ICCG Webinar on Impact of Climate Change on the Venetian Lagoon: Climate Change, Sea Level Rise and the Importance of Coastal Wetlands
As clearly indicated by the recent IPCC report (IPCC, 2014) the Earth’s climate is warming at an unprecedented rate and this warming will likely lead to a rapid rise in sea level. The accelerated sea level rise, aggravated by more frequent extreme events, is destructive to the coastal ecosystems and to the regional socio-economic system, which includes fisheries, farming, forestry and/or abundant residential, commercial and recreational activity.
Considering that only a limited portion of the coasts can be protected through engineered measures (e.g. seawalls, levees, etc. as for example the MOSE in Venice), can we carefully and efficiently plan in advance a strategic retreat, reducing the economic loss and maximizing possible benefits for human-natural systems?
In this seminar will be explore how coastal wetlands represent efficient barriers against waves and erosion, and under what conditions they are able to adapt to sea level changes or quickly recover after storms and floods. The importance of protecting and restoring coastal wetlands and specifically salt marshes, mangrove forests and seagrass prairies will be discussed during the seminar, using the Venice lagoon as an example. These ecosystems have a direct ability of mitigating climate change since they are able to sequester large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it in the soil (blue carbon) as organic matter and peat. Once the peat is stored underground, the preservation of these reservoirs should be a priority, since these areas, once drained and cultivated, become an important source of CO2. The example of the Bacino Zennare, a very productive agricultural area in the South basin of the Venice Lagoon, will be presented during the seminar and the hypothesis of re-wetting the basin will be discussed, also showing the results of a costs-benefits analysis.
Registration is required. For information and registration: [email protected] or 041/2700442 (Silvia Nevi).