management strategies to protect the carbon cycle

wetland restoration

inludes freshwater marshes, salt marshes, peatlands, mangroves and floodplains - ground near watertable and permenantly saturated
wetlands contain 35% of terrestrial carbon pools
wetalnds reduced by urbanisation - climate change threats has lead to restoration programmes to restore natural carbon sinks
management initiatives: International Convention on Wetlands, European Union Habitats Directive
restoration programmes include raising water tables to create water-logged conditions

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planting trees in deforested areas, or areas never before forested, as trees are carbon sinks
trees absorb carbon, reduce flood risks and soil erosion
UN's Reducing Emissions from Defforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) scheme helps developing countries to preserve their forests by placing monetary value on forest conservation
China - government sponsored afforestation projects since 1978
modern examples include rise of apps/web browsers such as Forest and Ecosia who's profits made from ad space plant trees in deforested regions

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overcultivation and overgrazing are poor farming practices which result in soil erosion and releases large quantities of carbon
intensive livestock farming (often of animals such as cows) produces 100 million tonnes of methane a year

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Kyoto Protocol (1997) - richer nations legally bound to reduce CO2 emissions
- controversy as China and India (two of the biggest carbon producers) were exempt
- USA and Australia also dropped out
treaty expired in 2012
Paris Agreement (2015) - aims to reduced CO2 emissions below 60% of 2010 levels by 2050, and keep global warming below 2 degrees
- countries set own non-legally binding targets
- countries signed up in April 2016
- Trump announced in 2017 that the US would drop out of the agreement, bad news as the US are one of biggest contributors

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international market based approach to limit CO2 emissions
businesses allocated annual quota for CO2 emissions
if they emit less than quota, they recieve carbon credits which can be traded on international markets
businesses exceeding quota must purchase credits from other businesses or have finacial penalties
carbon offsets rewarded to companies for afforestation schemes, renewable energy and wetland restoration

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