Incorporating biodiversity in climate change mitigation initiatives

Abstract

Climate change mitigation through the sequestration of carbon (C), and the protection of biodiversity have captured the attention of scientists, governmental agencies, and the public in general in the past few years. This is justifiable in view of the formidable challenges posed by them to the long-term sustainability of the Earth’s life support systems (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005b, IPCC 2007). Biodiversity and C sequestration in the biosphere have seldom been considered in an integrated way, either by international conventions or by the scientific community. Biodiversity considerations have been taken into account only marginally in international initiatives and agreements aimed at mitigating the ecological impacts of climate change. The most influential of these initiatives is the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is intended to slow down the human contribution to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng. pdf). This protocol was entered into force in February 2005 and has now been signed and ratified by 183 states. The Kyoto Protocol considers net C sequestration in the biosphere as one way to stabilize carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, and offers countries the opportunity to receive ‘carbon credits’ for enhancing sequestration. According to the definitions of the Marrakech Accord, climate change mitigation measures based on biological sequestration of C include afforestation, reforestation, revegetation, and forest, cropland and grazing land management (http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/cop7/13a02.pdf). However, when defining eligible C sequestration initiatives to be taken by different countries, the Kyoto Protocol explicitly excludes natural ecosystems already extant in 1990 as C sinks (http://unfccc.int/ resource/docs/cop6secpart/l11r01.pdf). This is also the case with regard to the Clean Development Mechanisms (CMD, http://unfccc.int/resource/ docs/2002/sbsta/misc22a04.pdf; see also Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol) by which developed countries that emit C in excess of agreed-upon limits can obtain C offsets by investing in initiatives to sequester C and foster sustainable development in less developed countries. Here, only afforestation and reforestation qualify as eligible land use initiatives during the first commitment period of 2008–2012 (http://unfccc.int/ kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php)…