Presentation Wilfried Rickels

Wilfried RickelsResettlement of seagrass meadows as acontribution to climate protection and marinebiodiversity – Analysis of costs and benefitsDigital Meeting of the Working Group of the Baltic SeaParliamentary Conference on Climate Protection andBiodiversityOctober,4th, 20211 October, 4th, 2021Global distribution of blue carbonsequestration: mangroves, salt marshes, andseagrass meadows2 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Aggregated blue carbon sequestration2 −1 −2 −1BCE Area km tCy km MtCySeagrass 317,828 138 43.9 [SE 12.1]Saltmarsh 54,662 245 13.4 [SE 1.4]Mangrove 137,682 174 24.0 [SE 3.2]Total 510,172 81.2 [SE 12.6]3 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Aggregated blue carbon sequestration2 −1 −2 −1BCE Area km tCy km MtCySeagrass 317,828 138 43.9[SE 12.1]Saltmarsh 54,662 245 13.4 [SE 1.4]Mangrove 137,682 174 24.0 [SE 3.2]Total 510,172 81.2 [SE12.6]4 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Blue carbon sequestration in Germany(Baltic and North Sea)2 −1 −2 −1BCE Area km tCy km MtCySeagrass 315.4 138 0.04[SE 0.01]Saltmarsh 203.1 245 0.05[SE 0.01]Total 518.5 0.09[SE 0.01]5 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Blue carbon sequestration in Germany(Baltic and North Sea)2 −1 −2 −1BCE Area km tCy km MtCySeagrass 315.4 138 0.04[SE 0.01]Saltmarsh 203.1 245 0.05[SE 0.01]Total 518.5 0.09[SE 0.01]6 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021But blue carbon ecosystems are not only aboutannual sequestration, but carbon storage−1 −2 −1BCE tCy km GtCySeagrass 11,000 3.5—5.0Saltmarsh 26,500 1.5—5.6mangrove 50,200 6.7—7.3Total 11.7—17.97 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021But blue carbon ecosystems are not only aboutannual sequestration, but carbon storage−1 −2 −1BCE tCy km GtCySeagrass 11,000 3.5—5.0Saltmarsh 26,500 1.5—5.6mangrove 50,200 6.7—7.3Total 11.7—17.98 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Baltic Health Index: Carbon Storage Goal9 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Change in European seagrass cover andrestoration costsRegion Total net change 1896—2016(in ha)Mediterran Sea -9,388Atlantic Ocean -19,696Baltic Sea -6,600Total -35,684de los Santos et al. (2019) Recent trend reversal for declining Europeanseagrassmeadows, Nature Communications, doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11340-4Rapid global losses are largely attributable to anthropogenic impacts,• mainly loss of water quality and coastal development and,• more recently, to extreme events, such as storms and marine heat waves10 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Change in European seagrass cover andrestoration costsRegion Total net change 1896—2016(in ha)Mediterran Sea -9,388Atlantic Ocean -19,696Baltic Sea -6,600Total -35,684de los Santos et al. (2019) Recent trend reversal for declining Europeanseagrassmeadows, Nature Communications, doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11340-411 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Change in European seagrass cover andrestoration costsRegion Total net change 1896—2016(in ha)Mediterran Sea -9,388Atlantic Ocean -19,696Baltic Sea -6,600Total -35,684de los Santos et al. (2019) Recent trend reversal for declining Europeanseagrassmeadows, Nature Communications, doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11340-4Transplanting seagrass (cores or plugs) : a cost range of 12,000-1,020,000 EUR/haBayraktarovet al. (2016) The cost and feasibility of marine coastal restoration, Ecological Applications 26(4): 1055-1074Restoring about 40 percent of loss in Baltic: 2640h => 32 Mio –2700 Mio EUR(thelatterfigurewouldbe0.08% ofGerman GDP)12 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Carbon Benefits of RestorationMarket-based versus wealth-based assessment• market-based, e.g., EU-ETS > 60 EUR/tCO2• wealth-based assessment, using the social cost of carbon (SCC) tomeasure avoided damage13 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Carbon WealthMarket-based versus wealth-based assessment• market-based, e.g., EU-ETS > 60 EUR/tCO2• wealth-based assessment, using the social cost of carbon (SCC) tomeasure avoided damage14 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Carbon WealthMarket-based versus wealth-based assessment• market-based, e.g., EU-ETS > 60 EUR/tCO2• wealth-based assessment, using the social cost of carbon (SCC) tomeasure avoided damageBertram, Quaas, Reusch, Vafeidis, Wolff, Rickels (2021) The blue carbon wealth of nations, Nature Climate Change 11: 704–709.15 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Carbon Wealth RedistributionGermany „receives“net blue carbonwealth fromabroad:1.13 bn USDBertram, Quaas, Reusch, Vafeidis, Wolff, Rickels (2021) The blue carbon wealth of nations, Nature Climate Change 11: 704–709.16 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Global Carbon Wealth• coastal ecosystems contribute a mean of US$190.67 (± 30) bn yr−1 toblue carbon wealth via carbon sequestration (Bertram et al. 2021).• However, the carbon sequestration is only responsible for less than 1percent of coastal ecosystem wealth contribution (Constanza et al.2014)• Biodiversity contribution• Coastal protection• ...Bertram, Quaas, Reusch, Vafeidis, Wolff, Rickels (2021) The blue carbon wealth of nations, Nature Climate Change 11: 704–709.Costanza, R. et al. Changes in the global value of ecosystem services. GlobelEnvironmental Change 26, 152–158 (2014). (2021).17 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Implications for restoration costs... in BCE restoration projects implemented for other purposes thancarbon sequestration, carbon removal cost are restricted to the cost ofmonitoring carbon removal, implying that costs could be as low as0.75 and 4 USD/tCO2, for tidal wetlands and seagrass meadows,respectively (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, andMedicine 2019)....however, BCE restoration targeting at carbon sequestration only, andaccounting for associated non-CO2-emissions, in particular CH4, areestimated to have cost of 491 USD/tCO2 and 560 USD/tCO2 for coastalwetlands and mangrove restoration, respectively (Taillardat et al.2020).National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2019). Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration:A Research Agenda.Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/25259Taillardatet al. (2020) Climate change mitigation potential of wetlands and the cost-effectiveness of their restoration, Interface Focus, doi:10.1098/rsfs.2019.0129.102019012920190129.18 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Conclusions for seagrass restoration... assessment of seagrass restoration with the only focus on carbonsequestrating will probably not satisfy a cost-benefit test... if decision-makers consider the full range of services provided byseagrass beds, including cleaner water, coastal protection, increasedbiodiversity, and secure fisheries yields, seagrass bed restoration willbe a beneficial investment....incentives for seagrass restoration should not be based on themarginal carbon sequestration (which is suitable for other removaloptions, Rickels et al. 2021), but be based on good environmentalstatus of seagrass meadows...however, needs to be embedded into marine and maritime strategyto mitigate also other stressors (e.g., eutrophication).Rickels et al. (2021) Integrating Carbon Dioxide Removal Into European Emissions Trading, Frontiers in Climate 3, doi:10.3389/fclim.2021.69002319 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Comprehensive assessment of ocean health20 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Comprehensive assessment of EU SDG1421 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Comprehensive assessment of EU SDG1422 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Comprehensive assessment of EU SDG1423 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Comprehensive assessment of Baltic health24 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Future research: SeaStore – Diversityenhancement through seagrass restorationThe Federal Ministry of Education and Research(BMBF) is supporting the research anddevelopment project SeaStore, a pilot projectfor the restoration of seagrass meadows on theGerman Baltic coast.SeaStore would like to create the scientific basisfor a robust and scientifically sound restorationof seagrass meadows at two locations on theGerman Baltic Sea coast.Contribution of the IfW:= economic evaluation of the costs and benefitsof seagrass restoration activities.= analysis of acceptance and perception ofseagrass restoration.25 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021Anhang26 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021LULUFCF SektorBöttcher, H, C Zell-Zieger, A Herold, A Siemons (2019) EU LULUCF Regulation explained:Summary of core provisions and expected effects, Öko-Institut e.V., Berlin27 Blue Carbon Enhancement—Costand Benefits October, 4th, 2021