Mangrove Alliance And CoP 27: All You Need To Know
Close to 200 countries, including India, have decided to attend the conference of parties (cop) 27, which is currently being held in Egypt. This year. We are dealing with climate finance, that is, all the money that the parties will be putting in for combating climate change. As per Global Climate Risk Index, India is the 5th most vulnerable country with respect to climate change.
Mangrove ecosystems are the most ecologically productive and important ecosystems in the world. They are capable of storing carbon up to 400 per cent faster than their land-based counterparts. They protect coastal regions from rising sea levels, erosion, and provide breeding grounds for marine biodiversity. Around 80 per cent of the global fish population relies on these ecosystems for their survival.
What is the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC)?
MAC is an intergovernmental alliance signed at CoP 27 Egypt. The agenda of this alliance is to hasten the progress toward the restoration and conservation of mangrove ecosystems. Spearheaded by UAE, its signatories include Sri Lanka, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and Spain, in addition to India. The agenda is to raise global awareness about the crucial role mangroves play in the environment and how they are a nature-based climate change solution. It will put its best foot forward to ensure the rehabilitation of mangrove forests the world over.
India’s joining of the new alliance is in line with its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to create an additional carbon sink of about 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. This India plans on achieving by expanding the forest and tree cover by the end of 2030.
How will the alliance work?
The newly minted alliance has adopted a voluntary approach, where the members will determine their own commitments towards planting and restoring mangrove forests, and promoting multilateral cooperation and knowledge sharing. The alliance will support projects implemented by the member countries in areas of mangrove research, management and protection of coastal areas and public education focusing on climate mitigation and adaptation.
Collectively, the members of the alliance will demonstrate their commitment to maximizing the potential of nature-based solution via the expansion of mangrove ecosystems and conservation campaigns. It will also enhance mangrove ecosystems’ climate change mitigation capabilities by promoting innovation and research as well as scientific and socio-economic studies. MAC will have multiple interactive platforms, featuring annual meetings to assess the progress in achieving the national goals as well as approval of annual reports.
