Governing Ecosystems to Address Climate Change Key Messages From the Beijing Declaration

Transcription

1 Governing Ecosystems to Address Climate Change Key Messages From the Beijing Declaration Chunfeng Wang IUNC side event, COP21 in Paris 5 th Dec. 2015

2 Why Improving Ecosystem Governance The Beijing Declaration is formulated based on the information developed through roundtable discussions for identifying problems, solutions, and priority actions Ecosystems and climate change are interplaying Degradation or destruction of global ecosystems, such as deforestation, are the main cause of climate change with growing human populations, better health care, along with increased consumption of natural resources, burning of fossil fuels and other economic activities, the global climate is changing at faster pace than has ever occurred during prior geological periods 60% of the World s ecosystem services were degraded or being used unsustainably Climate change is accelerating degradation or destruction of ecosystems Increasing occurrence of fire, invasive species, pest and disease cause damage of sustained provision of ecosystem services Governing ecosystems is to provide effective nature-based solutions, such as restoration and reforestation, for mitigation and adaptation ecosystems and nature-based solutions are critical for mitigating and adapting to climate change in particular for the ecosystem services provided by global oceans, forests and other ecosystems However, global ecosystems governance in general fail to improve ecosystem services To improve global ecosystem governance is urgent considering the increasing global warming

3 How to Improve Ecosystem Governance Features of ecosystems present a number of challenges for governance dynamic, living and non-living components that deliver a wide array of products and services, through their interactions, on which people depend constantly changing and evolving in response to external and internal conditions span sub-national, national and international jurisdictions often involve multiple governmental departments within nations Effective ecosystem governance requires recognition and understanding of people s dependence on ecosystems for survival skills and inputs from a wide variety of specialists, including political and social scientists, economists, business owners, and environmental groups Nations must acknowledge without integrated ecosystem governance, the actions to addressing climate change may either be short lived or fail due to the ever-increasing risks of ecosystem collapse One typical example China has committed to integrate nature-based solutions into its Eco-Civilization Initiative under its recently approved outlines of the13th Five Year Plan, which ensures better management of it s ecosystems to sustain delivery of ecosystem goods and services to meet human and environmental needs now and in future.

4 Priorities for Improving Ecosystem Governance Improving ecosystem governance for climate change mitigation To effectively value environmental costs and benefits To formulate incentive policies for promoting Ecosystem-Based Solutions To create legal reform and regulatory mechanisms that provides incentives for public-private partnerships To develop and implement innovative and effective communication strategies and products to convey the importance of ecosystem-based mitigation solutions such as REDD+ and Green Cities To develop materials to influence behavioral change that can be incorporated into school curricula To scale-up actions including testing and refreshing in sub-national jurisdictions and disseminating success stories Improving ecosystem governance for climate change Adaptation To mainstream nature-base solutions To increase the level of ambition for mitigation To create financial mechanisms for addressing loss of ecosystems and their services To improve communication and raise awareness on the climate change effects in communities and promote action-oriented training and drive innovation To change current consumption patterns and reduce the footprint of global trade To improve policy integration for addressing climate change To create online use-friendly risk assessment tools for ecosystems managers

5 Thank you!