Introduction

The role of wetlands in carbon cycling has gained increasing attention since Canada signed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol directs Annex 1 Parties (developed nations) to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and five other prominent greenhouse gases by at least 5 per cent below 1990 levels between 2008-2012. Canada is committed to reductions of 6 per cent and the U.S. to 7 per cent (www.unfccc.de). To help achieve these targets, the Protocol allows Annex 1 countries to credit removals of greenhouse gas emissions by sinks. Carbon, a primary component of the most significant greenhouse gases, is sequestered (or stored) in forests, agricultural soils and wetlands. To date, the Protocol allows credits for sequestration solely in forests. Wetlands do not qualify. Yet the potential for long-term carbon storage in wetlands is substantial (i.e., hundreds or even thousands of years compared with a much shorter period for forests). Canada's federal government lists "natural storage base for carbon" among the many significant ecological functions that wetlands serve (Federal Policy, 1991). The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) lists the conservation of wetlands as one of the main options for enhancing carbon sequestration (NATO, 1995).

Canada is now devising ways to meet its Kyoto Protocol commitments. As part of this emerging strategy, scientists are trying to determine whether carbon cycling and net storage in wetlands can be measured and verified, and, if so, whether wetlands should be proposed as sinks for future inclusion in the Kyoto Protocol commitments.

In the past decade, the functions, or ecological services, provided by wetlands have become increasingly recognized as important environmental and economic components of the landscape. Wetland conservation, restoration and watershed protection are becoming more prominent features of sustainable agriculture land-use planning and practice (National Sinks Table, 1998). The Sinks Table allows that consideration of wetlands in the Kyoto Protocol might enhance wetland conservation. But it also points out that "extreme caution is necessary about what is advocated for inclusion in the agreement as additional sink categories, given the absence of a complete understanding of the net GHG impact of wetlands" (National Sinks Table, 1998).

In any effort to include wetlands in the Kyoto Protocol, the essential next step is the development of a sound model for measuring and verifying wetland carbon cycles. The extent to which such modelling can gain international scientific credibility will greatly affect how other nations perceive reports of changes in Canada's carbon stock (National Sinks Table, 1998). Should wetlands prove to be a net carbon sink, the next priority would be to determine ways to measure and verify 1990 benchmark levels of carbon sinks and sources and subsequent human-induced changes. The Sinks Table advises that all public, private and non-governmental interests would then need to undertake management activities that produce verifiable increases in carbon stocks. The result will be a translation of science into strategic options and recommendations for strengthening or adopting stronger wetland-enhancing policies.

© 1999 International Institute for Sustainable Development