More than 60 participants met in Suva, Fiji to attend events from 18-21 September held by the International Partnership for Blue Carbon with co-hosts the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat – Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner.
There was a strong Pacific representation from Fiji, Kiribati, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Tonga and Vanuatu. Many other countries and organisations participated including Japan, Korea, Philippines, Sierra Leone, as well as Conservation International and the Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Programme.
A key theme of both events was the value of coastal ecosystems to the Pacific region and the importance of improving the availability of data. There was also a continued discussion around access to finance to support blue carbon efforts.
A lack of data for coastal wetlands and the potential for improving mangrove coverage were among the challenges and opportunities identified at a recent technical exchange ‘Incorporating Coastal Wetlands into Inventories’. The Partnership, with hosts the University of Queensland, held the event on 12-13 July 2018.
Government representatives from Australia, Cambodia, Fiji, Malaysia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and the United States joined scientists, non-government organisations to share their experiences and recent science at the event.
A key component of the workshop was the presentation and discussion of case studies by Australia, Indonesia, the United States and the UAE.
Delegates for the ‘Incorporating Coastal Wetlands into Inventories’ technical exchange at the University of Queensland
Australia, the US and UAE have all used recent guidance from the IPCC, the Wetlands Supplement, to report on the ecosystems. Indonesia holds large areas of coastal ecosystems and currently reports on mangroves as part of their forest sector. Indonesia has also begun considering using the Wetlands Supplement.
This workshop aimed to 1) discover impediments to adopting the new guidance within the Wetlands Supplement; 2) document the process of including coastal wetlands within national greenhouse gas reporting in those countries which have made progress to adopting the Wetlands Supplement in order to better understand how the Wetlands Supplement can be used, and 3) develop solutions and share knowledge to facilitate enhanced adoption of the Wetlands Supplement.
Delegates left the exchange with an increased understanding of the guidance and confidence to explore next steps for including blue carbon in their inventories.
The Partnership has published lessons learned from the workshop in a short report. These lessons will also be discussed at the Partnership’s upcoming meeting on 19-21 September in Suva, Fiji.
Australia is pleased to announce the inclusion of seagrass in its National Inventory Report 2016 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, released April 2018 using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2013 Supplement to the 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (the Wetlands Supplement).
Event update: PACIFIC BLUE CARBON WORKSHOP & THRID ANNUAL IPBC MEETING
Suva, Fiji 18-21 SEPTEMBER 2018
Hosted by the International Partnership for Blue Carbon and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat-Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (PIFS-OPOC)
Please indicate your interest in attending one or both events by emailing bluecarbonpartnership@environment.gov.au or using the contact form.
Australian and Korean government officials met recently in Canberra, Australia to share knowledge about incorporating coastal ecosystems in national greenhouse gas inventories.
The exchange was hosted by the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment and Energy on 16 April 2018. It provided in-depth sessions on Australia’s policy and technical approach for reporting emissions and removals from mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses.
Australia is progressively implementing the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (the ‘Wetlands Supplement’), and Korea is getting ready to undertake a similar process.
Members and friends of the Partnership took to the stage at the 2018 Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit (Yogyakarta, Indonesia) during the dedicated session on ‘Mangroves and Blue Carbon’.
Event announcement: INCORPORATING COASTAL WETLANDS INTO INVENTORIES
Brisbane, Australia 12 –13 JULY 2018
Hosted by the Government of Australia and the University of Queensland
Read more in the flyer below
If you would like to attend, please send an expression of interest by email by 28 May to: zoe.sinclair@environment.gov.au cc: bluecarbonpartnership@environment.gov.au
Policymakers and technical officers from the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) met in Perth from 19 to 23 March 2018 for the inaugural Indian Ocean Blue Carbon Conference. Through a series of presentations and discussions, hands-on activities in the field at Rottnest Island and in the laboratory at the Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, participants built their understanding of practical ecosystem management and policy approaches to achieve climate mitigation and adaptation outcomes, as well as the important co-benefits coastal blue carbon ecosystems offer. The conference provided the impetus for IORA to develop a regional understanding of coastal blue carbon ecosystems and for countries to collaborate and coordinate efforts to reach shared goals.
More than 60 participants met in Suva, Fiji to attend events from 18-21 September held by the International Partnership for Blue Carbon with co-hosts the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat – Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner.
