Convenient solutions to an inconvenient truth : ecosystem-based approaches to climate change

Global warming and changes in climate have already had observed impacts on natural ecosystems and species. Natural systems such as wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs, cloud forests, and Arctic and high-latitude ecosystems are especially vulnerable to climate-induced disturbances. However, enhanced protection and management of biological resources and habitats can mitigate the impacts and contribute to solutions as nations and communities strive to adapt to climate change. Biodiversity is the foundation and mainstay of agriculture, forests, and fisheries. Biological resources provide the raw materials for livelihoods, agriculture, medicines, trade, tourism, and industry. Forests, grasslands, freshwater, and marine and other natural ecosystems provide a range of services often not recognized in national economic accounts but vital to human welfare: regulation of water flows and water quality, flood control, pollination, decontamination, carbon sequestration, soil conservation, and nutrient and hydrological cycling. Current efforts to address climate change focus mainly on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by adopting cleaner energy strategies and on reducing the vulnerability of communities at risk by improving infrastructure to meet new energy and water needs. This book offers a compelling argument for including ecosystem-based approaches to mitigation and adaptation as an essential pillar in national strategies to address climate change. Such ecosystem-based strategies can offer cost-effective, proven, and sustainable solutions that contribute to, and complement, other national and regional adaptation strategies.

[1]  Subhrendu K. Pattanayak,et al.  Ecological and Economic Analysis of Watershed Protection in Eastern Madagascar , 1997 .

[2]  T. Lovejoy.  Climate change and biodiversity. , 2008, Revue scientifique et technique.

[3]  L. Emerton,et al.  Value: counting ecosystems as an economic part of water infrastructure. , 2004 .

[4]  V. Kapos,et al.  Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation: Global Land-Use Implications , 2008, Science.

[5]  J. L. Parra,et al.  Impact of a Century of Climate Change on Small-Mammal Communities in Yosemite National Park, USA , 2008, Science.

[6]  Ong Jin Eong.  Mangroves - a carbon source and sink , 1993 .

[7]  E. Wikramanayake,et al.  A Future for Wild Tigers , 2008 .

[8]  N. Peña.  Report of the Institute of Energy Research, including peatlands in post-2012 climate agreements: options and rationales. , 2009 .

[9]  Rattan Lal,et al.  Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry , 2015 .

[10]  P. B. Duffy,et al.  Anthropogenic carbon and ocean pH , 2001 .

[11]  M. Weitzman,et al.  Stern Review : The Economics of Climate Change , 2006 .

[12]  Johnson Nkem,et al.  Assessing the process and options for implementing National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA): a case study from Burkina Faso , 2011 .

[13]  E. Sala,et al.  Mangroves in the Gulf of California increase fishery yields , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[14]  C. Nobre,et al.  Tropical deforestation and the Kyoto Protocol. An editorial essay , 2005 .

[15]  양민선.  IPCC(Intergovernmental Panel on climate Change) 외 , 2008 .

[16]  R. Hirji,et al.  Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies, Plans, and Projects : Case Studies , 2009 .

[17]  E. Mattsson,et al.  Making REDD work for the poor Inception Report , 2009 .

[18]  S. M. Cowlings R. M. Sandwith T. MacKinnon K. Pierce,et al.  Mainstreaming biodiversity in development : case studies from South Africa , 2002 .

[19]  E. Boyle,et al.  The global carbon cycle: a test of our knowledge of earth as a system. , 2000, Science.

[20]  A. Jarvis,et al.  Impact of climate change on the distribution of tropical pines in Southeast Asia. , 2009 .

[21]  Sergio L. Schmukler,et al.  Emerging Market Instability : Do Sovereign Ratings Affect Country Risk and Stock Returns ? , 1997 .

[22]  D. Laffoley.  Towards networks of marine protected areas : the MPA plan of action for IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas , 2008 .

[23]  W. Vergara.  Adapting to climate change : lessons learned, work in progress, and proposed next steps for the World Bank in Latin America , 2005 .

[24]  S. Murray,et al.  Pilot analysis of global ecosystems: forest ecosystems. , 2000 .

[25]  T. J. Smith,et al.  Mangrove production and carbon sinks: A revision of global budget estimates , 2008 .

[26]  Sue Stolton,et al.  Running Pure: the importance of forest protected areas to drinking water: a research report for the World Bank / WWF Alliance for Forest Conservation and Sustainable Use , 2003 .

[27]  T. Minayeva,et al.  Assessment on Peatlands, Biodiversity and Climate Change , 2008 .

[28]  D. Janzen.  Gardenification of tropical conserved wildlands: multitasking, multicropping, and multiusers. , 1999, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[29]  Valerie Kapos,et al.  Carbon emissions from forest loss in protected areas , 2008 .

[30]  Robert Costanza,et al.  Economic Reasons for Conserving Wild Nature , 2002, Science.

[31]  F. Kershaw,et al.  Working Toward High Seas Marine Protected Areas. An Assessment of Progress Made and Recommendations for Collaboration , 2008 .