4.b. The global implications of water and carbon management.

Question 1

What do management strategies to protect the water and carbon cycles as regulators of earth’s climate include?

Answer 1

• Wetland restoration
• Afforestation
• sustainable agricultural practices
• Controls on green house gas emissions

Question 2

Management stratergies - Carbon

Wetland restoration

Answer 2

Wetlands = Marshes, mangroves, peatlands, floodplains.
their water table is just below the surface meaning they are permanently saturated.
-Occupy 6-95 of earth’s surface, contain 35% of the terrestrial carbon pool
- In the lower 48 US states, wetlands have halved since 1600.
- Restoration programmes in Canada have shown that they can store on average 3.25 tonnes of carbon per year.
- In the uk, 400 ha are earmarked for conversion into wetlands.

Question 3

Management stratergies - Carbon

Afforestation

Answer 3

• Planting of trees in deforested or never forested areas.
• Can be carbon sinks in the medium to long term and reduce flood risk and soil erosion.
• The UN REDD scheme is also helping to prevent deforestation by incentivising countries monetarily to protect their forests.
• China have implemented a massive afforestation project between 2000-9 30000km was planted.

Question 4

Management stratergies - Carbon

Agricultural prcatices

Answer 4

• Unsustainable practices include over cultivation and overgrazing along with intensive livestock farming.
• polyculture
• crop residues (leaving organic matter in soils)
  -Avoiding heavy farm machinery that compacts land leading increased run off.
• improving livestock feed
  -conrtolling maure decompositon

Question 5

Management stratergies - carbon

International agreements

Answer 5

The most recent international agreement was COP 27, Sharm El sheik, where they re affirmed the intention to keep global temperatures rise to 1.5 Celsius above pre industrial levels.
Problems with this include the controversy among developing countries, who recognise that the Acs implementing the strategies have benefited from industrial developed without being limited in emissions.

Question 6

Management stratergies - carbon

Cap and Trade

Answer 6

If countries emit less than their quota, they receive carbon credits, which can be traded on international markets.
The reverse incurs penalties.

Question 7

Management stratergies - water

Forestry

Answer 7

• Water storage in trees, soil due to incease organic matter.
• REDD scheme

Question 8

Management stratergies - water

Water allocations

Answer 8

In countries experienicng water scarcity, g

Question 9

Management stratergies - water

Water allocations

Answer 9

In countries experiencing water scarcity, governments must allocate water resources.
- Agriculture is by far the highest consumer of water(90 percent of consumption)
- losses through evaporation, ploughing creating run-off channels
-In the Colorado basin, water resources are allocated between the bordering states.

Question 10

Management stratergies - water

Drainiage basin planning

Answer 10

• Management of water resources is most effective at drainage basin scale.
• Create a holistic management approach that accounts for demands of all water needs.
• E.g. Run off is managed by afforestation and surface water storage is managed by wetland restoration.