Date: 02/12/2019 – 13/12/2019
Venue: IFEMA – Feria de Madrid, Avda. del Partenón, 5 28042 Madrid, Spain

With the focus of this year’s COP25 on ensuring countries’ climate pledges will reflect the speed, scale and ambition needed to keep the global temperature between 1.5-2°C above pre-industrial levels, Wetlands International is highlighting the valuable role of peatlands, permafrost land use and nature-based solutions in national climate plans.

After a trio of scientific reports this year on land use, the cryosphere and biodiversity, we will be contributing to the COP25 by sharing knowledge and experience on peatlands conservation, restoration and management, land use change in relation to permafrost and ways of ‘building with nature’, in collaboration with our networks and partners. Read on to find out more. Please come and join us if you are in Madrid.

Tuesday 3 December

Mangroves, the NDC Booster: Mangrove Conservation and Restoration to Increase Ambition in Nationally Determined Contributions

18:00 – 19:30, WWF Pavilion

The aims of this event are to a) continue to build momentum for countries to consider including mangroves in their revised NDCs; b) highlight the ways that mangrove ecosystems and their conservation and restoration can contribute to achieving internationally agreed goals, especially those of climate adaptation and mitigation and c) Provide policymakers and non-state actors with best practices and tools to inform mangrove conservation efforts and concrete examples of how mangroves can be integrated into more ambitious NDCs and adaptation planning. As part of the Global Mangrove Alliance, we are supporting the development of this event.

Friday 6 December

Mobilising research institutions & universities for climate action

14:00-16:00, Capacity Building Hub

As part of the Capacity-building Knowledge to Action Days at the Capacity Building Hub at UNFCCC, Jorge Alberto Ruiz Ordoñez, national coordinator, Wetlands International Guatemala, will present a unique DRR academic platform, the Inter-University Platform for Disaster Risk Management (Spanish acronym InterU-GRD). As a member of Partners for Resilience, Wetlands International Guatemala is helping InterU-GRD to develop knowledge on disaster risk management, strengthen the national policies and practices and protect the most vulnerable societies. See the full agenda here.

Saturday 7 December

Building with Nature: Nature-Based Solutions to Restore Coastal Protection

2:00 PM (Philippine Standard Time or GMT + 8)
Virtual Blue COP25 Live streaming (access here through YouTube)

Wetlands International Philippines will contribute to Virtual Blue COP25, organised by Ocean Knowledge Action Network of Future Earth. The webinar, led by Head of Office Wetlands International Asia Pacific, Annadel Cabanban, aims to highlight the threat of climate change in the coastal zone, in Indonesia and the Philippines, and will discuss the restoration of mangrove forests to restore protective functions. Annadel will discuss how ‘building with nature’ is being used as a nature-based solution for addressing coastal flooding in the Philippines.

Monday 9 December

Averting the climate and biodiversity crises: natural solutions pivotal in delivering NDC ambitions

15:00—16:30, Room 1

Peatlands, mangroves, swamps, marshes and other wetland ecosystems retain massive carbon stocks and improve resilience. Biodiversity underpins carbon storage and sequestration. Harnessing and mapping linkages between nature-rich and carbon-rich areas will help catalyse higher ambition for NDCs.

Conveners: Wetlands International, Ramsar Convention, BirdLife International, IUCN, Point Blue Conservation Science, Government of the People’s Republic of China, SDSN, RSPB, AGWA, GIZ, Global Peat Initiative, UN Environment.

Tuesday 10 December

Realities of cryosphere changes and risks for people

15:00—16:30, Room 4

Cryosphere changes (glaciers, ice sheets, snow, sea ice, permafrost) pose serious risks for people. Russian scientists will present changes they observe and will discuss key scientific outcomes of the Lake Vostok drilling in the Antarctic.

Conveners: Stanislav Kutuzov, Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Lipenkov, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of Roshydromet, Wetlands International.