GUIDE TO INCLUDING NATURE
IN NATIONALLY DETERMINEDCONTRIBUTIONS
A checklist of information and accounting
approaches for natural climate solutions© Kyle Obermann

GUIDE TO INCLUDING NATURE IN
NATIONALLY DETERMINEDCONTRIBUTIONS
A checklist of information and accounting approaches for natural climate solutions
September 2019

Contributing authors: Erin Beasley (CI), Lisa Schindler Murray (TNC), Jason Funk (LUCKI), Breanna Lujan (EDF),
Kiryssa Kasprzyk (NWF), David Burns (NWF)
Acknowledgements: We wish to express our appreciation to the following individuals for their inputs, feedback andreview: Maggie Comstock (CI), Diana Movius (Climate Advisers), John Verdieck (TNC), Peter Graham (Climate
Advisers), Stephanie Wang (WCS), Nicole Desantis (UNDP), Carly Shonbrun-Siege (CI), and Sarah Bryan (TNC)TABLE OF CONTENTS

01
SUMMARY FOR POLICY MAKERS

03
THE IMPORTANCE OF INCLUDING NATURE
IN NDCS

05
A CHECKLIST OF INFORMATION AND
ACCOUNTING APPROACHES FOR NATURE

09
SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR
FORESTS

12
SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS FORAGRICULTURE AND GRASSLANDS

15
SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR
COASTAL WETLANDS

18
SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR
CROSS-SECTORAL APPROACHES

19
to Including Nature
in NDCs
ANNEX:Guide
KEY RESOURCES,GUIDELINES
AND METHODOLOGIES

1

SUMMARY FORPOLICYMAKERS
Key messages for action
Parties to the Paris Agreement should use theguidance on NDCs provided by the UNFCCC
Katowice Climate Change Package, 1 or “Paris
Rulebook,” to consider climate action across all NDC
sectors. The Rulebook lays out requirements of
information and accounting approaches for NDCs.
Parties should specifically consider opportunities toincrease their climate ambition through natural
climate solutions by updating or adding detailed
targets, policies and/or measures, or improving theinformation used in their NDC.
Parties may integrate existing efforts related tonatural climate solutions from other national
commitments. These commitments on conservation,
biodiversity, sustainable development, restoration,and more may be used to strengthen the information
provided in the NDC.
This guide provides options to build from andenhance the NDC throughout the revision cycles ina way that is consistent with guidance andcategories for activities previously developed
through the UNFCCC. It is not required to address
the entirety of the checklist shared in this guide
before including natural climate solutions in an NDC.

What are natural climate solutions?
Natural climate solutions are activities that
increase climate change mitigation from natureand may include the adaptation benefits of these
activities. In this guide, “natural climate solutions” areinterchangeable with terms like nature-based
solutions,2 the land sector, and the agriculture,
forestry and other land use sector (AFOLU),3 to theextent that they refer to the mitigation efforts
associated with these sectors. Nature-based
solutions also deliver strong results for adaptation
and resilience which are not detailed here.

Enhanced ambition from countries is urgently neededto achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement as well as
the ultimate goal of the UNFCCC. Climate action fromnature, or natural climate solutions, 4 including
forests, agriculture, grasslands, and coastal
wetlands, 5 has the potential to provide over onethird of global reductions of greenhouse gas
emissions, 6 ensure the integrity of ecosystems andecosystem services and contribute key adaptation
benefits. Currently, these natural climate solutions
are underrepresented in countries’ existing Nationally
Determined Contributions (NDCs). To harness thispotential and enhance ambition, NDCs should fully
integrate natural climate solutions so that theseimportant climate actions may be prioritized for
implementation and support.

2 3

1 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 2019. https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-

agreement/paris-agreement-work-programme/katowice-climate-package
2 Nature-based solutions are defined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as “actions to protect,sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively,
simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.”
3 AFOLU refers to “agriculture, forestry, and other land use” as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change inthe 2006 guidelines for greenhouse gas inventories.
4 See examples of natural climate solutions in the list below.
5 This includes coastal, mangroves and peatland ecosystems. This guide does not focus on freshwater wetlands.
6 Griscom, B. W., et al. (2017). Natural climate solutions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114 (44), 11645-11650.

Guide to Including Nature in NDCs

1

WHAT’S IN THIS GUIDEChecklist of what to include in the NDC. A
checklist of information and accounting ismeant to serve as a tool for national-level
decision-makers to fully consider nature as apart of their NDC.

Recommendations for specific categories
of natural climate solutions. Considerations
specific to climate actions in forests,
agriculture, grasslands, coastal wetlands,
and cross-sectoral approaches.

National case studies. Short descriptions ofcountry experiences highlight examples forincluding natural climate solutions in NDCs.

Resource annex. Additional resources andmethodologies to consider when revising
NDCs to incorporate natural climate
solutions. 7

Examples of natural climate solutions:7
Reforestation

Restoration of mangroves and coastal ecosystems

Avoided deforestation or degradation

Peatland restoration

Natural forest management

Avoided degradation, including mangroves andSustainable forest management

peatlands

Reducing drivers of deforestation

BiocharConservation and protected areas

Cropland nutrient management

Improved forest plantations

Conservation agriculture

Avoided woodfuel harvest

Trees in croplands (eg. agroforestry, windbreaks)

Fire management

Improved grazing management (eg. silvopasture)

Restoration of degraded lands

7 Adapted from Griscom, et al. (2017). Natural climate solutions.

Guide to Including Nature in NDCs

2

THE IMPORTANCE OF INCLUDING
NATURE IN NDCS
Under Article 4 of the Paris Agreement on climate change,
signatory countries (Parties) are committed to developing
and regularly updating their own NDCs towards theachieving collective goals for addressing climate change.
The first intended NDCs (INDCs) were submitted in 2015,
before the full terms and rules of the Agreement had been
finalized. Subsequently, Parties agreed to develop
additional guidance about what information the NDCs
should include. 8 The Paris Agreement calls for a revised orrecommunicated
NDC
beforethepost-2020
implementation period, and in light of the additional
guidance in the Paris Rulebook and other developments,
many Parties now find it worthwhile to revise their original
NDCs with this guidance in order to demonstrateenhanced ambition.

The revision of NDCs is an opportunity to update plans
based on new scientific and best-practice guidance (suchas the IPCC 2006 guidelines and relevant supplements
such as on wetlands), include a wider scope of mitigation
activities, and add details about policies, actions andmeasures. Article 5 of the Paris Agreement highlights theimportance of forests and other natural ecosystems toachieve the global goals on climate, and after the Paris
Agreement was signed in 2015, scientific understanding
has deepened about the role that nature has in climate
mitigation and adaptation. Research shows that natural
climate solutions, sometimes referred to as land sector
activities or nature-based solutions, could deliver morethan one-third of the climate mitigation needed by midcentury and keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius. 9 Thissignificant potential has been under-recognized by most

8 UNFCCC Decision 4/CMA.1 including Annex 1. Retrieved from: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2018_03a01E.pdf
9 Griscom, B. W., et al. (2017). Natural climate solutions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114 (44), 11645-11650.

Guide to Including Nature in NDCs

3

Parties: only a few NDCs contain sufficient detail about therole of the land sector 10 in spite of the fact that a majority
of countries reference the land sector in broad terms. 11

guidelines), can be used to support policy goals for nature
in Parties’ NDCs in a way that is entirely consistent with
their historical inventory reporting.

The set of natural climate solutions outlined by Griscom etal. 12 includes several land-use types already used byParties in their emissions inventories and national
communications to the UNFCCC: forests, croplands,
grasslands, wetlands, and others. Parties can incorporate
these activities in their NDCs while still using the traditional
categories and guidance that have been developed for
the UNFCCC 13. This ensures that Parties can maintainconsistency with past reporting and policy efforts without
needing to create new systems or request additional
guidance from the IPCC. The most recent guidance fromthe IPCC, the 2006 Guidelines on National Greenhouse
Gas Inventories (and the 2019 Refinement to these

The relevance of the existing guidance and the potential
contribution from natural climate solutions may not havebeen fully recognized by many Parties. This document
synthesizes the current state of understanding to raiseawareness and pave the way for Parties to consider using
nature in revised NDCs. This guide is a quick reference tothe resources available to countries as they consider how
to utilize natural climate solutions to achieve their climate
goals. The rest of this document recommends all theissues that a Party will need to consider and to indicate
where Parties can find further detail about how to proceed
once they have considered these issues.

10 Petersen, K., Braña Varela, J. (2015). NDC analysis: an overview of the forest sector. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). 1-10.

http://d2ouvy59p0dg6k.cloudfront.net/downloads/r2_wwf_indc_brief.pdf
11 Strohmaier, R., et al. (2016). The agriculture sectors in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions: analysis. Environment andNatural Resources Management Working Paper, (62). Retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5687e.pdf
12Griscom, et al. (2017). Natural climate solutions. PNAS.
13 Some activities from Griscom et al. address the conversion from one land-use category to another, such as the avoided conversion offorest or other native habitat to agricultural use. Other activities can occur within a land-use category, via resource and production
management, for example employing natural forest management and nutrient management in agriculture.

Guide to Including Nature in NDCs

4

A CHECKLIST OF INFORMATION FOR
NATURE IN NDCSThe Paris Rulebook guidance on the information and accounting approaches for NDCs applies to all sectors, including actions
from natural climate solutions, and is summarized below in Box 1. This checklist includes independent recommendations
prepared by the authors which apply to all categories of natural climate solutions within an NDC. More detailed
considerations are presented in later sections for climate action from forests, agriculture and grasslands, coastal wetlands,
and cross-sectoral approaches.
■

Consider natural climate solutions across thefollowing categories. * These should be considered
to integrate nature in an NDC:
- Forests- Agriculture & grasslands- Coastal wetlands- Cross-sectoral approaches such as natural
climate solutions combined with infrastructure,energy, transportation or other sectors* See specific considerations for each category
starting on page 9.

■

Communicate sector-specific reference points,
when applicable. These reference points should beconsistent with the national greenhouse gas
inventory.

■

Use conditionality to increase ambition or signal
support needed. Developing countries may consider
using conditional targets to increase the ambition of
their NDC, to signal readiness, or to indicate support
needed, for example, for natural climate solutions.
Conditionality is not explicitly defined in the Paris
Agreement, but some countries elect to utilize thisapproach. For example, some countries haveindicated that higher ambition from REDD+ would bepossible if financial or technical support is provided.

■

Explain long-term efforts. Many natural climate
solutions may involve time frames that are longer thanthe NDC implementation period in order to maintain orreach their full climate benefit. 14 These long-term
efforts, such as investments in conservation or
restoration, could be included, and countries shouldnote in the NDC how these long-term efforts are also
taken into account in the greenhouse gas inventory.

■ Describe how natural climate solutions fit into the
NDC. Opportunities for specific climate actions fromnature vary by ecosystem type, geography, andcountry. Parties can note their reasons for including
nature in their NDC and describe the relevance ofincluding these activities. These reasons could
include:- Maintaining the most updated data
- Expanding to all sources of emissions and sinks- Ensuring accurate inventory information- Enhancing ambition- Reflecting national priorities

14 For example, countries may have efforts underway for restoration or forest management that occur over several decades. These long-term efforts in the land sector can still be reflected as ongoing efforts within a five-year NDC.

Guide to Including Nature in NDCs

5

■

■

■

Use IPCC guidelines to define emissions
categories. 15 According to the UNFCCC guidance,
any relevant categories of emissions without IPCC
guidelines should be defined within the NDC. There is
flexibility in the Paris Rulebook for countries to use a
stepwise approach to increase accuracy in future
NDCs, with the understanding that Parties should
strive toward complete coverage and that once
categories are included, their inclusion should becontinued. Sufficient information should be provided
to reconstruct any country-specific methodologies.
Prepare sector-specific targets for nature. Targets
for climate action within an NDC may be sector
specific and should include information on therelevant gases from that sector. The types of targets
for natural climate solutions can be the same as forother sectors (see Box 2.) 16 Targets for natural climate
solutions should consider relevant time frames foremissions and removals occurring from human activity(e.g. peatland conversion).
Show consistency between the NDC and GHG
inventory. The UNFCCC guidance on NDCs indicatesthat any differences of definitions or categories
between the NDC and GHG inventory should be
explained in the NDC. For example, if the inventory
uses a managed lands approach for forests, then theactivities or targets within the NDC should beconsistent with that approach. 17 According to the Paris
Rulebook, if these two documents are not consistent,
this should be explained in the NDC.

Box 1. Information and accounting
guidance agreed by the UNFCCC 18
When updating or preparing future NDCs, countries
should look to agreed guidance on the information andaccounting that should be included in NDCs for all sectors,
including nature. Key topics covered by this guidance
include:Information
Reference point
Period of implementation
Scope and coverage
Planning processes
Assumptions and methodologies
AmbitionContribution towards global goals of the Paris Agreement
Accounting
Approaches & metrics assessed by IPCC
Consistency between NDC communication &implementation
Inclusion of all categories of emissions and removals
Explanations of any excluded emissions

Box 2. Types of NDC targets 19
Reduction relative to business as usual, or baseline
scenario target
Base year emissions target
Fixed level target
Intensity target
Trajectory/Peak target
Non-greenhouse gas (GHG) targets, action-basedtargets, mitigation policies and measures

15 See Annex for a list of relevant guidelines.
16 Fransen, T., et al. (2017). Enhancing NDCs by 2020: Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. Retrieved from:https://www.wri.org/publication/ndc-enhancement-by-2020
17 Eggleston, S. (2010). Revisiting the use of managed land as a proxy for estimating national anthropogenic emissions and removals. In
IPCC's Task Force on Inventories expert meeting, Aguila (Vol. 29, No. 11). Retrieved from: https://www.ipccnggip.iges.or.jp/public/mtdocs/pdfiles/0905_MLP_Report.pdf
18 Summarized for brevity following Annex I and Annex II of UNFCCC decision 4/CMA.1
19 Each of these targets is further described in Levin, K., et al. (2015). Designing and preparing Intended Nationally Determined
Contributions (INDCs). WRI/ UNDP. Retrieved from: http://mitigationpartnership.net/sites/default/files/indcs_may27_v2.pdf

Guide to Including Nature in NDCs

6

■Highlight planning processes that include nature.
Parties may use their NDC to provide information andbuild from planning processes relevant to climate
action. Many activities from nature may already be
included in these plans. We recommend that the NDC
be consistent with other national documents, such as
REDD+ strategies, monitoring and safeguards, or theForest Reference Emission Level/Forest Reference
Level (FREL/FRL), and cross-reference them. Policies
and planning processes that support decreased
emissions or enhanced sinks from forests, agriculture
and grasslands, coastal wetlands, or other sectors,
broadly include:- Sustainable development plans- Low-carbon development strategies- Land use planning- Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA)- National Adaptation Plan (NAP)- REDD+- National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan
(NBSAP)- Conservation strategies- Bonn Challenge commitments- National mangrove plans- Hydrological or watershed management
strategies- Marine spatial planning■

Describe participation. Identify key stakeholders or
consultation processes related to planning for climate
action from natural climate solutions in forests,
agriculture and grasslands, coastal wetlands or crosssectoral approaches. Cross-ministerial coordinationand information-sharing is needed to ensure thatnatural climate solutions achieved through crosssectoral approaches, such as infrastructure, arereflected in the NDC. Key stakeholders could include:- National ministries, departments, andcoordinating bodies (For example: Environment,
Forests, Climate Change, Agriculture/Livestock,
Fisheries, Planning, Economy, Finance)- Sub-national and local governments- Academic and research institutions- Private sector platforms- Sector-specific platforms such as for REDD+- Civil society organizations, nongovernmentalorganizations- Smallholder farmers- Historically marginalized populations- Women, youth- Indigenous peoples and local communities- International development partners

Box 3. A rights-based approach to consultation
As part of the recommended planning processes in the checklist, countries should follow best practices and national
legislation for consultation. Some countries have adopted Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization
which includes the right to consultation. Best practice for natural climate solutions also recognizes the principle ofFree, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), which refers to the right of local communities and indigenous peoples to giveor withhold their consent for any action that would affect their lands, territories or rights.
Consultation is an important part of planning processes to promote the effective participation of diverse stakeholders
in the prioritization of natural climate solutions.
Modified from Conservation International. (2019). Free, prior and informed consent in context. Retrieved from:https://www.conservation.org/projects/free-prior-and-informed-consent-in-context

Guide to Including Nature in NDCs

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A CHECKLIST OF ACCOUNTING FOR
NATURE IN NDCS■

Include all sectors from previous NDCs. Following
the UNFCCC guidance on NDCs, once a sector or
activity is added, it should remain in future NDCs.

■

Address all relevant greenhouse gases. Based on theaccounting guidance for NDCs, countries should
account for emissions reductions from natural climate
solutions in alignment with IPCC guidelines20, andthey should account for anthropogenic emissions andremovals of all relevant greenhouse gases,
independently of each other. Relevant gases fornatural climate solutions include carbon dioxide(CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).

■

Use the IPCC guidelines. If a country is using
approaches to account for land-sector emissions
other than those agreed by the IPCC, theseapproaches should be noted in the NDC. Further
resources on accounting approaches for eachcategory of natural climate solutions are included in
the Annex of this document.

■

Maintain reporting clarity. For clarity in reporting, we
recommend that Parties use the NDC to explain any
inconsistencies in estimating sources and sinks fromnatural climate solutions between the NDC,
greenhouse gas inventory, and NDC implementation.
Note accounting approaches used for any specificcategory of emissions, especially if they differ from the
IPCC guidelines.

Connections to other parts of the Paris Agreement
This document focuses on the information needed to incorporate nature into NDCs and does not go into detail on other partsof the Paris Agreement such as transparency, adaptation communications or cooperative approaches. These other topics arealso relevant to natural climate solutions as a pathway to increased action on climate change. For example, within thetransparency framework an understanding of the biennial transparency reports (BTRs) should inform the integration of nature
into national climate planning and NDCs. Further, while not required in the NDC, we recommend that countries consider ways
to track progress that comprehensively match the sectors and activities described in the NDC. This will aid in the preparationof the BTRs. Further, the national climate planning process will benefit from the creation of strong institutional linkages
between the accounting information of an NDC and the BTR process/system. Other resources are available and forthcomingon these valuable topics. 21

20 Countries may find it useful to prioritize their emissions categories using a Key Categories analysis. Detailed instructions for Key
Categories analysis can be found in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories, Vol. 1, Chapter 4.
21 Herold, A., Böttcher, H. (2018). Accounting of the land-use sector in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris
Agreement. GIZ GmbH. Retrieved from: https://www.transparencypartnership.net/system/files/document/Guide%20Accounting%20of%20land-use%20sector%20in%20NDCs%28vf%29_20181010.pdf

Guide to Including Nature in NDCs

8

FORESTSWhy are forests relevant to NDCs?
Forests play a lead role in the terrestrial component of the
global climate system. Nearly 4 billion hectares of forestworldwide are constantly exchanging carbon with theatmosphere, with as much as 25% of annual carbon
emissions absorbed by forests every year. 22 They
represent an astonishing reservoir of carbon, currently
holding over 1200 gigatons of carbon 23 – a figure that
increases by several gigatons every year. If all this carbon
were released, it would generate emissions more than ten
times greater than the remaining carbon budget to stay
below 1.5 degrees. 24
Incredibly, forests could do even more to mitigate climatechange. A recent estimate suggests that nearly anotherbillion hectares of forest could be added or restored
without jeopardizing food security 25 -- an effort that could

double the terrestrial sink through 2050. 26 Countries can
do a great deal to protect, expand, manage, and restore
forests to activate this potential, and including forestrelated activities in NDCs is an appropriate way toarticulate and potentially enhance this contribution to theglobal climate goals.
Unfortunately, forests are constantly threatened both by
deforestation as well as the impacts of climate change.
Climate change can increase the frequency and intensityof droughts, flood events, pest outbreaks, and wildfires -all of which can have devastating consequences forforests, releasing their stored stocks of carbon andtemporarily, or permanently, stalling their ability tosequester carbon from the atmosphere. 27 If these impacts
and actions are allowed to proceed unabated, they could
overwhelm efforts to reduce emissions in other sectors.
Thus, proper forest protection and management are
critical for climate action.

22 Pan, Y. et al. (2011). A large and persistent carbon sink in the world's forests. Science 333: 988-993. DOI: 10.1126/science.1201609.
23 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (2015). Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) 2015. How are theWorld’s Forests Changing? Rome: FAO. http://www.fao.org/forest-resourcesassessment/past-assessments/fra-2015/en/. 2nd ed.
24 IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). (2018). Special Report, Global Warming of 1.5° C (SR15).
25 Bastin, J. F., et al. (2019). The global tree restoration potential. Science, 365 (6448), 76-79.
26 Griscom, et al. (2017). Natural climate solutions. PNAS.
27 For an example of this, scientists now warn of a "tipping point" in the Amazon basin: a degree of deforestation at which the region will
no longer be able to generate its own rainfall and therefore cease to support rainforest ecosystems, as published in Viscidi, L., et al.
(2019). How to save the Amazon Rain Forest. In The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://nyti.ms/2YfQMpEGuide to Including Nature in NDCs

9

Human communities are indelible and fundamental to
many forest ecosystems. Indigenous and local
communities have sustainably managed forests forgenerations, in many cases with a sophisticatedunderstanding of the dynamics of the forest. This
understanding will be vital to ensure the ecological
functions of forests, even as their management andbiophysical conditions undergo changes. We recommendthat national policies, articulated in NDCs, should be
crafted in open consultation with the full range of forest
stakeholders and should reflect their input.

overall impact of HWP on emissions and sinks in thiscategory.
■

Measures planned or in progress to facilitate change
within specific forestry or conservation activities.
These measures are helpful to suggest how a country
will work towards its chosen goals. This could include
programs, initiatives, or incentives related to:- Reducing emissions from deforestation andforest degradation, and forest conservation,
sustainable management of forests, andenhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+),
including prevention of forest conversion to nonforest land uses (e.g., agriculture, mining,development, and other drivers of deforestation),
avoided forest degradation, avoided woodfuelharvest and/or selective logging, natural forest
management and conservation, and improved
forest plantations- Reforestation- Fire management- Increasing technical capacity and financial
support- Investments in research and monitoring systems- Assessing incentives for forest protection- Promoting natural regeneration■

Monitoring systems in place, including social andenvironmental safeguards.

Scientific evidence and practical experience have proventhe climate benefits of a wide variety of activities that canconserve existing forests, enhance forest carbon stocks,
and increase forest extent, making them readily applicable
to NDCs as part of countries’ mitigation contributions. In
most cases, these activities also deliver adaptation
benefits, as well as cross-cutting benefits for biodiversity
and communities.

Considerations specific to the inclusionof forests in NDCs■■

Sector-specific targets and goals for forests.
- The quantified methodology for recognizing
forest protection, conservation, or avoided
emissions.
- For countries who do not consider restoration
under REDD+, inclusion of restoration in the NDC
should be consistent with the accounting
approaches in the greenhouse gas inventory.
- Specific overall targets for REDD+ can be
included explicitly in an NDC. If applicable, therelationship between the NDC target(s)(conditional and unconditional) and the country’s
REDD+ activities.
If applicable, include information about
FREL/FRL.
Harvested wood products and natural disturbances.
According to the UNFCCC guidance, Parties areencouraged to account for natural disturbances, andwhere relevant, account for harvested wood products(HWP) following to the most-recent IPCC guidelines.
This accounting is important to fully understand the

Guide to Including Nature in NDCs

10

Country Example - Costa Rica
In its INDC, Costa Rica announced a target to reduce emissions by
25% below 2012 levels by 2030. This reduction includes mitigation
and adaptation actions from agriculture and forestry, among others.
Costa Rica has “committed to develop its adaptation practice froman ecosystem-based adaptation focus, building on the commitment
to increase forest coverage to 60%” while “exploring synergies
between adaptation practices and the reduction of emissions
through avoided deforestation” by two major areas of action:
Consolidating the National Forestry Finance Fund’s (FONAFIFO)
Environmental Services Payments program and the Forest
Certification program as a mechanism to promote the sustainable
development of forest resources and effective protection of water
resources; andPromoting the National Biological Corridor System and the National
Protected Areas System (SINAC).
Improving the governance of the country’s forestry resources will
enable Costa Rica to enhance its capacity to generate economic
growth along with provision of forest-related goods and services.

Costa Rica’s NDC is available online at:https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/NDCStaging/Pages/Search.aspx?k=Co
sta%20Rica
See the Annex for key resources and methodologies related toforests.

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AGRICULTURE & GRASSLANDS
Why are agriculture and grasslands
relevant to NDCs?
Agriculture is a sector that is both vulnerable to climatechange, and capable of delivering significant mitigation
benefits. Natural grasslands and pastures also provide
important carbon sinks, as well as biodiversity andecosystem services that are key to increasing resilience
for agriculture. Options for natural climate solutions
include activities to reduce emissions from agriculture andgrasslands through a variety of strategies that include
good agricultural practices, conservation agriculture,
integration of trees, agroforestry, silvopasture, andrestoration of degraded lands. 28

Agricultural systems rely on a series of ecosystem
functions for their production, such as pollination, waterprovisioning, soil fertility, pest management, and others.
These ecosystem services either occur directly on
agricultural lands, or importantly, on forested or protectedareas within or around the landscape. Promoting thebeneficial relationships between these different types ofland use creates benefits for both agricultural production
and climate action.

Farmers and agricultural systems will require additional
methods, tools, and technologies to achieve atransformative response to climate change, while ensuring
the needs of both food security and smallholder
livelihoods. Most Parties recognize the importance of this
sector: more than three-quarters of countries included
reduced emissions from agriculture in their NDCs. 29

28 Following the IPCC guidelines, mitigation, in the context of agriculture includes actions to reduce emissions from enteric fermentation,

manure management, rice cultivation, prescribed burning of savannas and grassland, and from soils, as contained in Strohmaier, R., et al.
(2016). The agriculture sectors in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions: analysis. Environment and Natural Resources
Management Working Paper, (62).
29 Strohmaier, R., et al. (2016).

Guide to Including Nature in NDCs

12

Considerations specific to the inclusionof agriculture & grasslands in NDCs■

Sector-specific targets and goals for agriculture andgrasslands.
- Quantified target, including extent, carbon
reductions or; intensity reductions; and/or- Qualitative target, such as improving farmer
access to tools, methods and technology, policychanges, increased use of extension services, orincentive programs, increased implementation ofgood agricultural practices.

■

Monitoring systems in place. These can address:- Social and environmental safeguards- Food security indices- Early warning systems for natural disasters,
including pest management- Ecosystem provisioning services■

Adaptation. Given the high adaptation value fromagriculture, for food security, countries may decide toreference agriculture in the adaptation section of their
NDC, adaptation communications (AC) or national
adaptation plans (NAP). If so, we encourage Parties toinclude a target for such adaptation efforts as part of
the NDC, and Parties should also recognize themitigation co-benefits of such actions.

■

Measures planned or in progress to facilitate change
within specific agricultural activities. To complement
the activities listed in Box 1, countries can also
reference major programs, initiatives, or incentives
related to:- Prioritizing local land planning for agriculture to
avoid forest land conversion- Increasing carbon stocks on agricultural lands
and pastures- Supporting restoration in riparian areas alongsideproduction- Conserving and protecting sensitive areas in an
agricultural landscape- Providing technical capacity and financial support
for low-carbon approaches in shifting cultivation
systems- Investment in crop research and climate
monitoring systems- Assessing incentives for improved nutrient
management- Promoting good agricultural practices- Supporting natural regeneration of abandoned
agricultural lands

Guide to Including Nature in NDCs

13

Country Example - Uruguay
Uruguay included a comprehensive and ambitious plan for emissions
reductions in agriculture with unconditional and conditional targets
for beef production, grassland and crop management and land use,land use change, and forestry by 2025. Uruguay proposed theunconditional adoption of good agricultural practices for grasslands
and herd management for 10% of the country’s grasslands, and an
expanded goal of up to 30% of grasslands if international technicaland financial support is provided. These objectives are listed basedon the relevant greenhouse gases and are linked to the country’s
overall targets for climate action. Uruguay included quantified goals
for improved dairy farm practices (covering 40% - 75% of all dairy
farms) to decrease methane from farm effluent, as well as theimplementation of soil conservation practices, crop rotation, covercrops, and the use of native grasses on up to 95% of all agriculturalareas. The NDC points to several existing sectoral guidelines andregulations to achieve these goals, including Land-Use andManagement Plans, Plans for Soil Use and Management, the Forest
Policy, and Forestry and Environmental Management Guidelines.

Uruguay’s NDC is available online at:https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/NDCStaging/Pages/Search.aspx?k=Uruguay
See the Annex for key resources and methodologies related toagriculture and grasslands.

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COASTAL WETLANDS
Why are coastal wetland (“bluecarbon”) ecosystems relevant to NDCs?
Wetlands are natural reservoirs of carbon in thelandscape. Historically, human activities such as
disturbing, draining, and conversion of wetlands havetriggered releases of this stored carbon. Looking forward,
activities like protection, rewetting, and restoration of
wetlands could be considered for the mitigation
component of the NDCs, due to their potential to reduce
emissions from past anthropogenic activities and topromote the natural processes that sequester carbon inwetlands. Coastal wetlands – mangrove forests, tidal salt
marshes, and seagrass meadows – also known as “bluecarbon ecosystems,” along with freshwater wetlands andpeatlands, are an essential part of the climate solution. The
soils in mangrove forests store approximately 6.4 billion
tonnes of carbon globally, representing 49% - 98% of the
carbon storage capacity in a mangrove ecosystem. There
are significant climate adaptation benefits from blue
carbon ecosystems as well including: an increase inimproved water quality and fishery production; improved
livelihoods through tourism and other coastal jobs; and theprotection of coastlines from storm surges, floods anderosion.
This guide focuses on how to include ecosystems in an
NDC that are managed within national boundaries, notingthat coastal wetlands are often overseen by different
ministries than other land sector activities. The checklist

below includes information that could be included in an
NDC to better incorporate wetland ecosystems toenhance climate ambition. This list can be viewed as aselection of options to build from and enhance the NDC
throughout the revision cycles and no requirement for
countries to fulfil all elements before including wetlands
into an NDC. Similarly, the IPCC methodologies provided
for coastal ecosystems in the annex highlight a tiered
approach for carbon accounting based on the available
capacity and national circumstances, allowing for greater
flexibility and the inclusion of these carbon pools overtime.

Considerations specific to the inclusionof coastal wetlands in NDCs■

Determine extent and geographic scope. Identifying
the extent of the coastal wetlands is the first step inutilizing the IPCC Wetlands Supplement, for which
only information on the wetland area is needed andproxies are used to calculate the carbon potential.

■

Sector-specific targets and goals for coastal
ecosystems.
- Targets for coastal ecosystems can include GHG
metrics similarly to forests.
- For further reporting, non-carbon emissions canbe tracked similarly to agriculture, including
methaneemissionsforrewettingandrevegetation, and nitrous oxide emissions foraquaculture use.
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-

-

In some countries, mangroves may be a part of thecountry’s REDD+ program if defined as such in the
National Forest Definition. In those cases, REDD+
baselines or targets may already include
mangroves, and this should be taken into
consideration in the preparation of NDCs.
Countries that are not doing so, may also consider
including soil carbon in their accounting features.
Countries may decide to include coastal wetlands(“blue carbon”) in the adaptation section of their
NDC. If so, we recommend that countries consider
a target for action, and may also recognize themitigation co-benefits of this action.

■

Adaptation. Given the high adaptation value fromcoastal wetlands, such as flood protection, and waterand food security, countries may decide to include
coastal wetlands in the adaptation section of their
NDC, or in adaptation communications (AC) or national
adaptation plans (NAP). If so, we encourage Parties toinclude a target for such adaptation effort as part of
the NDC, where applicable, and may also recognize
the mitigation co-benefits of such actions.

■

Policies and measures. Countries could reference
existing programs or initiatives that incorporate theseecosystems for climate mitigation or adaptation, suchas the following:- AFOLU and REDD+. Depending on eachcountry’s national forest definition, mangrove
forests may already be included in the national
REDD+ program. In such cases, they may alreadybe included in a national GHG inventory andnational forest monitoring system for theaboveground biomass.
- Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). MPAs address
protection and conservation of both coasts andmarine areas. These designations and existing
policies can be useful to incorporate into climate
mitigation and/or adaptation actions.

-■RamsarConventionon
WetlandsofInternational Importance. Ramsar resolution(XIII.14) promotes the conservation, restorationand sustainable management of coastal blue
carbon ecosystems, including encouraging
Parties to update their national greenhouse gas
inventories to better reflect data for wetlands
including carbon storage and fluxes in Ramsar
coastal wetland sites.

Accounting for wetlands in the NDC.
We
recommend the following considerations to help acountry describe its work and priorities on coastal
wetlands. There is flexibility for countries to choose
the information that best represents their efforts:- IPCC Wetlands Supplement. The “2013Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for
National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands,”
provides a useful tiered approach to address thedifferent capacities of countries, to build an
improved inventory over time. Tier 1 uses the areaof the wetland system with associated default
data (proxies) to estimate the mitigation value; Tier
2 uses the gain-loss method with country-specificdata or the stock-difference method with countryspecific emission factors; and Tier 3 is the highest
standard, using modelling technology to estimatechanges in the carbon stock (biomass) which canbe determined by species, ecological zones, andmanagement intensity.
- Soil carbon. Particularly for coastal ecosystems,
carbon stored in soils is an important componentof ecosystems’ overall carbon sink. For example,
a soil depth of 30 centimeters is needed tocapture the full mitigation potential of soil organiccarbon in coastal wetlands. 30 For this reason, we
encourage countries to consider soil carbon aspart of their BTR and national inventory, although
they may find it is not necessary to specify thislevel of detail in the NDC. A global map ofmangrove soil carbon is available in the Annex.

30 Sandermann, J., et al. (2018). “A Global Map of Mangrove Forest Soil Carbon at 30 m Spatial Resolution.” Environmental Research

Letters 13, no. 5: 055002. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aabe1c.

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Country Example - Belize
Belize included coastal ecosystems throughout its NDC as part of
mitigation, adaptation and long-term climate action through 2030.
Their efforts related to coastal ecosystems focus on increasing
resilience and reducing vulnerability of livelihoods tourism,
sustainable forest management, protected areas management,
coastal and marine resources, and water management. The NDC
highlights mitigation actions that will produce co-benefits that
promote adaptation and resilience to climate change, such as
replanting mangroves for mitigation purposes which also protect thecoastline against storm surges and erosion.
The NDC includes objectives and corresponding actions to be
implemented in the following priority sectors: coastal and marine
resources, water resources, tourism, and fisheries and aquaculture.
One objective is to protect existing mangroves from deforestationand to restore lost mangroves, which has the potential to turn
Belize’s mangrove system into a net carbon sink with expectedcumulative emissions reduction of up to 379 Gigagrams of CO2 by2030. This intersects with the objective of watershed protection, andwith the corresponding activity of protecting and restoring mangrove
forests. Belize expects to implement these activities bystrengthening the capacity of the Belize Coastal Zone Management
Authority and Institute and enforcing local laws such as the new
Fisheries Resources Bill and implementing the Belize Integrated
Coastal Zone Management Plan.
Through the NDC, Belize recognizes the importance of protecting
low-lying coastal areas against impact of storms and soil erosion andthe role mangrove forests play as nursery grounds for regional fishstocks and maritime ecosystems.
Belize’s NDC is available online at :https://unfccc.int/files/focus/ndc_registry/application/pdf/belize_ndc.pdf
See the Annex for key resources and methodologies related tocoastal wetlands.

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CROSS-SECTORAL APPROACHES
Why are cross-sectoral approaches
relevant to NDCs?

■

Countries can coordinate across sectors to decrease
emissions, including through natural climate solutions. We
recommend that these cross-sector climate actions canand should be included in the NDC.

Allocation between sectors. In the national GHG
inventory, we recommend that Parties should identify
how these emissions reductions have been attributed
to the relevant sectors.

■

IPCC accounting approaches for bioenergy. For
Parties opting to include energy derived from the useof biological feedstocks (i.e. bioenergy), a variety ofaccounting approaches have been assessed by the
IPCC and should be referenced in the national GHG
inventory. Transparency will be key to understanding
whether Parties are accurately accounting for theoverall change in emissions to the atmosphere.

Examples of taking a cross-sectoral approach include:
integrating infrastructure planning with conservation
goals; promoting sustainable landscape programs
between forestry and agriculture; developing policies forcompensating impacts of infrastructure development on
forests or wetlands; combining natural and built
infrastructure for coastal protection, implementing land
use planning with ecosystem disaster risk management; orensuring tree cover for hydropower efficiency.

Considerations specific to the inclusionof cross-sectoral approaches in NDCs■

Planning processes. Countries should review existingdevelopment plans that link sectors as well as
institutional arrangements or agreements, if existing.
These planning processes should be the outcome ofa joint effort between the relevant ministries andgovernment actors.

Importing countries should report on accounting
methodology utilized by the exporting country forbiomass-based emissions. If the exporting country
does not account or utilize a projected baseline thatincorporates biomass energy demand, the importing
country will need to fully account for the emissions.
If domestic feedstock is used, Parties should reconcile
their energy and land-sector accounting approaches,through the use of identical reference points (e.g.
historical reference year or period, or BAU) to avoid
inter-sectoral leakage.

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ANNEX: KEY RESOURCES AND
METHODOLOGIES
Accelerating Climate Ambition and Impact: Toolkit for Mainstreaming Nature-Based Solutions into Nationally
Determined Contributions
United Nations Development Programme. (2019.) Accelerating Climate Ambition and Impact: Toolkit for
Mainstreaming Nature-Based Solutions into Nationally Determined Contributions. New York, USA: UNDP. Retrieved
from: https://www.ndcs.undp.org/impact-and-learning/library/nature-based-solutions-for-ndcs-toolkit-.html
The Nature-based Solutions Toolkit captures more than 100 tools and resources on nature-based solutions
that can support national decision makers as they enhance their NDCs. This toolkit includes spatial datasets,
reports, policy briefs, guidance documents, handbooks, other toolkits, and platforms on NBS for climate
mitigation and adaptation.
Accounting of the land-use sector in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement
Herold, A., Böttcher, H. (2018). Accounting of the land-use sector in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under
the Paris Agreement. GIZ GmbH. Retrieved from:https://www.transparency-partnership.net/system/files/document/Guide%20Accounting%20of%20landuse%20sector%20in%20NDCs%28vf%29_20181010.pdf
This Guide describes the specific challenges of the land-use sector related to the estimation of emissions
and the accounting towards mitigation targets. It provides an overview of existing accounting modalities forthe land-use sector and supplements those by possible new approaches in a way that readers will get an
overview of the available options for the accounting of the land-use sector.
2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Vol. 4
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2019). 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Vol. 4. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved from: https://www.ipccnggip.iges.or.jp/home/2019refinement.html
The 2019 refinement process to the IPCC guidelines is intended to provide an updated view of the latest
scientific and technological improvements for national GHG inventories. Volume 4 of the IPCC guidelines
focuses on AFOLU. In the case of mangrove forests that meet the definition of forests, and other potential
land uses, methodologies to account for GHG emissions from the land sector are included here.

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2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Vol. 4
Eggleston, S., Buendia, L., Miwa, K., Ngara, T., and Tanabe, K. (eds). (2006). 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Vol. 4. Japan: Institute for Global Environmental Strategies on behalf of theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved from:https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol4.html
Volume 4 of the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories builds upon the 1996
Guidelines to provide guidance on developing annual greenhouse gas inventories within the AFOLU sector.
2003 IPCC Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry
Penman, J., Gytarsky, M., Hiraishi, T., Krug, T., Kruger, D., Pipatti, R., Buendia, L., Miwa, K., Ngara, T., Tanabe, K., andWagner, F. (eds). (2003). Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry. Japan: Institute for
Global Environmental Strategies for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved from:https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/gpglulucf/gpglulucf.html
This report provides guidance for nations on developing inventories of carbon stock and greenhouse gas
emissions for the land use, land-use change, and forestry sector. Good practice refers to inventories thathave reduced uncertainties as much as possible and neither over- nor under-estimate carbon stock.
A Seven-Step Approach for Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Nature-Based Solutions.
United Nations Development Programme. 2019. A Seven-Step Approach for Enhancing Nationally Determined
Contributions through Nature-Based Solutions. New York, USA: UNDP. Retrieved from:https://www.ndcs.undp.org/impact-and-learning/library/nature-based-solutions-for-ndcs-pathway-framework.html
The document outlines a framework and process for governments to identify potential NBS with the aim ofenhancing their climate mitigation and adaptation action in a cost-effective manner and with multiple cobenefits.
UNFCCC Accounting for Forests: What’s in and what’s out of NDCs and REDD+
Lee, D. and Sanz, M.J. (2017). UNFCCC Accounting for Forests: What’s in and what’s out of NDCs and REDD+. Climate
and Land Use Alliance. Retrieved from:http://www.climateandlandusealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Policy-brief-NDCs-and-REDD-revised-Sep6-2017.pdf
The UNFCCC Accounting for Forests manual provides guidelines for how nations should include greenhousegas emissions and reductions from forests in their National Determined Contributions and REDD+ reference
levels.
EX-Ante Carbon Balance Tool (EX-ACT)
EX-Ante Carbon Balance Tool (EX-ACT). (2019). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved
from: http://www.fao.org/tc/exact/ex-act-home/en/

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The Ex-Ante Carbon Balance Tool is a land-based accounting system that provides estimates of greenhousegas emissions and carbon stock changes due to agriculture and forestry projects.
Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics Data (FAOSTAT)
Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics Data (FAOSTAT). (2019). Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations. Retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data
FAOSTAT provides country-level data agriculture emissions data broken down by source, such ricecultivation, synthetic fertilizers, and energy use. The data spans from 1961 to present day and allows forcountry-level comparisons over time.
The Carbon Farming Solution: A global toolkit of perennial crops and regenerative agriculture practices forclimate change mitigation and food security
Toensmeier, E. (2016). The Carbon Farming Solution: A global toolkit of perennial crops and regenerative agriculture
practices for climate change mitigation and food security. Chelsea Green Publishing. 512 pp.
The Carbon Farming Solution describes a wide range of farming techniques and approaches that can deliver
climate and food security benefits, relevant to agricultural contexts around the world.
The agriculture sectors in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions: Analysis
Strohmaier, R., Rioux, J., Seggel, A., Meybeck, A., Bernoux, M., Salvatore, M., Miranda, J. and Agostini, A. (2016). The
agriculture sectors in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions: Analysis. Environment and Natural
Resources Management Working Paper No. 62. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5687e.pdf
This analysis describes the prominent role of agriculture in achieving Parties’ Intended Nationally Determined
Contributions, providing an overview of the inclusion of agriculture in the INDCs, as well as the importanceof international support for developing countries.
Role of Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use Mitigation in INDCs and National Policy in Asia
Zeleke, A., Phung, T., Tulyasuwan, N., O’Sullivan, R., Lawry, S., and Gnych, S. (2016). Role of Agriculture, Forestry, andOther Land Use Mitigation in INDCs and National Policy in Asia. Low Emissions Development Strategy Global
Partnership Agriculture, Forestry, and Land Use (AFOLU) Working Group. Retrieved from:https://www.winrock.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/AFOLU-LEDS-Working-Group-Techincal-paper-Role-ofAFOLU-mitigation-in-INDCs-and-national-policy-in-Asia-1.0-Feb-25-2016.pdf
This report describes the importance of including the AFOLU sector in Asian nations’ INDCs and analyzes
how various Asian nations have included AFOLU in their INDCs and national development plans. INDCs inthese nations do not sufficiently include the AFOLU sector and would benefit from integrating Low Emission
Development Strategies targeting the AFOLU sector in their revised INDCs.

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2013 IPCC Supplement to the 2006 Guidelines for National GHG Inventories: Wetlands
Hiraishi, T., Krug, T., Tanabe, K., Srivastava, N., Baasansuren, J., Fukuda, M. and Troxler, T.G. (eds). (2014). 2013 IPCC
Supplement to the 2006 Guidelines for National GHG Inventories: Wetlands. Switzerland: Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change. Retrieved from: https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/wetlands/
The 2013 Supplement improves the 2006 Guidelines by providing updated information based on newscientific knowledge, as well as extending the content of the Guidelines to cover coastal wetlands, tidal
marshes, seagrass meadows, wetlands constructed for wastewater treatment, inland organic soils, andinland wetland mineral soils. Chapter 4: Coastal Wetlands, in particular, describes the blue carbon
ecosystems and provides guidance on estimating and reporting anthropogenic GHG emissions andremovals from managed coastal wetlands. The Wetlands Supplement has a tiered approach to address thedifferent capacities of countries, thus all countries can utilize the guidance and build out an improved
inventory over time.
Coastal Blue Carbon: Methods for assessing carbon stocks and emissions factors in mangroves, tidal salt
marshes, and seagrass meadows.
Howard, J., Hoyt, S. Isensee, K., Pidgeon, E., Telszewski, M. (eds.) (2014). Coastal Blue Carbon: Methods for assessing
carbon stocks and emissions factors in mangroves, tidal salt marshes, and seagrass meadows. Arlington, Virginia,
USA: Conservation International, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, International Union forConservation of Nature. Retrieved from: https://www.thebluecarboninitiative.org/manual
The blue carbon manual was produced to provide methodological guidance and details for blue carbon
ecosystems at a level beyond the IPCC aimed at practitioners who would benefit from additional detail on
sampling methods, laboratory measures and an analysis of blue carbon stocks and fluxes in order to be able
to accurately and completely account for these ecosystems.
World Atlas of Mangroves (version 3.0)
Spalding M, Kainuma M, Collins L. (2010). World Atlas of Mangroves (version 3.0). A collaborative project of ITTO,
ISME, FAO, UNEP-WCMC, UNESCO-MAB, UNU-INWEH and TNC. London (UK): Earthscan, London. 319 pp. URL:
http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781844076574; http://data.unep-wcmc.org/datasets/5
This atlas contains a country-level assessment of mangrove ecosystems globally, as well as information on
the ecology and health of those habitats and their interaction with humans. The interactive online tool maps
the global distribution of mangrove ecosystems.
Coastal blue carbon ecosystems: Opportunities for Nationally Determined Contributions
Herr, D. and Landis, E. (2016). Coastal blue carbon ecosystems: Opportunities for Nationally Determined
Contributions. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN and Washington, DC, USA: TNC. Retrieved from:https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/BC_NDCs_FINAL.pdf
This policy brief reviews the inclusion of blue carbon in the INDCs and NDCs. Nations should consider
expand upon their blue carbon mitigation ambitions in order to reach the 2°C target created by the Paris
Agreement.
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Mangrove Restoration Potential: A global impact highlighting a critical opportunity
Worthington, T. and Spalding, M. Mangrove Restoration Potential: A global impact highlighting a critical opportunity.
IUCN, The Nature Conservancy, and the University of Cambridge. Retrieved from:https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/mangrove-tnc-report-final.31.10.lowspreads.pdf
This report describes the process of mapping degraded mangrove ecosystems and the potential benefits
from restoration, resulting in the Mangrove Restoration Potential Map. The map allows for a visual
representation of global restoration potential for degraded mangroves that can be used in developing
climate policy.
Mapping ocean wealth explorer
Mapping ocean wealth explorer. The Nature Conservancy. Retrieved from: http://maps.oceanwealth.org/
The Mapping Ocean Wealth Explorer tool is a global data source that provides estimates of benefits provided
by mangroves and coral reefs in flood protection annually and from catastrophic storms.
A Global Map of Mangrove Forest Soil Carbon at 30 m Spatial Resolution
Sanderman, J. et al. (2018). “A Global Map of Mangrove Forest Soil Carbon at 30 m Spatial Resolution.” Environmental
Research Letters 13, no. 5 (May 1, 2018): 055002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aabe1c.
This article uses a model of mangrove soil carbon measurements, projected globally, to determine the lossof soil carbon due to mangrove loss between the years of 2000 and 2015. The resulting database ofmangrove soil carbon data and estimates of soil carbon loss can be used to develop mangrove protection
and restoration plans as part of a nation’s climate plans.

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