Enhancing Climate Change in Protected Areas

Abstract

The importance of protected and conserved areas (PCAs) in biodiversity conservation is well-established; their importance for climate change mitigation and adaptation is becoming increasingly recognised. There is strong evidence that PCAs are the most effective Natural Climate Solution to leverage nature for climate change mitigation. Although specific numbers on the GHG emissions that PCAs can mitigate vary, there is general agreement that the role of PCAs is significant. This report covers both terrestrial and marine PCAs. The audience is practitioners and policymakers who seek background information on the role of PCAs in climate change mitigation to:

• develop policies that enhance biodiversity and climate change simultaneously;

• quantify the importance of PCAs as a mechanism to reduce GHG emissions in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to the Paris Agreement;

• include the role of PCAs in climate change mitigation in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) required by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD);

• quantify the climate change mitigation role of PCAs in funding applications.