Download NWP Ecosystems submission by KSA

Nairobi Work Programme Submission on Ecosystems and Water Resources
by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia welcomes this opportunity by SBSTA for a submission on ecosystems and
water resources, as it is home to various environments that are threatened by climate
change. This submission includes the planned actions, challenges and gaps in tools or
research in enhancing the resilience of its ecosystems to climate change.
The ecosystems and topics covered in this submission include mangroves, coral reefs,
water ecosystems and resources and challenges in desertification. This submission will
also demonstrate areas of synergies between adaptation and mitigation in strengthening
the resilience of the above-mentioned ecosystems to climate change. These opportunities
should be capitalized on, encouraged and prioritized by developing countries. However,
there has been insufficient research in this area, and we hope this submission will help
highlight these existing synergies and have the NWP, SBSTA, SBI and other relevant
entities under the UNFCCC promote further work on such synergies.
Mangrove Protection:
Mangroves are one of most threatened ecosystems in the world, the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia is taking measures to protect and enhance mangrove ecosystems along its coasts.
Such measures include developing a mangrove eco-park to protect the last remaining
natural mangroves on its shores, and planting hundreds of thousands of mangrove
trees/seedlings along the coasts of the Arabian Gulf. Because mangroves are the most
effective system at sequestering GHGs, this is one example of a major project which the
country is undergoing in the area of adaptation which also has mitigation co-benefits.
Mangroves are of utmost importance as biodiverse ecosystems as they are home to various
birds and marine animals such as fish and shrimp, it therefore enhances the socioeconomic
wellbeing of local fisherman. It also has an important adaptation benefit as it protects
coastlines from coastal erosion. On another level, the soil carbon accumulation rates for
mangroves are more than twice higher than tropical forests, thus this is a great example of
synergy between adaptation and mitigation. However, given the lack of advancement in
research in the quantification of GHG sequestration within the plant and soil, it is very
difficult to quantify its mitigation benefits.
One of the challenges of measuring the GHG fluxes from mangroves is that it is a complex
and costly exercise; in fact it is more complex than forest systems, because it involves more
GHGs such as methane and nitrous oxides. Moreover, such gasses are highly variable across
locations and site conditions (e.g. salinity, temperature, etc.), and the daily monitoring and
measuring required is expensive. The absence of default values for measuring emissions
from peer-reviewed models is a challenge, and once established, it would reduce the cost of
measuring GHG fluxes, and increase the accuracy of estimated calculations.
Nairobi Work Programme Submission on Ecosystems and Water Resources
by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Therefore, Saudi Arabia would like to highlight the lack of technical research being done in
this area and request the support of SBSTA to - the IPCC to further develop tools and
methodologies to asses and calculate the mitigation benefits of blue carbon such as
mangroves and grasslands, beyond the work which has already been established in the
2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories:
Wetlands.
Mapping of Seas
Another project or tool for enhancing resilience and adaptation is the mapping of the
Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea, it aims to establish baseline data and to assess the health of
coral reefs, sediments, water column and benthic habitats and capture it in a GIS database.
This of course is not only an effort to better protect sensitive areas, particularly to climate
change, but to monitor their resilience and help enhance areas which are important for
local coastal communities and those which serve as sinks or have mitigation co-benefits
such as sea grass.
Coral Conservation
This mapping is helping identify the optimal locations for artificial coral reefs within the
Gulf. Coral reefs are one of the most delicate and most impacted ecosystems by climate
change, and the therefore the deployment of various artificial reef modules in over 25
locations is a critical project. Along with the mapping, there is a monitoring program to
study biodiversity and biomass development on the deployed reefs. These artificial reefs
will create new fish habitats, thereby enhancing the Arabian Gulf’s fishery resources and its
coastal and offshore ecosystems.
Moreover, studies at a local university (KAUST University) are commencing regarding the
resilience of coral reefs to climate change. Corals in the Arabian Gulf are more tolerant of
higher temperatures than those in the Red Sea and other areas globally, and so studies in
this field can help identify these traits and breed more resilient corals to withstand such
climate stresses.
Water Resources
Saudi Arabia is undergoing integrated water management planning, where it is developing
and implementing plans that will harness new sources of freshwater, construct additional
dams for the collection of drinking water and recharging of aquifers.
Nairobi Work Programme Submission on Ecosystems and Water Resources
by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is also implementing actions that promote and encourage the reduction,
recycling and reuse of water and wastewater in the municipal, industrial and commercial
sectors. For example, treated wastewater is being used for irrigation and for industrial uses
rather than freshwater. Such efforts go along away in reducing freshwater demand, which
is a very scarce resource as many of the county’s aquifers are nonrenewable and are
acutely depleted. Therefore these initiatives not only conserve water, but also energy, as
some water used in those industries was previously desalinated water, therefore this
initiative is both an adaptation one with mitigation co-benefits.
Moreover, given the scarcity of freshwater and the further stress freshwater resources are
experiencing due to climate change in Saudi Arabia, water desalinization is one method of
adaptation and reducing impacts on ecosystems which rely on natural freshwater. Another
point of synergy between adaptation and mitigation is the use of waste energy from other
industries in water desalination plants. Building such cogeneration plants help reduce
energy consumption and achieve adaptation with mitigation co-benefits and offer
opportunities for economic diversification.
Desertification
Desertification is a growing national and regional crisis with many socioeconomic and
health impacts, and is being exacerbated by climate change given the change in rainfall
patterns. This is threatening many sectors, namely agriculture, which is worsening food
security challenges.
In order to limit the socioeconomic impacts of desertification, there are plans to diversify
the economy so as to avoid relying on sectors and industries, which are impacted by
desertification, or that compete on water resources.
Another way Saudi Arabia is adapting to such a challenge is by undertaking adaptation
measures to enhance desertification management, such as using green belts as barriers to
stabilize sand movements around cities and roads, while increasing the natural carbon
sinks, which is a mitigation-co-benefit to this adaptation effort.
Moreover, the country is planning and undertaking efforts in the development and
enhancement of arid and semi-arid rural areas through various natural resource
conservation activities, biodiversity and eco-system based adaptation efforts. The objective
is to improve soil quality, water, pasture and wildlife resources through a system of
protected areas and reserves. Such efforts have many benefits on the mitigation side,
including those relating to reducing land degradation and improving land management
practices, especially for agriculture and forestry.
Nairobi Work Programme Submission on Ecosystems and Water Resources
by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Despite the planned and ongoing efforts in the country in the area of desertification, there
is a strong need for the IPCC to focus more on this critical matter by addressing the
following gaps in knowledge:
 Better understanding of the socioeconomic and health impacts of desertification
 Management policy issues relating to the enhancement of adaptive capacities,
maintenance of ecosystems’ integrity, soil carbon sequestration and sustainable
livelihoods in desert ecosystems
 The interactions between climate change and desertification and their effects on
ecosystem functions and services within arid and semi-arid regions, with
environmental and socio-economic implications
Saudi Arabia would like to stress the various opportunities for synergy between adaptation
and mitigation, and urges the NWP, SBSTA, SBI, IPCC and other relevant entities under the
UNFCCC to focus more of their efforts in identifying other areas of synergy between
adaptation and mitigation, where national efforts can have both local and global benefits.
Moreover, through this submission, some gaps in the area of adapting to climate change
have been identified and we welcome the NWP to address them.