IPCC Report.pdf - Adam Curry

National Systems for Managing the Risks from Climate Extremes and DisastersChapter 6tourism, energy, water resources, and cross-sectoral areas. The NAPAprocess forms a good basis for developing medium- and long-termadaptation plans and policies. The capacity within NAPA teams and thesubsequent networks that are created are proving very useful in thedesign of broader national adaptation plans (UNFCCC, 2011a,b).6.5.2.3. Investing in Natural Capitaland Ecosystem-Based AdaptationEcosystem-based adaptation, which integrates the use of biodiversityand ecosystem services into an overall adaptation strategy, can be a costeffectivestrategy for responding to the effects of weather and climateextremes (SCBD, 2009). It is generally agreed that investment in sustainableecosystems and environmental management has the potential to alsoprovide improved livelihoods and increased biodiversity conservation(Bouwer, 2006; UNEP, 2006, 2010; McGray et al., 2007; Colls et al.,2009; SCBD, 2009; Sudmeier-Rieux and Ash, 2009; World Bank, 2009).Healthy, natural or modified, ecosystems (see Section 6.3.1 and Box 6-4)have a critical role to play in reducing risks of climate extremes anddisasters (Sidle et al., 1985; Dorren et al., 2004; Phillips and Marden,2005; Reid and Huq, 2005; UNISDR, 2005, 2007a,b, 2009a,b; Bebi et al.,2009; Colls et al., 2009; SCBD, 2009; Sudmeier-Rieux and Ash, 2009;UNEP, 2009; Lal, 2010). Although the scientific evidence base relatingto the role of ecosystem services in reducing the sensitivity of naturalsystems to weather and climate extremes and reducing vulnerabilitiesto many disasters is nascent, investment in natural ecosystemmanagement has long been used to reduce risks of disasters (see Box6-4). Forests, for example, have been used in the Alps and elsewhere aseffective risk-reducing measures against avalanches, rockfalls, andlandslides since the 1900s (Sidle et al., 1985; Dorren et al., 2004; Phillipsand Marden, 2005; Bebi et al., 2009). The damage caused by wildfires,wind erosion, drought, and desertification are reported to have beenbuffered by forest management, shelterbelts, greenbelts, hedges, andother ‘living fences’ (ProAct Network, 2008; Dudley et al., 2010).Mangrove replanting has been used as a buffer against cyclones andstorm surges, with reports of a 70 to 90% reduction in energy fromwind-generated waves in coastal areas (UNEP, 2006) and reduction inthe number of deaths from cyclones (Das and Vincent, 2009), dependingon the health and extent of the mangroves. Many sectoral examplesare provided in Table 6-1 that also provide evidence of the value ofecosystem services in disaster risk reduction and adaption to climatechange (see also Section 6.5.2.1).The extent to which ecosystems support such benefits, though, dependson a complex set of dynamic interactions among ecosystem-relatedfactors, as well as the intensity of the hazard (UNEP, 2006; Sudmeier-Rieux and Ash, 2009) and institutional and governance arrangements(see case studies in Angelsen et al., 2009). Scientific understanding ofthe relationship between ecosystem structure and function and thereduction of risks associated with weather and climate extremes islimited, though growing.Box 6-4 | Value of Ecosystem Services inDisaster Risk Management:Some Examples• In the Maldives, degradation of protective coral reefsnecessitated the construction of artificial breakwaters at acost of US$ 10 million per kilometer (SCBD, 2009).• In Vietnam, the Red Cross began planting mangroves in1994 with the result that, by 2002, some 12,000 hectares ofmangroves had cost US$1.1 million for planting but savedannual levee maintenance costs of US$ 7.3 million, shieldedinland areas from a significant typhoon in 2000, andrestored livelihoods in planting and harvesting shellfish(Reid and Huq, 2005; SCBD, 2009).• In the United States, wetlands are estimated to reduceflooding associated with hurricanes at a value of US$ 8,250per hectare per year, and US$ 23.2 billion a year in stormprotection services (Costanza et al., 2008).• In Orissa, India, a comparison of the impact of the 1999super cyclone on 409 villages in two tahsils with andwithout mangroves showed that villages that had healthystands of mangroves suffered significantly less loss of livesthan those without (or limited areas) healthy mangroves,even though all villages had the benefit of early warningsand accounting for other social and economic variables(Das and Vincent, 2009).Investment in natural ecosystems also contributes significantly toreduction in GHG emissions, through practices such as those associatedwith Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) and throughReduced Carbon Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation(REDD) or REDD+, which additionally includes the value of conservationfrom sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forestcarbon stocks (UNEP, 2006; SCBD, 2009). Mangrove ecosystems, forexample, are important for carbon sequestration and storage,containing among the highest carbon pools: 1,060-2,020 t CO 2 ha -1or an annual carbon sequestration of 6.32 t CO 2 ha -1 (Murray et al.,2010), as well as providing the buffers against weather and climateextremes, biodiversity values, and livelihood benefits discussed above.Investment in natural ecosystems, through REDD and REDD+ relatedstrategies, can generate alternative sources of income for localcommunities and provide much needed financial incentives to preventdeforestation (Reid and Huq, 2005; Angelsen et al., 2009; SCBD, 2009;Sudmeier-Rieux and Ash, 2009; Murray et al., 2010), as well as provideadditional livelihood benefits from the conservation and restoration offorest ecosystems and the services they support (Longley and Maxwell,2003; MEA, 2005; SEEDS India, 2008; Sudmeier-Rieux and Ash, 2009;Murray et al., 2010).Some countries have begun to explicitly consider ecosystem-basedsolutions for climate change mitigation and/or adaptation to risks370