Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Through Ecosystem Protection

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1 Photo: Karen Quist Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Through Ecosystem Protection The National Trust for the Cayman Islands

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5 Climate Change and Cayman Climate change will lead to: Sea level rise Stronger storms with higher storm surge Ocean acidification Longer droughts

6 1-meter sea level rise

7 2-meter sea level rise

8 Photo: Maldives Finest Climate change poses a serious threat to Cayman and other island nations, despite our low contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

9 NASA, 2 Prepare Now Nations must mitigate, or do their part to limit, climate change We must also adapt to the inevitable effects from that changing climate

10 Mangroves live in tropical countries growing along sheltered coastlines, and are the critical interface between the land and the sea

11 Mangroves Mangrove forests are very important as habitat for animals, protection from storms, clear water, fish nurseries, rainfall, and are exceptionally important for carbon storage. UNEP

12 The blue carbon solution: Conserve mangroves, seagrass beds and salt marshes to reduce atmospheric CO 2 and limit global climate change. This coastal vegetation, called blue carbon, stores carbon up to 100 times faster and more permanently than terrestrial forests. Enormous ad-on benefits to fisheries, tourism and in limiting coastal erosion from the conservation of blue carbon.

13 Carbon Storage Abilities of Different Habitat Types

14 Destruction of Mangroves is a Double-edged Sword Their deep sediment makes mangrove forests highly effective at capturing and storing the carbon emitted into the atmosphere by humans. But when mangrove forests are destroyed for development, vast amounts of carbon is released and the loss of the trees stops future carbon storage, both of which intensifies global climate change.

15 Carbon Credit Opportunities Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) programs - developing countries are compensated for conserving their forests. Assessments indicate that tropical mangroves are among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics. Carbon credit systems may offer the opportunity to achieve poverty reduction and protection of global marine carbon sinks.

16 The National Trust for the Cayman Islands created Island Offsets, a new program that sells carbon offsets to save our mangrove ecosystems. This program mitigates climate change from a worldwide perspective while adapting to it on a local level.

17 LEED Certification Opportunities

18 Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Preservation of natural ecosystems, including mangroves Education of local population in order to prepare early for future changes

19 Climate Change in the Classroom Paris Agreement s Article 12 promotes climate change education 2030 Agenda includes a Sustainable Development Goal on education UNESCO s 2016 Global Education Monitoring Report stresses education s potential to progress societies toward new goals, and the need for educational systems to include environmental topics. Yet, the curricula of half the countries in the world still do not explicitly mention climate change or environmental sustainability in their content.

20 Techniques Keep it simple. Frame the science in ways that bring the lesson home for the students. Use local examples, pictures, and statistics whenever possible. Be positive while still being realistic. Give examples of young people that have made a difference in their community to create hope and inspire students.

21 Resist the urge to be too technical Use clear diagrams Explain in simple terms Use experiences that your audience can relate to

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24 What You Can Do Ride your bike Reduce your Carbon Footprint - Buy local Recycle Open windows Turn off the lights Plant a tree

25 Islandwide Initiatives Cayman Corporate Green Team

26 Leave them feeling empowered Inspire young people to work for change in their community

27 YOU have the power to make a difference! CAYMAN

28 Olivia s Birds This 11 yr-old raised $200,000 to clean up the Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil spill by selling her watercolor pictures of birds.

29 Cayman kids are you next? The Year 6 class of Cayman Prep won the 2011 Disney s Planet Challenge for their class project on protecting the threatened swallowtail butterfly, an endemic species found only in the Cayman Islands.

30 Cayman kids are you next? Micah Leon, a 9 yr-old from Bodden Town Primary, wrote a letter to the government and saved a neighbourhood park.

31 Protect our Paradise