IORA Blue Carbon Hub Think Tank - Nature-based Solutions for Coastal Risk Reduction

‘Blue carbon ecosystems’, including mangroves, seagrasses and tidal marshes, play a significant role in the marine carbon cycle, support food security and livelihoods, as well as contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Effective management of these ecosystems permits multiple development goals to be covered through a single policy framework that integrates economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness.

 

Time: 07:00 - 12:00 South African Standard timer (SAST); 1100 - 16:00 Bangladesh Standard time (BST); 15:00 - 20:00 Australian Eastern Standard time (AEST).

To address this important topic, the IORA Blue Carbon Hub and the Bangladesh Institute for Water Modelling propose to hold a conference on Nature-based Solutions for Coastal Risk Reduction to provide IORA Member States with an opportunity to learn more about the potential to integrate coastal risk reduction with actions to mitigate climate change through harnessing coastal ecosystems.

The objectives of the IORA Blue Carbon Hub’s disaster risk reduction ‘think tank’ are:

• to convene experts to present on the potential, challenges and successes of using blue carbon ecosystems for coastal protection
• to provide an opportunity for IORA Member States to participate in discussions and build awareness and capacity in coastal protection in IORA
• to provide a forum to discuss best practice in using and monitoring coastal ecosystems for disaster risk reduction in IORA Member States
• to encourage IORA Member States to think about practical extensions of the options discussed in their unique contexts.
• to exchange information about and policy frameworks to support protection and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems
• to identify critical knowledge gaps that currently impede effective implementation of solutions, for subsequent collaborative efforts across IORA

It is hoped that the workshop will address current challenges and impediments with using mangroves and other coastal ecosystems as a nature-based solution for coastal defence, synthesise the knowledge that currently exists, develop a roadmap outlining how we can combine existing knowledge with new information in order to improve policy advice, and generate the plan of research needed to fill critical gaps.

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