3.2. Forests for adaptation

1. 3.2. Forests for adaptation Bruno Locatelli, CIFOR-CIRAD

2. Objectives • To present the contribution of ecosystem services to human wellbeing • To explain the links between ecosystem services and adaptation to climate change • To propose ways to mainstream forests into adaptation policies

3. Outline • Ecosystem services and human wellbeing • Forests for the adaptation of society • Mainstreaming forests into adaptation policies

4. 1. Ecosystem services and human wellbeing • Ecosystem services (ES): • Benefits that people obtain from ecosystems (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2003) • Three types of ES directly contribute to human wellbeing: • Provisioning services (also called ecosystem goods) • E.g., food and fuel wood; • Regulating services • E.g., regulation of water, climate or erosion; • Cultural services • E.g., recreational, spiritual or religious services. • In addition to these 3 types: • supporting services • necessary for the production of other services • E.g., primary production, nutrient cycling, soil formation

5. Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2003; 2005

6. Provisioning services • Diverse goods for local people • Wood is an important economic forestcommodity for many tropical countries. • Fuel wood meets about 15% of energydemand in developing countries • more than 90% in 13 countries(Shvidenko et al. 2005). • Non-wood forest products: extremely diverse, from fodder for animals and food for people to medicines and cosmetics. • Livelihoods of 250 million to one billion people depend on these products (Byron and Arnold 1999). • Edible forest products (bushmeat and fish, plants…) • Traditional medicines (widely used locally in developing countries and for the development of modern medicines)

7. Regulating services • Global services • Regulating the global climate • Carbon storage • Local or regional services • Purification of water, mitigation of floods and drought, detoxification and decomposition of wastes, generation and renewal of soil, pollination of crops and natural vegetation, control of agricultural pests, dispersal of seeds, and moderation of temperature extremes and the force of winds and waves (Daily 1997). • Of particular importance in a context of CC: • Role of ecosystems for regulating water volumes and quality.

8. Cultural services • For many local communities, ecosystems have spiritual and religious value • Ecosystem changes can affect cultural identity and social stability (De Groot and Ramakrishnan 2005; Ramakrishnan 2007) • Other services, such as aesthetic, recreation and heritage, are enjoyed by local people, visitors and people for whom the ecosystem has a symbolic importance.

9. Ecosystems and human wellbeing

10. Ecosystems and human wellbeing • Ecosystem services: • Increase the security of people living in the vicinity • E.g., through the protective role played by regulating services against natural disasters. • Determine incomes, food security and water availability that are basic materials for life (Levy et al. 2005). • Preserve human health (Colfer et al. 2006) • Influence social relations • E.g., through the ability to realise aesthetic and recreational activities and express cultural values if they are linked to some habitats or species (Levy et al. 2005). • Are also linked to freedom—the ability to decide on the kind of life to lead

11. Vulnerability of ecosystem services • ES threatened by various human-induced pressures other than CC: • Land use change, landscape fragmentation, degradation of habitats, over-extraction of resources, pollution, nitrogen deposition and invasive species • CC will exacerbate these pressures over the coming decades (Fischlin et al. 2007). • Major concern for sustainable development (Mäler 2008) • All institutional levels are affected by the loss of ES • from households, through local communities and local firms, to national and international organizations (Hein et al. 2006).

12. Scales • Ecological scales • E.g. carbon storage is a global services, pollination is local • Institutional scales • E.g. Kyoto Protocol is international, payment for hydrological services are local From Hein et al., 2006

13. 2. Forests for the adaptation of society Many components of wellbeing can also be interpreted as dimensions of vulnerability to CC

14. Components of Vulnerability to Climate Change (Exposure, Sensitivity, Adaptive Capacity) Ecosystem Services Exposure (climate change) • Regulating services • Climate regulation Vulnerability of a coupled human–environment system Ecosystem Society Adaptive capacity of the ecosystem (e.g., ability of the ecosystem to conserve its integrity in a changing climate) Supporting services Adaptive capacity of the society (e.g., capacity to prevent damages from flooding or diseases) Societal sensitivity (e.g., effects of flooding or diseases on society) • Regulating services • Disease regulation • Water regulation • Water purification Ecologicalsensitivity (e.g., effects of climate change on flooding or the emergence of diseases) Provisioning services Cultural services

15. Components of Vulnerability to Climate Change (Exposure, Sensitivity, Adaptive Capacity) Ecosystem Services Exposure (climate change) • Regulating services • Climate regulation Vulnerability of a coupled human–environment system Ecosystem Society Adaptive capacity of the ecosystem (e.g., ability of the ecosystem to conserve its integrity in a changing climate) Supporting services Adaptive capacity of the society (e.g., capacity to prevent damages from flooding or diseases) Societal sensitivity (e.g., effects of flooding or diseases on society) • Regulating services • Disease regulation • Water regulation • Water purification Ecologicalsensitivity (e.g., effects of climate change on flooding or the emergence of diseases) Provisioning services Cultural services

16. Components of Vulnerability to Climate Change (Exposure, Sensitivity, Adaptive Capacity) Ecosystem Services Exposure (climate change) • Regulating services • Climate regulation Vulnerability of a coupled human–environment system Ecosystem Society Adaptive capacity of the ecosystem (e.g., ability of the ecosystem to conserve its integrity in a changing climate) Supporting services Adaptive capacity of the society (e.g., capacity to prevent damages from flooding or diseases) Societal sensitivity (e.g., effects of flooding or diseases on society) • Regulating services • Disease regulation • Water regulation • Water purification Ecologicalsensitivity (e.g., effects of climate change on flooding or the emergence of diseases) Provisioning services Cultural services

17. Components of Vulnerability to Climate Change (Exposure, Sensitivity, Adaptive Capacity) Ecosystem Services Exposure (climate change) • Regulating services • Climate regulation Vulnerability of a coupled human–environment system Ecosystem Society Supporting services Adaptive capacity of the ecosystem (e.g., ability of the ecosystem to conserve its integrity in a changing climate) Adaptive capacity of the society (e.g., capacity to prevent damages from flooding or diseases) Societal sensitivity (e.g., effects of flooding or diseases on society) • Regulating services • Disease regulation • Water regulation • Water purification Ecologicalsensitivity (e.g., effects of climate change on flooding or the emergence of diseases) Provisioning services Cultural services

18. Components of Vulnerability to Climate Change (Exposure, Sensitivity, Adaptive Capacity) Ecosystem Services Exposure (climate change) • Regulating services • Climate regulation Vulnerability of a coupled human–environment system Ecosystem Society Supporting services Adaptive capacity of the ecosystem (e.g., ability of the ecosystem to conserve its integrity in a changing climate) Adaptive capacity of the society (e.g., capacity to prevent damages from flooding or diseases) Societal sensitivity (e.g., effects of flooding or diseases on society) • Regulating services • Disease regulation • Water regulation • Water purification Ecologicalsensitivity (e.g., effects of climate change on flooding or the emergence of diseases) Provisioning services Cultural services

19. All sectors vulnerable to CC benefit from ES WATER Ecosystem Services(MEA, 2005) ECO SYSTEMS FOOD COASTS Vulnerable Sectors (IPCC, 2007) HEALTH

20. Discussion • For the countries where you are currently working: • Identify five specific examples of ecosystem services provided by forests or trees • How those services contribute to human-wellbeing and reduce human vulnerability to climate change

21. Examples of relevant ES for vulnerable sectors Source: Locatelli et al. 2008

22. Assessing vulnerability of coupled natural and human systems • The vulnerability of economic sectors depends on the vulnerability of the ecosystems they rely on • Most vulnerability assessments use a sectoral approach • which overlooks the links between sectors and ecosystems. • Vulnerability assessment should: • deal with the vulnerabilities of both natural and human systems at the same time • consider the links between them.

23. Climate Change Other Drivers of Change Exposure Ecosystem Society Sensitivity Sensitivity Ecosystem Services P1 P2 Management Adapt. capacity Adapt. capacity Adaptive Capacity P3 Vulnerability of a coupled human–environment system to the loss of ecosystem services Assessing vulnerability of coupled natural and human systems • Vulnerability of ecosystem services to CC and other threats Human system and its vulnerability to the loss of ecosystem services Capacity of the human systems to reduce the loss of ecosystem services

24. Exercise • Considering a concrete example, answer the following questions: • Who benefits from ecosystem services? • Which ecosystem services are more important for people? • Which ecosystems deliver these services? • How does people’s vulnerability depend on these services? • How could ecosystem changes affect people? • What to do?

25. 3. Mainstreaming forests into adaptation policies • In addition to mainstreaming adaptation into development: • need to include forests in adaptation strategies • using two complementary approaches: • Adaptation for forests • designing adaptation policies that encourage the adaptive management of forests • Forests for adaptation • recognising the role of forests in reducing societal vulnerability and making the sectors that benefit from forest ecosystem services participate in forest adaptation.

26. Mainstreaming adaptation into forest policies Mainstreaming forests into adaptation policies • Bringing adaptation into the forest arena: • Adaptation in National Forest Programs Adaptation policies • Bringing forests into the adaptation arena: • Forests in NAPA’s • Adaptation Fund etc. financing schemes Forest policies

27. Current place of forests in adaptation policies • NAPAs and national communications to the UNFCCC • Identified adaptation needs in the forest sector • technical (e.g., information system) • societal adaptation (e.g., capacity building) • National adaptation policies • propose traditional instruments • without analysing the ‘lessons learned’ of past pitfalls in the forest sectors. • not yet successful in mainstreaming adaptation and integrating forests • No linkages between adaptation and political context (land tenure reforms, property rights…) • Lack of horizontal and vertical coordination Source: Locatelli et al. 2008

28. Policies promoting adaptation for forests • National policies should follow multiple objectives: • reduce non-climatic threats to forests • encourage large-scale decision making • consider climate change threats inconservation policies • promote information sharing and monitoring • promote partnerships in the forestry sector • strengthen local institutions (capacity building and funding). • CC can be a catalyst for achieving better forest management or conservation Source: Locatelli et al. 2008

29. Policies promoting forests for adaptation • Many institutions concerned about forest adaptation: • international adaptation funds, mitigation funds and carbon mechanisms, international biodiversity funds • national agencies involved in disaster prevention or poverty reduction • conservation and development NGOs • private sector benefiting from scenic beauty or biodiversity for ecotourism or from clean water for industrial purposes • local users of water and forest products. • Adaptation policies should aim at linking these actors with those engaged in forest management or conservation. • Participation of non-forest actors • decision making, capacity building, monitoring and financing (PES)

30. The role of policy-relevant science • Science should play a fundamental role in mainstreaming forests into adaptation policies • informing policy makers about vulnerabilities, • identifying response options and designing adaptation strategies • Building a policy–science dialogueis essential • scientists must analyse structuresand paths in a specific institutionaland policy context

31. A policy research framework on actors, decision making and policy networks • Analysis of exposure and sensitivity of a specific system (biophysical research) • Identification of the adaptive capacity of the system (analysis of institutional and policy frame: policy content analysis, stakeholder, and network analysis) • Contribution to mainstreaming adaptation and forest by identifying adaptation options and by supporting the design of adaptation strategies (Locatelli et al., 2008)

32. Thank you

33. References See references in “Facing an uncertain future: How forests and people can adapt to climate change” www.cifor.cgiar.org