Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-3 (section)

=== FAQ 3.5 | How can nature-based solutions, including marine protected areas, help us to adapt to climate-driven changes in the oceans? ===

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''Coastal habitats, such as mangroves or vegetated dunes, protect coastal communities from sea level rise and storm surges while supporting fisheries, sequestering carbon and providing other ecosystem services as well. Efforts to restore, conserve and/or recover these natural habitats help people confront the impacts of climate change. These marine nature-based solutions (NbS), such as Marine protected areas (MPAs), habitat restoration and sustainable fisheries, are cost-effective and provide myriad benefits to society.''

In the oceans, NbS comprise attempts to recover, restore or conserve coastal and marine habitats to reduce the impacts of climate change on nature and society. Marine habitats, such as seagrasses and coral reefs, provide services like food and flood regulation in the same way as forests do on land. Coastal habitats, such as mangroves or vegetated dunes, protect coastal communities from sea level rise and storm surges while supporting fisheries as well as recreational and aesthetic services. Seagrasses, coral reefs and kelp forests also provide important benefits that help humans adapt to climate change, including sustainable fishing, recreation and shoreline protection services. By recognising these services and benefits of the ocean, NbS can improve the quality and integrity of the marine ecosystems.

Nature-based solutions offer a wide range of potential benefits, including protecting ecosystem services, supporting biodiversity and mitigating climate change. Coastal and marine examples include MPAs, habitat restoration, habitat development and maintaining sustainable fisheries. While local communities with limited resources might find NbS challenging to implement, they are generally ‘no-regret’ options, which bring societal and ecological benefits regardless of the level of climate change.

Carefully designed and placed MPAs, especially when they exclude fishing, can increase resilience to climate change by removing additional stressors on ecosystems. While MPAs do not prevent extreme events, such as marine heatwaves (FAQ3.2), they can provide marine plants and animals with a better chance to adapt to a changing climate. Current MPAs, however, are often too small, too poorly connected and too static to account for climate-induced shifts in the range of marine species. MPA networks that are large, connected, have adaptable boundaries and are designed following systematic analysis of future climate projections can better support climate resilience.

Habitat restoration and development in coastal systems can support biodiversity, protect communities from flooding and erosion, support the local economy and enhance the livelihoods and well-being of coastal peoples. Restoration of mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows provide effective ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and at the same time protect coasts from the impacts of storms and SLR. Active restoration techniques that target heat-resistant individuals or species are increasingly recommended for coral reefs and kelp forests, which are highly vulnerable to marine heatwaves and climate change.

Sustainable fishing is also seen as an NbS because managing marine commercial species within sustainable limits maximises the catch and food production, thus contributing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger). Currently, the oceans provide 17% of the animal protein eaten by the global population, but the contribution could be larger if fisheries were managed sustainably. Aquaculture, such as oyster farming, can be an efficient and sustainable means of food production and also provide additional benefits like shoreline protection. Through NbS that conserve and restore marine habitats and species, we can sustain marine biodiversity, respond to climate change and provide benefits to society.

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'''Figure FAQ3.5.1 |''' '''Contributions of nature-based solutions (NbS) in the oceans to the Sustainable Development Goals.''' The icons at the bottom show the Sustainable Development Goals to which NbS in the ocean possibly contribute.

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