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harnessing

nature as a solution

to climate change

Conservation Internationals Climate Change Business Plan


Executive Summary
April, 2008

when we

founded CI in 1987, we were a handful


of passionate individuals bound by a fierce
conviction to pursue global conservation
on a scale never before achieved.
Today CI has more than 800 employees
achieving unprecedented conservation
results in more than 45 countries.

vision

climate change

nature as a solution to
climate change
Climate change is happening now, and the world must respond immediately to
prevent catastrophic impacts. Already we see the earliest evidence in melting
ice caps, increased storms, floods, fires and drought, and dying coral reefs.
Extinction rates are the highest in human history, threatening Earths ecosystems
and the fundamental benefits they provide food, clean air, fresh water, climate
regulation, storm buffering and countless others. All people are affected,
especially the poor who depend most directly on nature for daily sustenance.
To confront this threat to the present and future health of life on Earth, nations of
the world must work together to both mitigate climate change drastically reduce
greenhouse gas emissions to prevent catastrophic warming and adapt to the
significant warming that already is inevitable. Ending the fossil-fuel dependence
of industrial societies is a vital but long-term achievement. Today, we can take
immediate and cost-effective steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions and help
those people and species most at risk. Fortunately, the best initial approach is
one Conservation International (CI) knows well working with partners around
the world to protect the tropical forests, seascapes and other crucial biological
diversity essential to the resiliency of our planet and the well-being of its people.

n Intact ecosystems help us cope withor adapt tothe inevitable disruptions


from unavoidable warming. For instance, mangrove forests prevent coastal
erosion from more powerful storms and protect freshwater supplies as sea
levels rise. Coral reefs help buffer the impact of storms and play a key role in
sustaining critical marine resources such as fish populations. Forest systems
are habitat for thousands of threatened species, and provide water, food, fiber
and other services that support people.

Protecting nature helps tackle climate change AND conserves


the resources needed for human survival, most particularly for
the 1.2 billion people worldwide living in poverty. This is one of
the most effective and overlooked ways to counter global
climate change.

The Carbon Cycle:


Deforestation and Climate Change

It is nature itself that provides the most valuable and


essential first step.
Until relatively recently in human history, nature kept Earths climate in balance.
Then the Industrial Revolution increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,
resulting in the climate change we experience today. Restoring natures balance
by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening Earths ecosystems is
a logical and effective response.

n Halting or slowing the destruction of Earths remaining tropical forests
is an immediate way to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Forest
systems remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it helping to
mitigate the cause of climate change. In fact, burning and clearing
tropical forests accounts for at least 20 percent of global carbon
emissions more than all the worlds cars, truck, ships, planes and
trains combined.

Carbon dioxide mixes with


other greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere and traps heat

Growing trees
absorb
carbon dioxide
from
atmosphere

Deforestation,
logging, and fires
release carbon
dioxide into the
atmosphere
Mature forests store carbon in
biomass and soils

background

background

moving beyond
the Kyoto Protocol
Scientific assessments call for stabilizing the concentration of greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere at 400 parts per million or lower to prevent catastrophic
environmental harm. Reaching that level will require immediate and aggressive
reductions in emissions by all major sources. Unfortunately, international efforts
have not yet achieved an effective response. We are still on a trajectory toward
disaster.
Under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol
was adopted in 1997, committing the participating industrialized countries to
reduce their collective emissions 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. That
created the carbon market, a system in which entities trade carbon-offset credits.
Those emitting too much can buy credits in projects that are sequestering
carbon somewhere else in the world. Under the Kyoto Protocol, however, only
the carbon storage of newly planted or replanted forests is eligible for credits that
can be traded. Protecting intact forests otherwise certain to fall to chainsaws and
bulldozers was not included in the original protocol as an emissions-reduction
strategy.
With greenhouse gas emissions increasing each year, the world must act
decisively starting now to create and implement a holistic strategy that includes
the protection of the worlds remaining tropical forests and the vast amounts of
carbon they store, along with marine resources and other biological diversity
essential to human populations.

Otherwise, it will be too late to prevent catastrophic


impacts.

urgent opportunity

bridge to a low-carbon
economy
We have an open moment in history to ensure that nature is protected and
employed as the world finally confronts the climate challenge in a meaningful
way. Over the next three years, policymakers from all countries will develop a
new global climate agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol when it expires
in 2012. In addition, many countries, including the United States, are
expected to pass new climate legislation in coming years. These actions
and continuing scientific research also will focus on how human societies
can best adapt to warming that cannot be avoided.
Most efforts to mitigate climate change will focus on reducing greenhouse gas
emissions by increasing energy efficiency and developing renewable energy
sources. This global shift from fossil fuel economies, while essential, will take
decades to occur. At the same time, efforts to help people and species adapt
to climate change will focus on developing infrastructure such as levies and
flood-defense mechanisms. These approaches based on man-made technology
overlook the value of nature Earths biological diversity as a cost-effective
and immediate initial response to climate change. It is natures technology,
in the form of healthy ecosystems and the multiple benefits they provide,
that offers a bridge to the longer-term shift away from fossil fuels.
As a first step, the world needs to value nature for the multiple benefits it offers.
Currently, less than 1 percent of the carbon market targets deforestation, which
causes at least 20 percent of global carbon emissions. There are clear signals that
negotiators will correct the earlier oversight in the Kyoto Protocol by including
protection of intact tropical forests as an emissions-reducing activity eligible for
credits in carbon markets. If designed properly, these carbon markets can be a
powerful tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generating revenue to
protect ecosystems and the multiple benefits they provide.
The window of opportunity is open, but the worlds success will depend on
how and where we act. CI is uniquely qualified to influence the direction and
scope of the global response, based on more than 20 years of experience in
developing and implementing effective biodiversity conservation.

Now CIs experience is proving essential to both mitigating


and adapting to climate change.
CI and our partners have the proven ability to lead a global climate change
response by linking our field expertise with our ability to influence national and
international policies and markets. We can connect indigenous groups in the
Amazon, heads of state in Africa, policy-makers in the United States, Europe,
and Asia, and corporate leaders from the worlds largest companies.
Our work helps vulnerable species and people adapt to the impacts of climate
change by conserving biological diversity and ecosystem services they depend
on for survival. Our scientific leadership and culture of innovation will position
CI for success as climate change renders old conservation strategies obsolete.
Further, CI has deep expertise in shaping climate policy and carbon markets.
As the founder and convener of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance,
CI has a strong history of developing and promoting best practices and standards
that support climate, biodiversity and livelihood benefits in forest carbon projects.
If the worlds response to climate change the post-Kyoto global agreement, the
$60 billion (and rising) market for carbon credits, and approaches to adaptation
fails to include protecting nature, all other mitigation and adaptation efforts on land
and at sea will be squandered. Climate change will not be significantly reduced,
deforestation will continue, extinctions and habitat destruction will increase, and the
planet will lose the ecosystem benefits that help stem global warming. The effect of
this vicious cycle will fall disproportionately on the worlds most vulnerable people,
particularly those living in or near tropical forests and low-lying coastal areas.
CI will demonstrate that protecting nature is an immediate and essential way
to address climate change and improve human well-being.. We will mobilize a broad
coalition of strategic partners and key stakeholders to develop and implement a
science-based strategy demonstrating how and where nature can best be harnessed
to counter the impacts of climate change.

Our three-year goal is to ensure that the world has the knowledge,
experience and resources to help hundreds of millions of people adapt
to climate change; prevent the extinction of more than 100,000
threatened species; and reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by
deforestation in priority regions by 1 to 2 billion tons per year. Reducing
emissions in CIs priority regions represents up to 5 percent of all
greenhouse gas reductions needed by 2030.

challenge

CIs strategy

there are four interrelated


parts to our strategy
1. Science + Knowledge
2. Field Experience
3. Framework of Policies and Markets
4. Communications

our model
Results
Biodiversity

People

3. Framework of
Policies + Markets

1. Science +
Knowledge

2. Field
Experience

4. Communications

4. Communications

CO2

our plan

Science + Knowledge
With our unique science-based approach, CI integrates research with
implementation of leading-edge biodiversity conservation programs around
the world. Specifically, CI will:

n Identify the terrestrial and marine ecosystems that merit strategic
investment for climate, biodiversity conservation and human well-being.
n Assess the impacts of climate change and different climate mitigation
strategies on those ecosystems.
n Evaluate the benefits of protecting and restoring those ecosystems
to help species and human populations adapt to climate change.
n Develop a toolkit of effective conservation responses for
policy-makers and field implementers.

our plan

Field Experience
Whether in terrestrial or marine ecosystems, field activities can directly slow the
rate of climate change while helping human and biological communities adapt to its
impacts. For example, our forest conservation and restoration activities significantly
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration, while also
protecting critical biodiversity and supporting local livelihoods. Similarly, our
protection of large seascapes ensures the long-term survival of both diverse marine
ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them.
CIs work in more than 40 countries already has secured reductions in greenhouse
gas emissions equivalent to taking 8 million cars off the road, but we can achieve
much more. We can have an unprecedented and unparalleled impact on climate
change mitigation and adaptation by strategically scaling up our field activities and
rapidly building the capacity of key partners and governments. To achieve this, CI will:

n Evaluate the most effective approaches, methodologies and sites for
mitigation and adaptation activities at multiple scales (from local to
regional) and identify key enabling factors for taking activities to scale;
n

Create an innovative portfolio of climate mitigation and adaptation


programs that provides significant climate, biodiversity and livelihood
benefits, demonstrates the importance of conservation activities to
curbing climate change, and catalyzes policy and market development;

Build capacity in local partners and governments to implement multi-benefit


mitigation and adaptation activities by transferring technical skills and
knowledge, enhancing national policies and governance structures, fostering
indigenous and local community institutions, and engaging all stakeholders;

Catalyze the development of national and state-level forest protection


(Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, or REDD)
programs to inform international policies and ensure achievement of
significant conservation outcomes.

our plan

Framework of Policies
and Markets
CI will promote innovative technical solutions and bring science, learning and
testing to the global community to secure appropriate policy and market
mechanisms based on strengthening natural systems such as tropical forests
and priority marine areas. To expand policies and market incentives, and
leverage financial resources, CI will:

n Influence global and national policies, such as those associated with
the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, U.S. legislation, and
national-level REDD and adaptation programs.
n Harness existing and develop new funding mechanisms for instance
developing a $250 million Conservation and Community Carbon Fund,
and leveraging the financing available via the World Bank, bilateral
donors, and the U.N. Adaptation Fund.
n Set standards for carbon markets through the Climate, Community
and Biodiversity Alliance, the Voluntary Carbon Standard, U.S.
cap-and-trade policies, and the E.U. Emissions Trading Scheme.

our plan

Communications
No one on the planet is immune to the impacts of climate change. We all
need to be part of the solution. Our communications goals are to raise
public awareness worldwide about the need to harness nature to address
climate change and benefit people, and to spur behavioral changes
within key audiences. CI will:

n Influence the behavior of key audience groups, including global opinion
leaders and other influential constituencies; the broader public in the
United States and key countries; and policy makers and business leaders.
n Implement a public service campaign starring Harrison Ford.
n Conduct global multi-media outreach, including television, online,
influential print, radio.
n Leverage the messaging of corporate partners.

Attention
focused on
forests +
oceans
Harrison Ford PSA
Campaign
Global Multi-Media
Campaign
Outreach
Television
Strong online
outreach
Major Press
Coverage
Print
Radio
Leverage
Corporate Partners
Messaging

our model

at work

Madagascar

mantadia national park

mantadia conservation corridor

conservation

Mantadia Conservation Carbon Project


Madagascar has been separated from the coast of Africa for more
than 160 million years. Most of its plant and animal species have
evolved in isolation and many are found nowhere else on the planet.
The Mantadia Conservation Corridor links three national parks that
are important to the survival of flora, fauna and local communities.
Highly threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture, it is a critical priority
for long-term conservation. CI worked with partners to implement
an innovative project to generate carbon credits by protecting and
restoring the corridors forests, while also developing alternative
livelihoods.

Science
n

Mapped the region based on biodiversity priority.

Assessed the ecosystem benefits for people and climate.

results

Conserves 450,000 hectares of rain forest

Sequesters 10 million tons of CO2 emissions

Provides water for rice cultivation and


controls erosion

Creates employment through agroforestry


and ecotourism

Protects flagship species


(Indri, geckos, orchids)

Field Delivery
n

Forged partnerships with communities and NGOs to protect


and restore forests.

Built capacity in communities to develop nurseries growing


seedlings of 100 native tree species.

Policy and Markets


n

Supported development of national capacity to trade carbon.

Helped influence international policy and market standards.

mantadia national park

our model

at work

Eastern
Tropical
Pacific
Seascape

conservation

Eastern
Tropical Pacific Seascape

The Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape, comprising marine areas of
Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador, experiences ocean
warming every two to seven years as a result of the El Nio phenomenon.
At the heart of the seascape lie the Galapagos Islands with their
unparalleled variety of species everything from penguins to tropical
fish, and corals to marine iguanas. Such unique biodiversity gives CI and
partners the chance to learn how rising temperatures will affect different
species, making the region a living laboratory to study climate change.
Lessons learned can help us protect the Galapagos and marine life all
over the world.

Science
n

Evaluated the status of marine species across the Eastern Tropical


Pacific through the Global Marine Species Assessment (GMSA).
Developed conservation tools that both allow marine species to adapt
to climate change and maintain essential marine resources such
as fish populations depended on by local communities.

Field Delivery
n

Implemented early warning systems for the impacts of climate


change in the Galapagos and across the entire seascape.

Policy and Markets


n

Fostered collaboration between the governments of Costa Rica,


Panama, Colombia and Ecuador to address large-scale climate
change impacts and conserve the diversity and abundance of
marine life.

results

In 2007, GMSA findings resulted in the IUCN


Red List designating two Galapagos corals
as Critically Endangered and another as
Vulnerable due to ocean warming the first
time any corals have been listed as vulnerable
to extinction.

In 2005, Colombia expanded the Malpelo


protected area to more than 10 times its
previous size and banned all fishing in the
unique marine environment and shark habitat.

In Panamas Coiba National Park, CI and


partners are working to build the resilience
of vulnerable coral reefs to climate change
while helping communities obtain maximum
benefit from tourism.

3-year plan

CIs plan
science + knowledge
field experience
framework of policies
and markets
communications

results

biodiversity protected
carbon dioxide
emissions reduced
people and communities
more resilient
We face this open moment in history with the
knowledge of how to proceed. Now we need
the will and resources to act strategically and
effectively. Nature provides an immediate
and cost-effective way to start reducing
greenhouse gas emissions and help human
populations adapt to the changing climate.
CI is ready to lead this crucial effort to restore
the Earths natural balance, for the benefit of
present and future generations.

By protecting forests in the biodiversity hotspots


and high-biodiversity wilderness areas in which we
work, CI and our partners can reduce greenhouse
gas emissions by 1 to 2 billion tons per year. This
represents 3 to 5 percent of the entire global
reduction in emissions needed by 2030.
CI works in a targeted set of biodiversity hotspots, high-biodiversity wilderness areas, and seascapes. All are priority regions
overflowing with biological value where people, plants, and animals are desperately in need of conservation action. We focus
on places where each dollar we spend will do the most good.
Earths biologically richest places, the biodiversity hotspots hold especially high numbers of species found nowhere else.
Each hotspot faces extreme threats and has already lost at least 70 percent of its original natural vegetation. High-biodiversity
wilderness areas are vast regions of relatively undisturbed land that are home to high numbers of species found nowhere else.
Each area still claims 70 percent of original vegetation and has very low human population density. Seascapes are critical
marine areas that extend beyond country boundaries, creating opportunities for governments, multinational corporations, and
others to work together to conserve the seas and the diverse marine life that is the lifeline for people living near their shores.

n n n n
n

Biodiversity Hotspots

High-Biodiversity Wilderness

Areas








Marine Priority Areas

Abrolhos Bank
Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape
Gulf of California
Madagascar
Melanesia
Meso-American Barrier Reef
Mozambique
Papuan Birds Head Seascape
Polynesia/Micronesia
Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape
Venezuela

our mission

CI believes that the Earths natural heritage must be maintained


if future generations are to thrive spiritually, culturally, and
economically. Our mission is to conserve the Earths living
heritageour global biodiversityand to demonstrate that
human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature.

2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500


Arlington, VA 22202

800.406.2306
www.conservation.org

PHOTO CREDITS (left to right):


Frans Lanting / Frans Lanting Photography / ILCP, CI / Russ Mittermeier, CI / Sterling Zumbrunn, Aflo / naturepl.com, CI , Frans Lanting / Frans Lanting Photography / ILCP,
Frans Lanting / Frans Lanting Photography / ILCP, Frans Lanting / Frans Lanting Photography / ILCP, CI / John Martin, Tui De Roy / Minden Pictures/ILCP, CI / Cristano Nogueira,
Luciano Candisani / Minden Pictures / ILCP, CI / Sterling Zumbrunn, Art Wolfe / ILCP, Pete Oxford / NaturePL / ILCP, Art Wolfe / ILCP, Cristina Mittermeier / ILCP, Courtesy of
Harrison Ford, Annie Griffiths Belt / ILCP, Frans Lanting / Minden Pictures / ILCP, Frans Lanting / Minden Pictures / ILCP, CI / Russ Mittermeier, CI/Sterling Zumbrunn,
Chris Newbert / Minden Pictures, Tui De Roy / Minden Pictures / ILCP, Cristina Mittermeier / ILCP, David Doubilet / ILCP, Michele Westmorland / ILCP, 2008 James Balog / EIS / ILCP,
Frans Lanting / Frans Lanting Photography / ILCP, Cristina Mittermeier / ILCP, Art Wolfe / ILCP

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