Sustainable climate mitigation and climate adaptation
For a period of two and a half years, researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Luleå University of Technology will share 22 million SEK from the Swedish EPA’s environmental research fund to study the restoration of forest wetlands, as well as conduct an interdisciplinary study on how to reconcile conflicting interests in order to achieve climate and environmental goals.
The aim is to conduct science related to reducing climate impact, climate adaptation, and restoration, preservation, and strengthening of biodiversity for increased resilience, and to find combinations of solutions for transition that are sustainable and feasible in the long term.
Return of Forested Wetlands: Strategies for Implementation and Adaptation to Future Climate
The drainage of wetlands over the past 150 years has increased the amount of forested land and possibly increased forest productivity, but it has also impaired nature's ability to handle high and low water flows and to sequester carbon as well as negatively affected biodiversity. This has led to an increased risk of forest fires, floods and droughts, as well as the spread of diseases and pests.
Efforts to restore wetlands are underway, but we still know too little about the best methods to use. Existing research typically studied different aspects separately. This programme studies how wetland restoration affects multiple aspects. Researchers are trying to find out using modeling tools and evaluating completed wetland restorations from various perspectives. The overarching question is where and how wetlands should be restored to maximize benefits and minimize risks, such as the wetland's water retention capacity, water quality including browning and methylmercury, greenhouse gas balance, biodiversity, animal disease transmission, outbreaks of bark beetles, and the recreational value of forests. An integrated tool for how to plan and implement wetland restorations will be produced to help mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Project Leader: Karin Eklöf, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
Funding Granted: 11,255,973 SEK
To navigate the political landscape: barriers and synergies in strategies for climate and biodiversity.
There is a abundant amount of strategies to promote climate and biodiversity goals and sustainable development. However, having strategies in place does not guarantee that the goals will be achieved. The reasons for this are numerous, such as a discrepancy between goals and policy instruments, conflicts between different strategies, the resources available, and/or conflicts among different actors. These multiple barriers may be reasons for poor goal achievement.
Through an interdisciplinary study, researchers aim to identify problems and find ways to overcome obstacles in reaching climate and environmental goals. They also seek to establish pathways for collaboration between existing and future strategies for climate and biodiversity. The objective of the research program is to provide recommendations for overcoming barriers, avoiding controversies and goal conflicts, and instead, increasing synergies between different strategies by transforming them into concrete actions and guidelines.
Project Leader: Simon Matti, Luleå University of Technology
Funding Granted: 11,119,765 SEK
More information about the call
Contact
Senior Research Officer Karin Hansen. Phone: +46 10 698 13 28
karin.hansen@naturvardsverket.se