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Climate change and Ecosystem-based Adaptation: a new
pragmatic approach to buffering climate change impacts
Richard Munang1, Ibrahim Thiaw1, Keith Alverson1, Musonda Mumba1,
Jian Liu2 and Mike Rivington3
The changing climate is no longer an abstract issue, and the
realities of its impacts are being felt across the globe. Climate
change is affecting millions of people, and thwarting their
efforts to escape poverty. Against this harsh reality, it will be
imperative to speed up the integration of climate risk
considerations into policy, in order to ensure that development
proceeds along pathways that are resilient to climate change.
However, the questions as to the type of strategies,
approaches and actions required still generate divergent views
on the international policy arena. Closer attention to a broader
spectrum of adaptation options is urgently needed.
Approaches that go beyond words into actions with potential to
informing and guiding policy practices are imperative and
urgently needed. In particular Ecosystem-based Adaptation
approaches have proved to provide flexible, cost effective and
broadly applicable alternatives for reducing the impacts of
climate change and as such are a critical tool at adaptation
planners disposal for tackling the threats that climate change
poses to peoples lives and livelihoods across the globe.
Addresses
1
United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Avenue,
Gigiri, PO Box 30552, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya
2
International Ecosystems Management Partnership, Chinese Academy
of Science, Beijing 100101, China
3
The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH,
United Kingdom
Corresponding author: Munang, Richard ([email protected])
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2013, 5:xx–yy
This review comes from a themed issue on Terrestrial systems
Edited by Bojie Fu, Martin Forsius and Jian Liu
1877-3435/$ – see front matter, # 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights
reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2012.12.001
Introduction
The climate change is happening at an unprecedented
rate and impacting a lot of people across the globe [1].
The need for adaptation efforts has never been so urgent.
The rising sea levels, longer and more frequent droughts,
heightened hurricane activity and floods are increasingly
affecting livelihoods. The December 2011 United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) Seventeenth Conference of the Parties
(COP17) in Durban, South Africa injected new energy
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and momentum for advancing adaptation to climate
change urging the formulation and implementation of
National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) that ‘can enable all
developing and developed country Parties to assess their vulnerabilities, to mainstream climate change risks and to address
adaptation’. This decision further invites ‘least developed
Parties to strive to implement institutional arrangements to
facilitate their national adaptation plan process, building on
existing institutions and consistent with their national circumstances’. On June 20–22, 2012 global leaders gathered in Rio
de Janeiro for the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development to discuss the future of our
planet, society and environment and this resulted in an
outcome document entitled The Future We Want. At
Rio+20, for the first time governments and businesses
explicitly recognized that ecosystems are the core element
of addressing climate change impacts and paving the way
toward achieving sustainable development as sustainable
development has its roots in ecosystem maintenance.
Against this backdrop, this paper reviews the rapidly
evolving concept of Ecosystems based approaches to
Adaptation to climate change (EbA) and its role in
addressing multiple scale risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities. Fundamentally, EbA is the use of natural capital
by people to adapt to climate change impacts, which can
also have multiple co-benefits for mitigation, protection
of livelihoods and poverty alleviation. It is an approach
that is applicable across both developed and developing
countries. Ecosystem-based approaches address the crucial links between climate change, biodiversity and sustainable resource management and, by preserving and
enhancing ecosystems, enable society to better mitigate
and adapt to climate change [2]. Hence the key tenet is
the need to protect the ecosystems that provide the
essential ‘life support systems’ (ecosystem services) that
we all depend on.
Healthy, fully functioning ecosystems are more resilient
to stressors and therefore better able to support adaptation to impacts [3]. Healthy ecosystems imply a
greater element of flexibility in adaptation response
options. However, ecosystems continue to be degraded4
due to climate change, pollution and unsustainable over
exploitation. Restoration of degraded ecosystems as part
4
http://www.planetunderpressure2012.net/pdf/state_of_planet_
declaration.pdf.
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2013, 5:1–5
Please cite this article in press as: Munang R, et al.: Climate change and Ecosystem-based Adaptation: a new pragmatic approach to buffering climate change impacts, Curr Opin Environ Sustain
(2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2012.12.001
COSUST-275; NO. OF PAGES 5
2 Terrestrial systems
of an EbA provides a mechanism for carbon sequestration
and hence climate change mitigation, sources of employment and enhancement of resources to support livelihoods [4].
Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and its
benefits
Ecosystem based approaches to adaptation harness the
capacity of nature to buffer human communities against
the adverse impacts of climate change through the sustainable delivery of ecosystems services. Deployed with
focus on specific ecosystem services with the potential to
reduce climate change exposures, the forms used are
targeted management, conservation and restoration
activities. For example mangrove forest and coastal
marshes buffer storm surges energy and research and
practical work have shown that restoring or conserving
mangrove ecosystems can therefore help protect coastal
communities from current and projected rise in the number of tropical storms due to the changing climate [5].
Ecosystems deliver services that can help meet adaptation needs across multiple human development sectors
including disaster risk reduction (through fold regulation
and storm surge protection), food security (from fisheries
to agro-forestry), sustainable water management and livelihood diversification (through increasing resource-used
options). EbA can also generate significant multiple
benefits such as carbon sequestration and other social,
economic and cultural benefits. Healthy ecosystems and
their services provide opportunities for sustainable
economic prosperity while providing defence against
the negative effects of climate change (Figure 1).
The main advantages that EbA has over others adaptation
approaches are that it can deliver multiple co-benefits
(Table 1), it can help avoid maladaptation and contributes
to a ‘no regrets’ approach to address climate change.
EbA achieves multiple policy objectives for society and the
environment in the face of climate change by providing:
A win for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
A win for socio-economic development.
A win for the environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.
A win for contributing to sustainable economic
development.
EbA provides a lasting and sustainable set of solutions in a
cost effective manner to cope with climate change and
sustainable development challenges, especially when
used in combination with other methods and approaches.
However, the potential of EbA is not being fully recognized or exploited by national governments despite the
growing evidence of these benefits.
Economy and EbA
Beyond mitigation and adaptation, EbA provides a third
‘win’, by providing the basis for new economic growth.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity studies
Figure 1
Climate change
mitigation
Climate change impacts
Population
increase
Ecosystem
protection and
management
Ecosystem
degradation
Increased
pressure on
ecosystems
Poor
Biodiversity &
Ecosystem
Protection
Loss of
biodiversity &
Ecosystem
Services
Sustainable secure
economies
Loss of
human
wellbeing
Social
disruption
Human
wellbeing
Good
Biodiversity &
Ecosystem
Protection
Ecosystem
resilience &
reduced
vulnerability
Secure
Biodiversity &
Ecosystem
Services
Drivers and Impacts of ecosystem degradation
Ecosystem-based Adaptation
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability
Beating the vicious cycle of poverty, ecosystem degradation and climate change.
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COSUST-275; NO. OF PAGES 5
Climate change and Ecosystem-based Adaptation Munang et al.
3
Table 1
Benefits resulting from EbA.
Ecosystem-based Adaptation
Restoring fragmented or degraded natural areas
Protected groundwater recharge zones or
restoration of floodplains
Connecting expanses of forests, grasslands,
reefs or other habitats
Protecting or restoring natural infrastructure such
as barrier beaches, mangroves, coral reefs, and forests
Benefits
Enhances critical ecosystem services, such as water flow or
food and fisheries provision
Secures water resources so that entire communities can cope
with drought and flooding
Enables people and biodiversity to move better to more viable
habitats as the climate changes
Buffers human communities from natural hazards, erosion and flooding
Adapted from TNC (2009)a
a
Adapting to Climate Change: Ecosystem-based Approaches for People and Nature. The Nature Conservancy.
show that an annual global investment of $45 billion in
protecting ecosystems could deliver an estimated $5
trillion a year in benefits, a cost–benefit ratio of over
100:1. Deforestation contributes close to 20% of global
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; an annual investment
of $20 billion could halve these emissions, while securing
livelihoods and reducing poverty in tropical countries.
EbA can complement, or substitute for; more expensive
infrastructure investments to protect coastal settlements
[6]. Strengthening and protecting ecosystems can be
likened to a long-term investment that ensures an array of
environmental, social and financial benefits well into the
future. Studies and practical work on EbA show that it
constitutes a cost-effective adaptation approach. In
Maldives where 80% of the islands are about 1 m above
sea level, coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems provide
critical protection to coastal communities from storms and
erosion, substantially reducing storm-related damages
and saving lives [5]. Climate change is expected to
increase the frequency of the most powerful tropical
storms, rendering the protective role of the reefs and
their conservation more critical in the coming years. If
they were lost, the cost of building hard infrastructure
such as seawalls, breakwaters and other forms of coastal
protection to replace the natural reefs has been estimated
at US$1.6 billion–2.7 billion [7]. In contrast, conserving
the reefs to prevent their on-going degradation as a result
of pressures ranging from overfishing to coral mining,
through establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs),
would cost US$34 million in start-up and US$47
million annually. This investment would maintain their
critical protection service and could generate US$10
billion per year in co-benefits through tourism and sustainable fisheries [8].
Integrating EbA into decision making
frameworks
Integrating and mainstreaming EbA into decision making
frameworks and planning processes are imperative. The
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is
addressing climate change through its Ecosystem-based
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Adaptation programme whose overarching goal is to help
vulnerable communities adapt to climate change through
good ecosystem management practices, and their integration into global, regional, national and local climate
change strategies and action plans. The EbA programme
is delivering specific products and services responding to
country needs to support EBA mainstreaming through
three main overarching components. These are:
(I) Assessments and knowledge support. Countries are
supported in conducting impact and vulnerability
assessments, taking into consideration and building
on existing assessments. This component is undertaking analysis of ecosystem services for adaptation
and their economic value, and helps convert these
results into a knowledge base with which decisionmakers can design and implement priority EBA
policies and projects.
(II) Capacity building and demonstration. This component is helping create the enabling conditions for
implementing EBA options in developing
countries, including technology development and
diffusion, piloting and demonstration and capacity
building. Through technology development and
diffusion, participating countries can access viable
technologies for restoration and ecological engineering for adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
Through piloting EBA approaches on the ground,
and applying the results of the assessments and
knowledge support, countries and communities will
be demonstrated with a combination of models
including those building on community-based
adaptation and micro-credit, making ecological,
economic and financial laws work for adaptation.
(III) Integration of EBA options into national adaptation plans. This component is helping pave the
way for the integration of EBA into national
adaptation plans. A coordinated and integrated
approach with institutional structures that are
capable of mobilizing different stakeholders will
be established through modifying the frameworks
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COSUST-275; NO. OF PAGES 5
4 Terrestrial systems
and processes that are used to develop or revise
policies, programs and projects. The activities will
include economic analysis of different EBA options,
support for policy setting and legislation, as well as
feasibility studies for large-scale investment in EBA
projects. This will help build a sustainable policy
and investment framework in the participating
countries in which EBA can be integrated into
national budgetary and investment plans.
Places in policy and strategy
The term EbA and association with ecosystem services is
increasingly being used in reports [9], discussion papers
[10] and policy documents and strategies tied to climate
change legislation [11]. Arguments have been presented
to place ecosystems approaches, including EbA, at the
heart of the development of the Green Economy [12–14].
Ecosystem based approaches are increasingly being seen
to be central to national strategies, for example, in the
United States.
National adaptation planning started in 2009, with the
Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force
have been established (made up of senior representatives
from more than 20 departments and agencies and cochaired by representatives of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Office of Science and Technology
Policy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) to provide Federal support and coordination for adaptation planning at federal, state, local, and
tribal levels of government [15]. Their work is conducted
in accordance with a set of goals and guiding principles
that foster locally focused, participatory, ecosystembased approaches to planning, integrated assessment
and effective decision-making, and international collaboration. Similarly, under the UNFCCC requirements,
least developed countries (47 as of July 2012) have
produced National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPAs)
(UNFCCC 2012), which while not always explicitly
containing or describing EbA, have content with strong
EbA aspects.
Conclusion
Climate change is increasingly threatening lives and
livelihoods and maximizing adaptation opportunities will
minimize its potentially catastrophic effects. Ecosystembased (Approaches for Adaptation) (EbA) is a cost-effective, robust and flexible strategy that can cope with the
magnitude, speed and uncertainty of climate change.
EbA has already proven its worth in many situations
and evidence is emerging of its success in helping people
adapt to climate variability and change. Harnessing the
adaptive forces of nature is economically viable and
effective to combat the impacts of climate change. Its
potential for synergies with other adaptation options,
climate mitigation strategies and development goals
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2013, 5:1–5
warrants EbA having a prominent place in both the
national and international funding mechanisms now taking shape to fuel global adaptation efforts and in the
adaptation decision-makers toolbox. With the impacts of
climate change increasingly being felt across the world, it
is important to scale up the approach to increase society
resilience to climate change as well as to achieve more
sustainable economic development. Indeed, though EbA
still remains under-utilized by policymakers and associated stakeholders, it provides a viable strategy for pursuing development goals simultaneously with climate
change adaptation and mitigation targets.
References and recommended reading
Papers of particular interest, published within the period of review,
have been highlighted as:
of special interest
of outstanding interest
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Commission, DG Environment. Ecologic Institute and
Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University Centre for the
Environment 2011. Contract no. 070307/2010/580412/SER/B2.
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Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2013, 5:1–5
Please cite this article in press as: Munang R, et al.: Climate change and Ecosystem-based Adaptation: a new pragmatic approach to buffering climate change impacts, Curr Opin Environ Sustain
(2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2012.12.001