This document discusses the connections between biodiversity and climate change. Climate change is a major driver of biodiversity loss through its impacts on ecosystems like changes in structure and function. Protected areas play an important role in both climate change mitigation and adaptation by storing carbon, capturing more through restoration, and maintaining ecosystem integrity and services. Opportunities exist for governments to increase protected areas' contributions to climate strategies through landscape approaches and expanding networks in high carbon/deforestation areas. Case studies from Belarus show peatland restoration providing mitigation, biodiversity, and economic benefits.

1. BIODIVERSITY IN A CHANGING CLIMATE: ECOSYSTEM BASED ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION Adriana Dinu, Regional Environment and Energy Practice Leader, Europe and CIS Putoransky, Taimyr© 2010 UNDP. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.Proprietary and Confidential. Not For Distribution Without Prior Written Permission.

2. OverviewContext:Biodiversity and Climate Change – linkages

3. Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity Role of Protected Areas in CC mitigation and AdaptationOpportunitiesNalichevo Park, Kamchatka

4. Biodiversity and climate change are inter-connectedClimate Change Impacts on BiodiversityChanges in Biodiversity affect Climate ChangeEcosystems play a key role in:Global Carbon Cycle;

5. Adapting to Climate Change

6. Provision of ecosystem services essential for human beingsEcosystem degradation:Reduces the C storage and sequestration capacity

7. Increasing GHG emissions

8. Reducing BiodiversityClimate Change as a key driver of biodiversity loss

9. Current Impacts of CC on BiodiversityChanges in ecosystem structure and function: Aquatic freshwater habitats, wetlands, Arctic and alpine ecosystems;

10. Bogs, mires and fens - most vulnerable - 50 % affected (concern as they are important carbon stores);

11. Snow, ice and frozen ground: increased number of glacial lakes; increased ground instability in permafrost;

12. 19 % of habitats and 12 % of species of European interest are threatened by CC over their European range (2008, reports on Habitat Directives);

13. Approx. 10% of species at high risk of extinction for every 1°C rise in global mean temperature;- Amphibians - 45 % of species negatively affected

14. Role of selected European ecosystems in the carbon balance Source: Adapted from Trumperet al., 2009.

15. Ecosystem conversion – second largest source of GHG and first cause of species extinction Protected Areas the most sensible response to conversion.

16. Terrestrial carbon stock in the protected area network85% Carbon outside protected areas13.7% of world’s terrestrial area is protected, but contains 15.2% of C stock

17. PAs are essential part of the global response to CCMITIGATIONSTORE: 312 Gt of terrestrial C: If lost - equivalent to 23 times the total global C emissions for 2004CAPTURE: further sequestration of CO2 - increasing the size of carbon pools (afforestation, reforestation and restoration)Mitigation dividend: existing and potential forest PAs are richest carbon pools.ADAPTATIONPROTECT: maintains ecosystem integrity; reduces vulnerability to Climate ChangePROVIDE : ecosystem services

18. Protected AreasContribute to strategies to reduce GHG emissions;Complement infrastructure investments to reduce vulnerability to climate change: nest the PA agenda into the development agendaAre an effective means of safeguarding ecosystem services, vital to adaptation, carbon storage and sequestration.Are a cost effective means of providing these services, relative to the costs of other land governance systems.Convenient Solutionsto an Inconvenient Truth:Ecosystem-basedApproachesto Climate ChangeJune 2009Environment Department,The World Bank

19. Opportunities: National and sub-national governmentsIncreasing the Roles of Protected Areas in National and sub-national CC Strategies Incorporate CC into ecological gap assessmentsIncrease coverage, level of protection and management effectiveness;Landscape approaches, connectivity - critical to promoting resilience across large landscapesStrengthening PA network in areas of high deforestation pressure and high carbon could be one strategy to reduce emissions.Altai Sayan

20. Peatland restoration in Belarus: mitigation benefits28,000 ha rewetted. Reduced annual emission of CO2 by 280,000 tons

21. Peatland restoration in Belarus: biodiversity benefitsPresence of wetland plant associations up by 58-96%

22. Water-bird species numbers up by 20-48% from pre-restoration figuresPeatland restoration in Belarus: economic benefits

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