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WETLANDS AND CLIMATE CHANGE TACKLING THE CLIMATE CRISIS WITH PEAT AND BLUE CARBON

BACKGROUND

#RestoreWetlands

Ahead of COP26 Climate Change conference, 31 October – 12 November 2021, the Convention on Wetlands is launching new resources which elevate the importance of restoring and sustainably managing blue carbon and peatland ecosystems for mitigating climate change.

These policy and technical documents share:

  • Policy recommendations for managing peatlands and blue carbon ecosystems to mitigate climate change.
  • Best practices on wise use and restoration of peatland ecosystems.
  • Information on extent and carbon storage capabilities of blue carbon ecosystems in Wetlands of International Importance.

RESOURCES

LAUNCH DATE

27 October 2021

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Social Media Toolkit

Join the launch of our new resources online to help amplify best practice and wise use of blue carbon and peatland ecosystems for addressing climate emergency.

Hashtags:

#RestoreWetlands, #COP26, #ClimateAction, #ForNature, #Peat, #PeatlandsMatter, #BlueCarbon, #Wetlands, #Mangroves

Key Handles:

Convention on Wetlands’ social media accounts to tag:

Twitter: Secretary General, Convention on Wetlands: @martharojasu1

Convention website: www.ramsar.org

Other Related Handles:

CLIMATE AND NATURE

BLUE CARBON

PEAT

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

General Climate and Wetlands

We won’t reach #NetZero without protecting and restoring #wetlands, our most efficient NBS for:

  • ➡️ Carbon storage
  • ➡️ Water security
  • ➡️ DRR

Read @RamsarConv new guidance on restoring #Peat and #BlueCarbon: https://bit.ly/3BowE4h

Peatlands for Climate

Peatlands store 30% of land-based carbon. We must restore at least 50% of 🌎 degraded peatlands before 2030 to achieve the #ParisAgreement goals. Read @RamsarConv new guidance on restoring #Peat for #ClimateAction #COP26

➡️ https://bit.ly/3BfbDc3

🌎 Peatlands store around 600 Gt of carbon: more than any other terrestrial ecosystem. But when drained, they are responsible for 4% of 🌎 emissions. See new @RamsarConv guides for conserving and restoring #peat for #ClimateAction #COP26

➡️ https://bit.ly/3meEWax

Emissions from drained #peatlands could consume up to 41% of 🌎 carbon budget before 2100.

Protecting #peat is critical to mitigating #ClimateChange. New @RamsarConv guides show best practices for conserving and restoring #peat for #ClimateAction #COP26

➡️ https://bit.ly/3me7Nfa

Blue Carbon for Climate

New @RamsarConv resources show best practice + policy to scale #bluecarbon ecosystems #ForNature & Climate #RestoreWetlands #COP26

➡️ https://bit.ly/3vHuVFK

Mangroves are critical to fighting #ClimateCrisis:

  • ➡️ Store over 21 billion tons of CO2
  • ➡️ Sequester carbon 4 x faster than terrestrial forests
  • ➡️ Provide #DRR for communities

New @RamsarConv guidance for scaling #bluecarbon for #climateaction #COP26 https://bit.ly/3vHuVFK

KEY MESSAGES

• Protecting and restoring wetlands are relatively cost-effective solutions for mitigating climate change and can be advanced by including specific wetland targets in NDCs.

Peatlands contribution for climate action

• Peatlands cover about 400 million hectares (ha), or 3% of global land surface. Yet they store more carbon, more effectively and for longer periods than any other ecosystem on land.

• Restoring peatlands is critical to keeping global warming to 1.5°C. At least 50 percent (25 million ha) of the currently degraded peatland area should be restored to achieve this goal, and the sooner restoration is implemented, the better for the climate.

• Conserving intact peatlands provides essential ecosystem services such as regulating water cycles, purifying water, and supporting a wealth of biodiversity.

• It is estimated that greenhouse gas emissions from drained peatlands and peatland fires are responsible for about 4 percent (~ 2 Gt CO2-eq/year) of global anthropogenic emissions.

• Countries must scale investments and capacities to restore peatlands imminently as part of climate mitigation strategies.

Blue carbon ecosystems for climate action

• Designating wetlands of International Importance is an important step to protecting and preserving mangroves. Mangrove forests in Ramsar Sites declined ten times less (0.2% annual loss) between 1997 and 2016 than the global average (2% of annual loss).

• Mangrove forests designated as Ramsar sites have the largest mangrove carbon stocks per unit area globally, storing between 212.1 and 725.1 tonnes per hectare (Beers et al. 2020). This is the equivalent of each hectare of mangrove forest storing the amount of carbon in up to 1.1 million litres of petrol.

• It is estimated that up to one billion tons of carbon dioxide are released each year from degraded blue carbon ecosystems, an amount that is equal to nearly 20% of the global emissions from deforestation.

• Countries must scale investments and capacities to protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems, and include as priorities in their climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Credits:

Created with images by Kanenori - "sea mangrove before sunrise" • Curioso_Photography - "aerial senegal africa" • andreiprodan_ - "great white pelicans birdwatching danube delta" • eg6da6 - "puddle wetland nature" • herbert2512 - "sunset moor venn"