Investigating the Possible Use of Carbon Sequestration for Wetland Restoration

1. Investigating the Possible Use of Carbon Sequestration for Wetland Restoration ISDE7 Perth 23-25 August 2011 Robert Wocheslander Richard Harper

2. Background Wetlands -what are the issues? • Around 75% of the wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain lost or degraded • Causes are known • Knowledge for restoration is there • Why is restoration not occurring?

3. Background (cont.) • Costs are high and unlikely to be covered by public funds entirely • Financial incentive required • Use of carbon sequestration by establishing carbon sinks Can Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) fund the repair of wetlands?

4. Carbon Farming Initiative It includes: • A carbon crediting mechanism (“scheme”) • Funding for developing methodologies • Information and tools to help landholders and farmers An initiative of the Australian Government, currently before Parliament

5. Carbon Farming Initiative Targets following activities: • Reforestation and sustainable forest management projects • Avoided deforestation • Agriculture projects, i.e. • Soil carbon management • Manure management • Methane emission reduction from livestock • Savannah fire management • Emissions reduction from legacy landfill waste

6. Can the CFI fund the repair of wetlands? A scoping study on the Swan Coastal Plain • Important questions • How much land is available? • Is rehabilitation possible? • How much carbon could be sequestered? • Is it economical? • Other issues?

7. Can the CFI fund the repair of wetlands? A scoping study on the Swan Coastal Plain Methods • Literature review • - The nature of wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain • - Wetland restoration techniques • - Carbon sinks and carbon farming schemes • - Data available to provide estimates of carbon sinks • GIS analysis of available datasets to define suitable wetland areas • Wetland type, tenure, landuse, DEM, hydrology, soil type, cadastre, vegetation, aerial photos, rainfall data etc • Prediction of carbon sequestration potential

8. Can the CFI fund the repair of wetlands? A scoping study on the Swan Coastal Plain • Important questions • How much land is available? • Is restoration possible? • How much carbon could be sequestered? • Is it economical? • Other issues?

9. Swan Coastal Plain Location South-west of WA Size ~550km long ~6 to 35km wide Area ~1.52 Mha

10. Swan Coastal Plain Sediment 2.5 M years old Characteristic dune system Wetlands • cover ~362,000ha,~25% of SCP • shallow, changing in depth and shape • vulnerable to disturbances (From Balla, 1994)

11. Wetlands Study area 3 Sub-catchments Serpentine Murray Harvey

12. Can the CFI fund the repair of wetlands? A scoping study on the Swan Coastal Plain • Important questions • How much land is available? • Is restoration possible? • How much carbon could be sequestered? • Is it economical? • Other issues?

13. Restoration Definition Ecological Restoration (SER, 2004) “...the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed.” • Ecological restoration has seen massive development over the last decades • Improvement in understanding of ecosystems occurring • Important to consider Setting goals and success criteria Specifying objectives and strategies Monitor key variables

14. Can the CFI fund the repair of wetlands? A scoping study on the Swan Coastal Plain • Important questions • How much land is available? • Is restoration possible? • How much carbon could be sequestered? • Is it economical? • Other issues?

15. How much carbon? Wood production is correlated to soil type and climate as particular species have specific requirements Lack of data regarding growth rates and carbon sequestration rates of species for revegetation of wetlands So far such rates are only available for commercial forestry species i.e. Pinus pinaster or E. globulus

16. Can the CFI fund the repair of wetlands? A scoping study on the Swan Coastal Plain • Important questions • How much land is available? • Is restoration possible? • How much carbon could be sequestered? • Is it economical? • Other issues?

17. Is it economical? • Previous studies show mixed results Flugge& Abadi (2006). Low & medium rainfall regions in WA • Need carbon price of $66/t CO2–e (low) or $45/t CO2–e (high) Harper et al. (2007). Cleared farmland in WA • Carbon offset viable at $15/t CO2–e Harris-Adams & Kingwell (2009). Agricultural region in WA • Carbon offset viable at $20/t CO2–e Donaghyet al. (2010). Agroforestry in semi-arid QLD • From $10/t CO2–e onwards it becomes financially viable for landholders

18. Is it economical? (Cont.) • Lack of growth and sequestration data makes it difficult to predict for wetlands • Depends on establishment and maintenance expenses of projects • Previous studies show mixed results for different scenarios • Further, additional benefits like biodiversity are not accounted for at the moment but that could change in the future

19. Can the CFI fund the repair of wetlands? A scoping study on the Swan Coastal Plain • Important questions • How much land is available? • Is restoration possible? • How much carbon could be sequestered? • Is it economical? • Other issues?

20. Other issues Technical barriers regarding carbon forestry Uncertainties about carbon pricing Conflict with food production Support by Government Research funding

21. Summary • Wetland degradation is a problem • Carbon sequestration activities beneficial • Financial incentive required • Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) could be a promising starting point • This study aims to assess CFI’s potential for wetland restoration • Further research required

22. Acknowledgements • Peel Harvey Catchment Council • South West Catchment Council (SWCC) • Bernie Masters • Stan Sochacki • HalinaKobryn