

measures and to avoid mal-adaptation

• Permit nationally appropriate mitigation and adaptation actions that

involve the enhancement of protected areas or national protected area

networks to receive financial and technical assistance through climate-

related financial mechanisms

http://unfccc.int/

CC-PA in CBD

Convention on Biological Diversity has recognized the role of PAs in addressing climate

change in Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA):

“1.4.5 Integrate climate change adaptation measures in protected

Area planning, management

• Encourages development of tools and methods to support countries to evaluate climate

impacts and increase resilience of their protected areas systems, and ensure that their role

in mitigation and adaptation is fully explored

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

in mitigation and adaptation is fully explored

• Emphasizes the importance of increasing connectivity among national protected areas and

trans-boundary protected areas

• Cultivate political urgency for the development of marine protected areas and protected

areas in underrepresented biomes

• The Convention also recognizes that there are significant opportunities for mitigating

climate change and adapting to it, while enhancing the conservation of biodiversity

http://www.cbd.int/

PACT 2020:

Protected Areas and Climate Turnaround

PACT was formally launched at the IUCN World Conservation

Congress in 2008 and supported by IUCN’s Innovation Fund.

Under PACT 2020- Climate change was acknowledged to be’

the greatest threat to biodiversity and the global system of

protected areas was noted as one of the most powerful solutions.

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

protected areas was noted as one of the most powerful solutions.

PACT 2020 aims to

“Ensure that protected areas and protected area systems are recognised

as an important contribution to climate change adaptation/mitigation

strategies for biodiversity and human livelihoods”.

http://www.iucn.org/about/union/commissions/wcpa/wcpa_events/wcpa_climatepas

ummit/wcpa_pact2020/

The Issue

60% of global ecosystem services are degraded, reducing

their ability to mitigate the impact of natural disasters

Economic losses from climate disasters have increased

tenfold in 50 years, and “natural” disasters continue to

increase in frequency and intensity

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

Warmer regional temperatures, have already had

significant impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

http://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf

CC as driver of Biodiversity Loss

A comprehensive assessment of the links

between ecosystem health and human well-

being, climate change is likely to become the

dominant direct driver of biodiversity loss by the

end of the century

(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2007)

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

Projected changes in climate, combined with

land use change and the spread of exotic or

alien species, are likely to limit the capability of

some species to migrate and therefore will

accelerate species loss

(CBD, 2009)

www.cbd.int/doc/bioday/2007/ibd-2007-booklet-01-en.pdf

IPCC’s Analysis

“Observational evidence from all continents

and most oceans shows that many natural

systems are being affected by regional

climate changes, particularly Temperature

increases.”

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

increases.”

IPCC Fourth Assessment Report

http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth

_assessment_report_synthesis_report.htm

Summary of IPCC-AR IV Conclusions (contd…)

There is also high confidence of the effects on hydrological systems including:

• Increased runoff and earlier spring peak discharge in many glacier- and snow-fed rivers

• Warming of lakes and rivers in many regions, with effects on thermal structure and water

quality

There is high confidence that changes in marine and freshwater biological systems

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

There is high confidence that changes in marine and freshwater biological systems

are associated with rising water temperatures and related changes in ice cover,

salinity, oxygen levels and circulation including:

• Shifts in ranges and changes in algal, plankton and fish abundance in high-latitude oceans

• Increases in algal and zooplankton abundance in high-latitude and high-altitude lakes

• Range changes and earlier fish migrations in rivers

Summary of IPCC-AR IV Conclusions (contd…)

there is very high (i.e. 90 percent) confidence that recent warming is strongly

affecting terrestrial biological systems, including:

• Earlier timing of spring events, such as leaf-unfolding,egg-laying and bird migration

• Plants and animals shift ranges pole-wards and upwards

There is high (80 per cent) confidence that natural systems related to snow, ice and

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

There is high (80 per cent) confidence that natural systems related to snow, ice and

frozen ground (including permafrost) are affected, including the:

• Enlargement and increased numbers of glacial lakes

• Increasing ground instability in permafrost regions and rock avalanches in mountain

• Changes in Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems, including those in sea-ice biomes, and

affecting top predators

Summary of IPCC-AR IV Conclusions (contd…)

There is increasing evidence of climate change impacts on coral reefs. Sea-level

rise and human development are also contributing to losses of coastal wetlands

and mangroves and increasing damage from coastal flooding

In the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere agricultural and forest

management impacts include earlier spring planting of crops, and alterations in

disturbances of forests due to fires and pests

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

Some impacts on human health, such as excess heat-related mortality in Europe,

changes in infectious disease vectors in parts of Europe, and earlier onset of and

increases in seasonal production of allergenic pollen in the high and mid-latitudes

of the Northern Hemisphere

Impacts on human activities in the Arctic, in relation to hunting activities and shorter

travel seasons over snow and ice, and in lower-elevation alpine areas, such as

changes in mountain sports activities

IUCN’s Solutions

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN’s Solutions

IUCN believes that conserving nature can help reduce greenhouse

gas emissions (mitigation) and help us adapt to the impacts of climate

change

IUCN’s work puts nature at the centre of climate change solutions in

hundred of programmes and projects across the world

IUCN- at the Core of Solution

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN’s Climate Change Network coordinates and facilitates climate

change work across the Union’s programmes, commissions and

member organizations. IUCN’s UN Observer Status offers a unique

position at key international decision-making fora, including the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

http://www.iucn.org/what/tpas/climate

IUCN’s Viewpoint

Wise conservation and management of biodiversity, protected areas, World Heritage and natural resources must be an important component of any climate change adaptation

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN is uniquely positioned to support climate change adaptation actions at all levels from local to regional to global

Granada Summit on

Protected Areas and Climate ChangeNovember, 2009

Reaffirmed that protected area systems can provide

cost‐effective means to combat climate change

Recognised that increasing ecosystem resilience

through effective protection will enhance the

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

through effective protection will enhance the

persistence and functions of protected areas in

reducing climate change risks to society and

biodiversity.

http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/conclusiones_de_la_reu

nion_de_granada_final_3_.pdf

IUCN and Climate Change Adaptation

The Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) Thematic Group of IUCN’s Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM), promotes the science and practice of Ecosystem-based Adaptation.

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy to help people to adapt to

Ecosystem-based Adaptation

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

overall adaptation strategy to help people to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.

EbA aims to maintain and increase the resilience and reduce the vulnerability of ecosystems and people in the face of the adverse effects of climate change.

http://www.iucn.org/what/tpas/climate/key_topics/eba/

Ecosystem-based Adaptation

A nature’s solution to climate change

IUCN- People and Livelihoods

IUCN introduced “Community-based Risk Screening Tool - Adaptation and Livelihoods”

(CRISTAL)

CRISTAL can reduce impacts of climate change on community livelihoods

First tested in IUCN project in Mali

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

First tested in IUCN project in Mali

(Inner Delta of the Niger River)

Made available by IUCN for wider global use

(Aliou.Faye@iucn.org)

IUCN’s Guidelines for

Precautionary Principles

IUCN developed “Guidelines for Applying the

Precautionary Principle to Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resource Management”

Responding to uncertainty

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

Responding to uncertainty

(also relevant to climate change)

www.pprinciple.net

CC-PA- Suggested Policy Response

Well managed protected areas can provide a cost effective option for

implementing climate change response strategies because start-up costs have

already been met and socio-economic costs are offset by other services that

protected areas supply

Protected Areas: helping cope people with climate change

http://www.undp.org.tr/publicationsDocuments/natural_solutions_original.pdf

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

http://www.undp.org.tr/publicationsDocuments/natural_solutions_original.pdf

Governments develop policies for “climate sensitive public goods including natural

resource protection, coastal protection and emergency preparedness

Stern’s Review on Economics of Climate Change

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/CLOSED_SHORT_executive_summary.pdf

Thank you

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature

Saadullah AyazCoordinator Climate Change/

Country Network Coordinator Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities

IUCN Pakistan

saad.ayaz@iucn.org