Principles and Lessons Learned from Wetlands and Carbon Projects

Steve Crooks Ph.D.

Climate Change Program Manager Environmental Science Associates

Best Practice Principles for Coastal Wetland Carbon Projects

Side Event Indonesia Pavilion, COP 20, Lima

December, 9th 2014

Jim Fourqurean

Contents

• Why measure C stocks? • Field Campaign Planning • Sampling Soils • Sampling Vegetation • Estimating Emissions • Remote Sensing and

Mapping • Data Management

BlueCarbonInitiative.org

Ecosystem services of Coastal Blue Carbon ecosystems: mangroves, seagrass and marshes

• Biological diversity • Water quality • Flood and storm protection • Forest and non-timber forest products • Aesthetic and ecotourism values • Fish and Shellfish • Carbon Sinks

Distribution of carbon in coastal ecosystems

5 0   500   1000   1500   2000   2500  

All  Tropical  Forests  

Oceanic  Mangroves  

Estuarine  Mangroves  

Tidal  Salt  Marsh  

Seagrasses  

Mean  soil  organic  carbon    

Mean  living  biomass    

Soil-­‐Carbon  Values    for  First  Meter    of  Depth  Only    (Total  Depth    =    Several  Meters)  

tCO2e per Hectare, Global Averages

Data summarized in Crooks et al., 2011; Murray et al., 2011, Donato et al., 2011, Fourqurean et al 2013

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

Tall Medium Dwarf Shrimp pond Mean Mangrove

Car

bon

stoc

k (C

O2e

Mg/

ha)

CARBON STOCKS OF NEOTROPICAL MANGROVES ARE AMONG THE LARGEST OF ALL TROPICAL FORESTS Ecosystem C stocks in CO2e, Republica Dominicana 2012 Kauffman et al. 2013)

Abovegrd

belowgd plant

Downed Wood

0-15

15-30

30-50

50-100

>100

Coastal Blue Carbon Ecosystems

8

Mangroves Tidal Marshes Seagrass

Peatland Forest

Best Practice Principles for Delivering Coastal Wetland Carbon Projects

• Overarching principles • Connects experience:

–  Wetland landscape restoration –  Carbon projects –  Carbon policy –  Community engagement

• Demonstration Projects –  Scaling up –  Linking adaptation and mitigation –  Avoid pitfalls

• Intended audience: –  Technical (summary messages for policy)

• Steve Crooks PhD – Restoration Practice / Science • Igino Emmer PhD – Carbon Projects, Protocols • Moritz von Unger PhD – Carbon Projects, Legal • Ben Brown – Community Restoration • Daniel Murdiyarso PhD –Forestry / Peatland Science • Michelle Orr PE – Large-scale Restoration Planning

Project team

Reviewers

• Verified Carbon Standard • Ministry for Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia • Duke University • Scientific and Technical Review Panel of Ramsar • Ramsar Secretariat • UNEP • Conservation International • UNEP-WCMC • Forest Carbon Markets and Communities Program

Report Content

1.  Introduction 2.  State of Knowledge on Coastal Blue Carbon

3.  Lessons Learned from Prior Projects Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Carbon Project Development Community Engagement

4.  Planning a Blue Carbon Project

Field Missions

The Learning Curve

1.  Recognize value of coastal wetlands

2.  Build experience in conservation & restoration projects

3.  Establish multi-use functional landscape

4.  Incorporated climate change adaptation (sea level rise)

5.  Account for GHG emissions and removals.

Key Lessons

• Wetland conservation offers greatest benefits • Highest GHG benefit, protect services, avoid engineering costs

• Restoration of wetlands often technically feasible • Poor project planning cause of failure

•  Need for technology transfer and capacity building

• Planning should incorporate sea level rise adaptation • tools exist • Link adaptation and mitigation

• Community and national capacity required for success • No rigid template for blue carbon interventions

Mangroves / marshes occupy elevations above mid tide elevation

Lewis III & Brown, 2014

Plant mangroves in appropriate locations and they will thrive

Premavera et al., 2012

Common mistake in coastal planning…

Subsided drained former mangroves.

Former mangrove edge. Now hard edge

Temptation to plant mangroves on mudflat

Attempt to afforest mudflats. Not account for impacts of sea level rise. Increases long term vulnerability.

Restore, but plan for the future

Lessons from Conservation and Restoration Planning

1.  Have a clear and coherent planning approach 2.  Plan conservation and restoration in the wider landscape context 3.  Prioritize sites (not all are suitable) 4.  Restore physical processes and ecosystem dynamics 5.  Recognize the value of project design and engineering 6.  Understand the restoration trajectory and ecological thresholds 7.  Conserve and restore ecosystems sooner rather than later 8.  Restoration of historic conditions is not always possible 9.  Avoid transplantation of non-indigenous species 10. Be patient

Lessons learnt from carbon projects

1.  Assume ownership of the project 2.  Choose and demarcate the site(s) carefully 3.  Choose the project standard and project delivery cycle 4.  Access the market early 5.  Link the project to other finance options 6.  Check the costs and prepare for economies of scale

Lessons from community engagement

1.  Invest in pre-project community capacity building •  E.g. Field schools

2.  Build capacity within government •  National support •  Subnational support

3.  Meet in the middle •  Train exensionists, •  stakeholder communication

4.  Establish livelihoods programs

Steps in Blue Carbon Project Planning

1.  Define project concept and perform preliminary feasibility assessment.

2.  Define target market and select a carbon standard 3.  Establish effective community engagement 4.  Design project activities 5.  Assess permanence risk and develop mitigation strategy 6.  Secure project development finance and structure agreements 7.  Provide for legal due diligence and assess carbon rights 8.  Provide for social and environmental impacts assessment 9.  Maintain ongoing liaison with regulators.

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Stephen Crooks Climate Change Program Manager Environmental Science Associate +1 415 272 3916 SCrooks@esassoc.com