Biodiversity and climate change
8. Invites Parties and other Governments,
according to national circumstances and priorities, as well as relevant
organizations and processes, to consider the guidance below on ways to
conserve, sustainably use and restore biodiversity and ecosystem services while
contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation:Assessing the impacts of climate change on biodiversity(a)Identify,
monitor and address the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on
biodiversity and ecosystem services, and assess the future risks for
biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services using the latest available
vulnerability and impact assessment frameworks and guidelines;(b) Assess
the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and biodiversity-based
livelihoods, particularly with regard to livelihoods within those ecosystems
that have been identified as being particularly vulnerable to the negative
impacts of climate change with a view to identifying adaptation priorities;Reducing the impacts of climate change on biodiversity
and biodiversity-based livelihoods(c)Reduce
the negative impacts from climate change as far as ecologically feasible,
through conservation and sustainable management strategies that maintain and
restore biodiversity;(d)Implement
activities to increase the adaptive capacity of species and the resilience of
ecosystems in the face of climate change, including, inter alia: (i) Reducing
non-climatic stresses, such as pollution, over-exploitation, habitat loss and
fragmentation and invasive alien species; (ii) Reducing
climate related stresses, where possible, such as through enhanced adaptive and
integrated water resource and marine and coastal management;(iii) Strengthening
protected area networks including through the use of connectivity measures such
as the development of ecological networks and ecological corridors and the
restoration of degraded habitats and landscapes in accordance with decision
IX/18 on protected areas and the programme of work on protected areas (goal
1.2, activity 1.2.3);(iv) Integrating
biodiversity into wider seascape and landscape management;(v) Restoring
degraded ecosystems and ecosystem functions; and(vi) Facilitating
adaptive management by strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems;(e)Bearing
in mind that under climate change, natural adaptation will be difficult and
recognizing that in situ conservation actions are more effective, also consider
ex situ measures, such as relocation, assisted migration and captive breeding,
among others, that could contribute to maintaining the adaptive capacity and
securing the survival of species at risk, taking into account the precautionary
approach in order to avoid unintended ecological consequences including, for
example, the spread of invasive alien species;(f)Develop a
strategy for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, including landscape
and seascape management in those areas that are becoming accessible to new uses
as a consequence of climate change;(g)Take
specific measures: (i) For
species that are vulnerable to climate change, including migratory species; and(ii) To
maintain genetic diversity in the face of climate change taking into account
paragraph 2 of Annex I to the Convention;(h) Undertake
awareness raising and capacity building strategies on the key role of
biodiversity conservation and sustainable use as a mechanism for climate change
mitigation and adaptation;(i) Recognize
the role of indigenous and local community conserved areas in strengthening
ecosystem connectivity and resilience across the sea and landscape thereby
maintaining essential ecosystem services and supporting biodiversity–based
livelihoods in the face of climate change;Ecosystem-based approaches for adaptation (j) Recognizing
that ecosystems can be managed to limit climate change impacts on biodiversity
and to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change; implement
where appropriate, ecosystem-based approaches for adaptation, that may include
sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, as part of
an overall adaptation strategy that takes into account the multiple social,
economic and cultural co-benefits for local communities; (k)In
accordance with national capacities and circumstances, integrate
ecosystem-based approaches for adaptation into relevant strategies, including
adaptation strategies and plans, national action plans to combat
desertification, national biodiversity strategies and action plans, poverty
reduction strategies, disaster risk reduction strategies and sustainable land
management strategies;(l)In the
planning and implementation of ecosystem-based approaches for adaptation,
carefully consider different ecosystem management options and objectivesto assess the different services they provide
and the potential trade-offs that may result from them; Ecosystem-based approaches for mitigation (m)Consider
the achievement of multiple benefits, including ecological, social, cultural
and economic benefits, between ecosystem-based approaches for climate change
mitigation and adaptation activities;(n)Implement
ecosystem management activities, including the protection of natural forests,
natural grasslands and peatlands, the sustainable management of forests
consideringthe use of native
communities of forest species in reforestation activities, sustainable wetland
management, restoration of degraded wetlands and natural grasslands, conservation
of mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass beds, sustainable agricultural
practices and soil management, amongst others, as a contribution towards
achieving and consistent with, the objectives of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the Convention on
Biological Diversity; (o)In forest
landscapes subject to harvesting, clearing and/or degradation, implement, as
appropriate, improved land management, reforestation and forest restoration
prioritizing the use of native communities of species, to improve biodiversity
conservation and associated services while sequestering carbon and limiting the
degradation and clearing of native primary and secondary forests;(p)When
designing, implementing and monitoring afforestation, reforestation and forest
restoration activities for climate change mitigation consider conservation of
biodiversity and ecosystem services through, for example: (i) Converting
only land of low biodiversity value or ecosystems largely composed of
non-native species, and preferably degraded ones; (ii)Prioritizing,
whenever feasible, local and acclimated native tree species when selecting
species for planting; (iii)Avoiding
invasive alien species; (iv)Preventing
net reduction of carbon stocks in all organic carbon pools;(v) Strategically
locating afforestation activities within the landscape to enhance connectivity
and increase the provision of ecosystem services within forest areas;(q) Enhance
the benefits for, and avoid negative impacts on, biodiversity from reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of
conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest
carbon stocks in developing countries, and other sustainable land management
and biodiversity conservation and sustainable-use activities, taking into
account the need to ensure the full and effective participation of indigenous
and local communities in relevant policy-making and implementation processes,
where appropriate; and to consider land ownership and land tenure, in
accordance with national legislation;(r) Assess,
implement and monitor a range of sustainable activities in the agricultural
sector that may result in the maintenance and potential increase of current
carbon stocks and, at the same time, the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity;(s) Where
appropriate, promote biodiversity conservation, especially with regard to soil
biodiversity, while conserving and restoring organic carbon in soil and
biomass, including in peatlands and other wetlands as well as in grasslands,
savannahs and drylands;(t) Enhance
the conservation, sustainable use and restoration of marine and coastal
habitats that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change or which
contribute to climate change mitigation, such as mangroves, peatlands, tidal
salt-marshes, kelp forests and seagrass beds, as a contribution to achieving
the objectives of the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change, the
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Ramsar Convention on
Wetlands and the Convention on Biological Diversity;Reducing biodiversity impacts of climate change
mitigation and adaptation measures (u)Based on
national circumstances, increase positive and reduce negative impacts of
climate change mitigation and adaptation measures on biodiversity inter alia,
based on results from strategic environmental assessments (SEAs)and environmental impact assessments (EIAs)
that facilitate the consideration of all available climate-change mitigation
and adaptation options; (v)In
planning and implementing effective climate change mitigation and adaptation
activities, including renewable energies, take into account impacts on
biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services and avoid the conversion
or degradation of areas important for biodiversity through: (i)Considering
traditional knowledge, including the full involvement of indigenous and local
communities;(ii)Building
on a scientifically credible knowledge base; (iii)Considering
components of biodiversity important for its conservation and sustainable use;(iv)Applying
the ecosystem approach; and (v)Developing
ecosystem and species vulnerability assessments;(w)Ensure, in
line and consistent with decision IX/16 C, on ocean fertilization and
biodiversity and climate change, in the absence of science based, global,
transparent and effective control and regulatory mechanisms for
geo-engineering, and in accordance with the precautionary approach and Article
14 of the Convention, that no climate-related geo-engineering activitiesthat may affect biodiversity take place,
untilthere is an adequate scientific
basis on which to justify such activities and appropriate consideration of the
associated risks for the environment and biodiversity and associated social,
economic and cultural impacts, with the exception of small scale scientific
research studies that would be conducted in a controlled settingin accordance with Article 3 of the
Convention, and only if they are justified by the need to gather specific
scientific data and are subject to a thorough prior assessment of the potential
impacts on the environment;(x) Make sure that ocean fertilization
activities are addressed in accordance with decision IX/16 C, acknowledging the
work of the London Convention/London Protocol;Valuation and incentive measures(y)Take into
account the values of biodiversity and ecosystem services when planning and
undertaking climate change related activities by using a range of valuation
techniques; (z)Consider,
as appropriate, incentives to facilitate climate change related activities that
take into consideration biodiversity and related social and cultural aspects,
consistent and in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity and other
relevant international obligations;
