UNFCCC COP24
In a world where climate change has become an undeniable reality, conservation of wetlands has become a mandate for building resilience, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and maintaining peace and security. We have gathered our years of knowledge and experience and will present it to participants of the 24th edition of the United Nations Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) Summit in Katowice, Poland to make an urgent call to safeguard and restore wetlands for people and nature.
See the full list of the events we are organising, speaking at or attending. Join us online and at the event to accentuate our endeavour for safeguarding wetlands.
4 December, Tuesday
Shocks and Stressors: Water’s essential role in addressing climate change, DRR and human mobility
Time: 11:30-13:00
Venue: Room Warmia
Organisers: Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), World Water Council, Deltares, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Wetlands International, GIZ, UN High Level Experts Panel on Water and Disasters.
Overview: Climate change has a profound influence on Disaster Risk Reduction and recovery efforts. Yet, the DRR and climate communities remain divided. The event will discuss how water can serve as a mechanism to find common ground and take action to confront new threats and reduce long-term risks. Karounga Keita from Wetlands International Mali will share firsthand experiences, lessons and best practices from Mali.
Read the white paper on Water, DRR and CCA published on Global Water Forum website.
Find the invitation flyer for this event here.
Displacement, human mobility and climate change: from recognition to action
Time: 15:00-16:30
Venue: Room Pieniny
Organisers: Norwegian Refugee Council
Overview: The event will focus on progress since Paris to better address climate-related displacement. This includes work under the UNFCCC, including the WIM Task Force on Displacement, synergies with other policy processes outside UNFCCC, and how to go from global commitments to action on the ground. The event will also provide an update on data and new research related to human mobility. Karounga Keita from Wetlands International Mali will contribute on the topic ‘Wetlands and Human migration in the Sahel’.
See the full list of recommendations of this event here.
5 December, Wednesday
The need for a coordinated global mangrove conservation agenda: How do we get there?
Time: 11:45-12:30
Venue: WWF Pavilion
Organisers: The Global Mangrove Alliance
Overview: If harnessed, the carbon sequestration potential of wetlands will consist of 14% of the mitigation potential from natural ecosystems and 19% of low-cost natural climate solutions. The Global Mangrove Alliance will focus on the science and economics of natural climate solutions, with an emphasis on mangroves and stress further on the mitigation potential of nature. Susanna Tol from Wetlands International will contribute to the discussion by sharing best practices of mangrove restoration: planting versus natural mangrove regeneration with special focus on experiences from the Building with Nature Indonesia programme.
Find the invitation flyer here.
6 December, Thursday
The trace of haze: Peat fires as local and global challenges
Time: 15:30-17:00
Venue: German Pavilion
Organisers: UN Environment and Greifswald Mire Centre (co-hosted by the German Government)
Overview: This event harbours the much-needed discussion on the root causes and consequences of peat fires and approaches from different parts of the world to address them. The panelists will include Andrey Sirin, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Federation, Representative from the Republic of Indonesia, Wiktor Kotowski, University of Warsaw, Poland/Wetlands International-European Association, Prof. Hans Joosten, Greifswald Mire Centre, Germany, Mark Reed, Lead Researcher, IUCK-UK Peatlands Programme.
Find the invitation flyer here.
Creating space for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and infrastructure in a rapidly changing world
Time: 18:00-20:00
Venue: WWF Pavilion
Organisers: WWF/GIZ
Overview: The event aims to help guide the development of a new, simplified framework for how countries use best available climate and ecosystem services science at the earliest possible stages of economic development planning. It will inform NDCs, the CBD, SDGs, Sendai targets, and future private sector investment in the infrastructure sector. Wetlands International has introduced Ecoshape to the panel to add insights based on Building with Nature approach with public-private partnership and designing guidelines.
Find the invitation flyer for this event here.
7 December, Friday
Towards a joint peatland declaration: Synergies of MEAs to reverse the trend on peatland degradation
Time: 09:30-11:00
Venue: The Rio Conventions Pavilion, hosted by GEF Partnership Pavilion in the Exhibits area, next to the UNFCCC Momentum for Change Pavilion
Organisers: Global Peatland Initiative, UN Environment, Wetlands International
Overview: The aim of the event is to- 1) introduce the idea to develop a joint declaration among relevant MEAs, with the aim to strengthen cooperation and utilise synergies for the conservation, restoration and wise use of peatlands, 2) demonstrate commitment by conventions (secretariats), contracting parties and leading international organisations to develop and support the implementation of a common declaration, 3) identify priorities and a process towards a joint declaration and identify interested parties to take part in the further development of the declaration and its implementation.
Find the invitation flyer here.
Getting to the point – the relevance of wetland ecosystems for advancing NDC ambition
Time: 14.00-14.45
Venue: German Pavilion
Organisers: GIZ (hosted by BMZ)
Overview: The panel at this short event will highlight the relevance of wetland ecosystems for both climate change adaptation and mitigation, while addressing their importance for increasing NDC ambitions. Arthur Neher from Wetlands International will present our analysis of peatlands through the NDCs of peat-rich countries and put forward our recommendations for strengthening national climate policies.
Nature based approaches for climate resilient infrastructure
Time: 14:30 – 16:00
Venue: Rio Conventions Pavilion
Organisers: WWF/GIZ
Overview: Building on discussions held at the recent Convention on Biological Diversity COP 14 in Sharm El Sheik, this event will focus on illustrations of how various natural and nature-based features are being employed to build climate resiliency into infrastructure investments. Key questions for discussion will include: 1) How can maintaining healthy ecosystems – such as forests, wetlands, or coral reefs – provide valuable and cost-effective climate resiliency benefits as a complement or alternative to engineered infrastructure? 2) What principles are emerging for planning ecologically sustainable and climate resilient engineered infrastructure, including through hybrid approaches incorporating the conservation or rehabilitation of ecosystems?
Find the invitation flyer for this event here.
8 December, Saturday
Development & Climate Days: How can we build resilience in fragile and conflict-affected contexts in a way that promotes stability and peace?
Time: 11:30-13:00
Venue: Hotel Diament Arsenal Palace, Katowice
Organisers: Global Resilience Partnership, Red Cross Climate Centre and Wetlands International
Overview: The event aims to improve our understanding of how building resilience to climate volatility and environmental degradation can help promote stability and peace and reduce the risk of fragile and vulnerable states from slipping into a cascade of instability and conflict. Karounga Keita from Wetlands International Mali will elaborate on this based on his experience from Mali with a focus on the role of wetlands in this context.
See the full details of Development and Climate Days here.
Putting communities at the forefront of climate action
Time: 15.00 – 16.30
Venue: Benelux Pavilion
Organisers: Partners for Resilience
Overview: The event will present the Partners for Resilience (PfR) perspectives on the unifying approach of Integrated Risk Management (IRM)- a combination of Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction and Ecosystem Management and Restoration. In the ten countries where PfR has implemented IRM since 2011, the programme has increased the resilience of the most vulnerable people. Karounga Keita from Wetlands International Mali will share the experience of how PfR Mali works on safeguarding wetlands and their ecosystem services in the Inner Niger Delta to enable vulnerable communities to sustain their livelihoods in an increasingly water scarce region.
Find the invitation flyer here.
Water Shocks: the role of wetlands in climate resilience and human security
Time: 17.00-17.45
Venue: Global Climate Action Hub
Organiser: Wetlands International
Overview: With this event, we aim to provide insights into the relationship between wetlands, resilience and human security and to stress on this as an important reason to safeguard and restore wetlands. In addition, the event aspires to discuss possible approaches to ensure wetlands’ contribution to peace. Speaker: Jane Madgwick, with an interactive discussion with the audience.
10 December, Monday
Global Climate Action roundtable on resilience: Scaling up investments in climate resilience to meet the needs of vulnerable people
Time: 13.15 -14.45
Venue: Climate action room 2
Organisers: The Climate Resilience Network: A2R, GRP, UN-E, FAO, WB, GFDRR, IFRC, IUCN, Wetlands International, BSR, ICF, Willis Towers Watson, IDF, MCII, GARI, NAACP, CJRF, UNFCCC, IIED, Munich Climate Insurance Initiative, ICLEI, SwedBio and the Lightsmith Group.
Overview: The event will discuss how we can scale up the public, private and blended finance for climate resilience to meet the needs of most vulnerable people and countries. Jane Madgwick will contribute on behalf of Wetlands International, reflect on what she has heard from speakers and bridge the gaps.
[Download not found] [Download not found]Peatland restoration monitoring
Time: 16.10-17.30
Venue: Indonesia Pavilion
Organisers: Government of Indonesia
Overview: Reza Lubis from Wetlands International Indonesia will share the monitoring experience from our peatland restoration work in several tropical peatlands in Indonesia, with a focus on the paludiculture approach as the only adaptive solution on peatlands agriculture. He will also promote the Paludiculture Forum which will be launched early next year.
11 December, Tuesday
Food – Peatlands – Climate: Understanding the connection to save peatlands
Time: 12.00-14.00
Venue: Greenpeace Climate hub at club ‘Królestwo’, just opposite of the COP venue
Organiser: Greifswald Mire Centre and Centrum Ochrony Mokradeł (a Polish member of Wetlands International European Association)
Overview: In this session, Hans Joosten (GMC) and Wiktor Kotowski (COM) will be sharing their knowledge and expertise with the audience. Tatiana Minayeva will represent Wetlands International in a panel and elaborate on how we are working in Indonesia, Mongolia, Russian Arctic and Temporal zone to combat climate change through improved wetlands management and restoration.
12 December, Wednesday
Raising the bar on nature-based solutions in NDCs
Time: 15:00-16:30
Venue: Room bug
Organisers: IUCN, Rare, Wetlands International, The Nature Conservancy and Wildlife Conservation Society
Overview: This event will take stock of ecosystem-based mitigation and adaptation measures within current NDCs and present key recommendations to help strengthen these nature-based solutions further in the next round of NDCs. On behalf of Wetlands International, Tatiana Minayeva presents an analysis on peatlands across NDCs and puts forward recommendations to enhance NDCs with targets and milestones on peatlands.