This presentation was given at a COP20 side-event titled "Guiding Principles for Delivering Coastal Wetland Carbon Projects” in Lima, Peru. It was presented by moderator Daniel Murdiyarso and rapporteur Kristell Hergoualc'h. Coastal wetland ecosystems play a significant role in sequestering and storing carbon in biomass and soils. These ecosystems, however, are facing tremendous pressure and large portion of them are already degraded due to unsustainable cuttings and aquaculture development. This panel discussed options for policy and practice for improving sustainability and realizing the full mitigation and adaptation potential of coastal wetland ecosystems.

1. Moderator:
Daniel Murdiyarso
Principal Scientist, CIFOR
Rapporteur:
Kristell Hergoualc’h
Scientist, CIFOR

2. Background
• Coastal wetland ecosystems play a significant role in
sequestering and storing carbon in biomass and soils.
• These ecosystems are under tremendous pressure
and the lost stocks may never be fully replaced.
• Restoring coastal wetland may use ecosystem
services the provide to engage wider stakeholders to
participate.
• Synergizing the dual objectives of climate change
mitigation and adaptation could be a powerful tool
for interventions.

3. Key questions
• What are the options for finding synergies between
mitigation and adaptation strategies?
• How might policy and project interventions be
refined to improve effectiveness?
• How could best practices be documented and shared
for wider stakeholders to encourage sustainable
practices?

4. The speakers
Heru Prasetyo
Head, National REDD+ Agency – Indonesia
Coastal blue carbon in Indonesia
Tim Christophersen
Senior Programme Officer, Forests and Climate Change, UNEP – Kenya
From principles to practice: Achieving coastal mitigation and adaptation
outcomes through demonstration projects and upscaling
Steve Crooks
Climate Change Program Manager, ESA – USA
Principles and lessons learned from wetlands and carbon project
Moritz von Unger
Silvestrum VoF – The Netherlands
Emerging opportunities for coastal wetland carbon projects development

5. Heru Prasetyo. Head of the REDD+ Agency of the Republic of Indonesia.
Tim Christophersen. Coordinates the work on forests and climate change at the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), including UNEP's role within the UN-REDD Programme, a
collaborative initiative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Development
Programme (UNDP) and UNEP to reduce deforestation in developing countries. He previously worked
for the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Danish Ministry of the Environment, and the European
Commission
Stephen Crooks. Climate Change Program Manager at Environmental Science Associates (ESA). He is a
wetland scientist, restoration practitioner and geomorphologist specializing in integrated climate
change adaptation and mitigation strategies for coastal systems. He is a Lead Author of the IPCC 2013
Wetland Supplement (Coastal Wetland Chapter), one of the first Verified Carbon Standard AFOLU
Expert for the Wetland Restoration and Conservation Category (WRC) and a founder of the Blue
Carbon Initiative. Steve is the lead author the UNEP & CIFOR report: Guiding Principles for Coastal
Wetland Carbon Projects.
Moritz von Unger. Director and Atlas Environmental Law Advisory and Partner at Silvestrum VoF.
Senior counsel and attorney specializing in international climate and environment law, with a
particular focus on land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) and wetlands intervention. He has
extensive experience in advising governments and the private sector on regulatory matters and
investments in low carbon interventions. As a former member of the European Commission staff, he is
a first-hand authority on public and administrative law and brings a deep sensitivity to working with
multi-party international organizations.

6. Acknowledgement: