Understanding the implications of wetland transformation for carbon sequestration and the way in which different wetland management regimes can impact upon this process is one theme addressed by CWEL.
In the medium term it may be possible to link development funds to improved community management of wetlands and thereby have an impact upon carbon storage and climate change. However, for this to come about a better understanding is needed of the link between wetland use and carbon sequestration.
A degraded wetland in Ethiopia
Large amounts of carbon are fixed by wetland vegetation and in peat soils
A
critical consideration in this work is the way in which economically attractive
uses of wetlands can be developed which meet community / land user needs
whilst also maintaining the carbon storage within wetlands. CWEL is seeking
to explore this through a comparative study of wetland management in the
UK and in Ethiopia.
- Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
- Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change
- Wetlands and desertification