Work

Conservation Fencing for Coastal Wetland Restoration: Technical Requirements and Financial Viability as a Nature-Based Climate Solution

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Coastal wetlands, when ecologically intact, can sequester and store large amounts of carbon. Restoring degraded wetlands to full functionality is considered a nature-based solution to climate change. Reinstating ecological functionality may be achieved by installing fences to prevent access to wetlands by hard-hoofed domestic and feral an-imals. This research explores whether ungulate exclusion fencing could represent a viable investment for landholders in the Australian context if such restoration action was to attract carbon payments. Data gleaned through literature review and expert interviews about fencing requirement, contemporary costs and potential blue carbon income are consolidated into scenarios and tested using cost-benefit analysis. Monte Carlo simulations account for uncertainty of ecological and price parameters. The re-sults demonstrate that ungulate exclusion fencing may present a financially viable proposition in some circumstances and is financially risky. Investment payback period and benefit-cost ratio are found to be highly sensitive to wetlands’ carbon sequester potential, fencing costs and the carbon price going forward. Wetland-specific assess-ments are required to support landholder decisions. In general, outcome-based carbon payments on their own are likely insufficient to entice landholders to protect coastal wetlands by installing ungulate exclusion fences unless wetlands achieve high carbon sequestration rates. Measures reducing up-front costs and risk, and remuneration of multiple ecosystem services provided by wetlands are required to up-scale coastal wetland restoration through conservation fencing. The research provides an up-to-date compilation of fencing costs and the findings bear relevance for other conservation and land-use contexts which use exclusion fencing.

Source: Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su17167295

Author: Romy Greiner

Institution: Deakin University

Language: English

Topic: Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics

Subfield: Ecology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Life on land

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896