mangroves are important marine carbon-storage sinks and areas of rich biodiversity

The first policy framework outlining the activities needed to include coastal marine areas such as mangroves, tidal marshes and ocean ‘grasslands’ into the work of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was presented at the end of last year in a report by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and Conservation International (CI) - two of the leading members of the Blue Carbon Initiative.

With COP17 and news stories of climate change bearing down on us, some of us may be feeling a little helpless of late. Some may be feeling as though they single-handedly want to solve the climate crisis. In this instance, it may be wise to remember the maxim: many hands make light work. One way in which we can all contribute to mitigating climate change and slowing biodiversity loss is by joining or establishing social groups to plant trees and other plants.

Some reports pin the average tree as absorbing 1 ton of carbon over it's 100 year lifespan, with most of that carbon being sequestered between the ages of 20 and 50 years. Planting now is essentially an investment in some serious carbon sequestration between 2030 and 2050 - and we are sure to be needing it even more desperately by then.

Co-benefits

pedestrians make use of the new paths in Durban: pic by Luke ReidRapid transit and safe cycling/walking networks are good for both health and climate - and climate experts should consider more systematically how these strategies can reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector, one of the world's major contributors to climate change, says a new WHO report.

The new report, Health co-benefits of climate change mitigation - Transport sector was released 6 December, 2011 during the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-17).

The report reviewed over 300 studies on health outcomes from different types of land transport systems to identify those mitigation measures most closely associated with specific health co-benefits or risks.

The review is the latest product of

Imagine there was a place you could go to learn about Climate Change in a fun, interactive way?

The International Polar Foundation is bringing these kind of science centres to the world and South Africa gets to accommodate the first one!!

A small taste of what is to be

(image by Grant Mcpherson)

For young and old, businesses and families, this science society interface will function to provide all the information and knowledge to empower a more ecologically responsible future.

With the recent discoveries on humankind’s specific

From time immemorial, mankind’s relationship to nature has been far more adversarial than cooperative or convivial. Man has had to fight and scurry in order to ilk out a meagre living. The contest between man and nature remained vastly unequal until the Industrial Revolution when coal, previously considered “evil” as it came from underground, became widely used and thus changed the face of the earth in many ways. One way was the ability of man to be able to harvest more and more with less and less effort. Technical progress has increased man’s efficiency to such an extent that lately nature’s ecosystems have become overtaxed; they are unable to cope. The result is that these ecosystems can not return to a balanced equilibrium that is necessary to be able to provide  the services that man depends on for survival (clean water, air, arable land etc).

With COP17 drawing to a close this week, a new deal on climate change and GHG (greenhouse gas) emission policies is hot on the cards. Although outcomes are far from known and 'climate wrangling' is still hampering real action, this week's discussions will have a pivotal role to play in any deals that take shape. Here is our copcast on the latest and most important news, side-line stories, events and more...

south africa and the other 'basic' countries are willing to take the plunge with a new climate contract

Down to the BASICs

Brazil, South Africa, India and China - collectively known as the BASIC countries - share a common approach in the climate change negotiations: they are all urging that the final text

Climate-smart agriculture must target the short-term needs of the smallholder farmer to be effective in combating climate change.

Encouraging climate-smart agriculture can lead to climate change adaptation practices in a partnership where the farmer’s needs are addressed.

“Climate-smart agriculture has the potential to increase sustainable productivity, increase the resilience of farming systems to climate impacts and mitigate climate change through greenhouse gas emission reductions and carbon sequestration,” says Henry Neufeldt the lead expert on climate change at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).

Agroforestry and its benefits

Agroforestry – the growing of trees on farms – is one such climate-smart agricultural practice, and it has tremendous potential for both

climate smart cape townThe award-winning Climate Smart Cape Town Pavilion at COP17 in Durban was the venue for the launch of ‘Moving Mountains, Cape Town’s Action Plan for Energy and Climate Change’.

The City of Cape Town’s Energy and Climate Action Plan has 11 objectives, with targets and detailed implementation plans involving over 40 programmes and more than 120 projects. The Action Plan is managed and coordinated by the City’s Environmental Resource Management Department, across all Directorates and Departments.

Speaking at the launch on Friday 2 December 2011, Councillor Gareth Bloor, Chair of the City’s Economic, Environmental and Spatial Planning Portfolio Committee stated that the City of Cape Town acknowledges climate change as one of the greatest challenges of our generation and seeks to use it as an opportunity to build

With the second week of COP17 in full swing, here is our newscast on the latest and most important stories, side-line news, events and more...

what will the outcomes post-kyoto hold?

A new way forward? Kyoto lives on?

The Kyoto Protocol comes to an end in 2012 and a resolution on the second-commitment period is now no longer a question of if but how.

With intense debates over GHG (greenhouse gas) emission policies taking centre-stage this week at COP17, the outcomes and details of a legally-binding treaty are still very much a deliberated topic. Opinions are varied and some nations remain unhappy with certain targets and agreements.

However, it is not all doom and gloom, and there is good news within the realms of treaty discussions. China, the world's worst emitter, publically announced late last week that it

The world’s poorest people are on the frontlines of climate change, with everything to lose and little to cushion the blow of its far-reaching impacts. A new position paper by the Ecosystems and Livelihoods Adaptation Network (ELAN) illustrates how empowering local communities to pursue sustainable livelihoods while managing their natural resources can contribute to better adaptation in the face of climate change.

The paper, titled Integrating Community and Ecosystem-based Approaches in Climate Change Adaptation Responses, is part of a partnership that includes IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), CARE International, the International Institute for Environment and Development and WWF (World Wildlife Fund). It asserts that integrating approaches to