REDD-plus and Biodiversity - Convention on Biological Diversity

<strong>REDD</strong>-<strong>plus</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Biodiversity</strong>
Annex II
Recommendations of the second CBD Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group
(AHTEG) on biodiversity <strong>and</strong> climate change related to <strong>REDD</strong> 1
The full version of the report, published in October 2009, is available at www.cbd.int/ts as CBD Technical
Series nr 41 ‘Connecting <strong>Biodiversity</strong> <strong>and</strong> Climate Change Mitigation <strong>and</strong> Adaptation: Report of the Second
Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on <strong>Biodiversity</strong> <strong>and</strong> Climate Change’. It includes the sources <strong>and</strong> references
for the figures <strong>and</strong> statements cited below.
This annex is excerpt of section 3 of the report, which contains the <strong>REDD</strong>-related findings of the AHTEG.
SECTION 3: <strong>Biodiversity</strong> <strong>and</strong> Climate Change Mitigation 2
130. This section examines the links between biodiversity <strong>and</strong> climate-change mitigation with a particular
focus on l<strong>and</strong> use management activities <strong>and</strong> reducing emissions from deforestation <strong>and</strong> forest degradation.
The section explores the potential contribution of biodiversity conservation <strong>and</strong> sustainable use to
mitigation efforts <strong>and</strong> suggests ways in which co-benefits can be enhanced. This section also examines the
potential positive <strong>and</strong> negative impacts of mitigation activities on biodiversity while highlighting those
mitigation approaches for which additional research is required.
3.1. Role of ecosystems in carbon storage <strong>and</strong> the carbon cycle
Conserving natural terrestrial <strong>and</strong> marine ecosystems <strong>and</strong> restoring degraded ecosystems can contribute
to achieving several key objectives of both the UNFCCC <strong>and</strong> the <strong>Convention</strong> on Biological Diversity
131. Well-functioning ecosystems are necessary to meet the objective of the UNFCCC because of their
role in the global carbon cycle <strong>and</strong> their significant carbon stocks. Carbon is stored <strong>and</strong> sequestered
by biological <strong>and</strong> biophysical processes in ecosystems, which are underpinned by biodiversity. About
2,500 Gt C is stored in terrestrial ecosystems, compared to approximately 750Gt in the atmosphere. An
additional ~ 38,000 Gt C is stored in the oceans (~37,000 Gt in deep oceans i.e. layers that will only feed
back to atmospheric processes over very long time scales, ~ 1,000 Gt in the upper layer of oceans) (table
3.1). A large amount of the terrestrial carbon is stored in forest (about 1,150 Gt C) with around 30-40 per
cent in vegetation <strong>and</strong> 60-70 per cent in soil. However, significant carbon stocks, especially soil carbon, is
found in other terrestrial ecosystems including wetl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> peat l<strong>and</strong>s; e.g., peat soil has been estimated
to contain nearly 30 per cent of all global soil carbon whilst covering only 3 per cent of the l<strong>and</strong> surface.
132. Each year terrestrial ecosystems take up through photosynthesis <strong>and</strong> release through respiration,
decay <strong>and</strong> burning approximately 60 Gt C so relatively small changes in the net exchange are
important in the global carbon balance. For example, during the 1990s it is estimated that while 6.4
± 0.4 Gt C per year were emitted from combustion of fossil fuels, 0.52.7 Gt C per year were released by
l<strong>and</strong>-use activities (e.g., deforestation, l<strong>and</strong>-use change <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong> degradation). However, another 0.9 to 4.3
Gt C per year was taken up by the residual l<strong>and</strong> sink as a result of enhanced growth of terrestrial vegetation
from CO 2
fertilization; additional nitrogen released by human activities <strong>and</strong> increased temperature.
Marine ecosystems exchange even greater amounts of carbon with the atmosphere (about 90 Gt C per
year) <strong>and</strong> on average store about 2.2 ± 0.4 Gt C per year. The rate of storage is controlled by two “pumps”,
1
CBD Technical Series No. 41, “Connecting <strong>Biodiversity</strong> <strong>and</strong> Climate Change Mitigation <strong>and</strong> Adaptation: Report of the Second Ad
Hoc Technical Expert Group on <strong>Biodiversity</strong> <strong>and</strong> Climate Change (www.cbd.int/ts/).
2
The document largely uses the terms <strong>and</strong> definitions consistent with the UNFCCC decisions 1/CP.13 (Bali Action Plan <strong>and</strong> 2/CP.13
(<strong>REDD</strong>) without any attempt to pre-empt ongoing or forthcoming negotiations, or anticipate the outcome of these negotiations. The
exception is when referring to terms that are defined differently under other international processes, or for which there is no general
agreement of definition, in which case the use of the term is explained in the text.
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