Motion 039

While there has been rising interest in the use of ecosystem-based nature-based solutions to address climate change in recent years, the critical role played by wild animals has so far been underappreciated (Mahli, 2022; Schmitz, 2023a). Scientific research is increasingly showing that biodiversity, and wild animals in particular, play a vital role in ecosystem processes that regulate ecosystem carbon sequestration and retention. From tiny pollinators and zooplankton to elephants and whales, many animal species actively shape ecosystem structure and function, influencing processes such as seed dispersal and pollination, nutrient cycling, carbon deposits in soil and sediments, as well as the composition of plant species and key life history traits such as the density and longevity of canopy trees. Through these influences wild animals shape the basic functioning of ecosystems, including carbon capture and storage.

Conserving and restoring key wildlife species enhance the capacity of ecosystems to remove atmospheric carbon dioxide and retain it in the living and dead biomass and soil. The aggregate affect globally is potentially billions of tonnes annually (Schmitz, 2023b). For example, kelp forests with sea otters capture 12 times the carbon of those without (Wilmers, 2012). Mesopelagic fish are estimated to account for 16% of the total carbon that sinks below the ocean’s upper layers (Saba, 2021). The return of significant numbers of wildebeest to the Serengeti in the 1950s, after a vaccine was found for rinderpest virus, transformed the savanna from a source of carbon emissions to a sink (Holdo, 2009).

Policy frameworks and interventions regarding wildlife to date have focused primarily on the impacts of climate change on wildlife, rather than the functional role of wild animals in ecosystem-based climate mitigation. To the extent that the mitigation role of nature has been considered, the focus has been almost exclusively on places, not the component parts of ecosystems, in particular animal species, that maintain and enhance the ability of these ecosystem processes to capture and store carbon.

This motion seeks to enhance understanding of the role of wild animals in climate mitigation by requesting the IUCN and its members to consolidate and expand the knowledge base and advocate for its inclusion in relevant policy decisions, at national level through inclusion in national plans such as NDCs and NBSAPs, and at international level by seeking greater policy coherence between the multilateral environmental agreements.

Mahli,Y. et al. (2022). The Role of Large Wild Animals in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. Current Biology 32 (2022): R181–96.
Schmitz, O. J., & Sylvén, M. (2023a). Animating the Carbon Cycle: How Wildlife Conservation Can Be a Key to Mitigate Climate Change. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 65(3), 5–17.
Schmitz, O.J., et al. (2023b) Trophic rewilding can expand natural climate solutions. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 324–333.
Wilmers C. C., et al. (2012). Do trophic cascades affect the storage and flux of atmospheric carbon? Front. Ecol. Environ. 10, 409–415.
Saba, G. K., et al. (2021). Toward a better understanding of fish-based contribution to ocean carbon flux. Limnology and Oceanography, 66(5), 1639–1664.
Holdo, R. M. et al. (2009). A disease-mediated trophic cascade in the Serengeti and its implications for ecosystem C. PLoS Biol. 7, e1000210.