Ecosystems such as forests, coastlines, and oceans are natural carbon sinks that store carbon from the atmosphere in vegetation, soil, water, and living organisms. This process, known as carbon sequestration, is key to avoiding and reducing greenhouse gas emissions that lead to climate change. The world’s forests, for instance, store more carbon than exists in the entire atmosphere, and mangroves can store more than twice the amount of carbon as a terrestrial forest of the same size. The destruction and degradation of forests and coastal ecosystems, however, releases this stored carbon into the atmosphere, contributing at least 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually. If left unchecked, these emissions will accelerate climatic change and further exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, and thereby undermine efforts to adapt to climate change.
Low emission development strategies for the land use sector that prioritize the protection of carbon rich ecosystems not only reduce emissions, but also protect biodiversity, safeguard local livelihoods, and reduce rural poverty, all of which can lead to more climate resilient systems. REDD+ and blue carbon initiatives are among the measures available to conserve, sustainably manage, and restore these carbon rich ecosystems, which are crucial for natural carbon storage and sequestration, and for building climate resilient communities.
This publication*, which was produced in partnership with Conservation International, explores how ecosystem approaches to low emission development can contribute to climate resilience and how ecosystem based approaches can be integrated into low emission development policies and planning. It also presents a short case study on the Alto Mayo Conservation Initiative, Peru.
*download the full report form the right-hand column. The key messages from the report are provided below - see the full text for more detail and further resources.
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