Tropical forest sustainability succor against climate change

According to a paper published in the journal, Science, by authors, Dr Pep Canadell from CSIRO and the Global Carbon Project, and Dr Michael Raupach from CSIRO, better management of the world’s tropical forests has vital scope for curtailing climate change.

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However, apprehensions regarding the durability of forest carbon stocks, challenges in quantifying changes in the size of those stocks, and concerns about the environmental and socio-economic repercussions of reforestation programs, have restricted the endorsement of policies conceived to encourage forestry activities.

Said Dr Canadell:

With political will and the involvement of tropical regions, forests can contribute to both climate change protection through carbon sequestration and also enhanced economic, environmental and socio-cultural benefits

Dr Canadell further stated that forestry activities have the economic potential to nullify 2 to 4% of estimated CO2 emissions by 2030, with tropical regions contributing to nearly two thirds of the total offset.

He emphasised on the importance of reduction of carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation in tropical regions.

An estimated 13 million hectares of the world’s forested areas, present mostly in the tropical regions, undergo annual deforestation. Dr Raupach however contends that reducing deforestation rates to half by 2050, and stalling further deforestation when countries reach 50 per cent of their current forested area, would impede emissions equivalent to six years of current fossil fuel emissions by the end of this century.

Though this estimate shows that there is immense mitigation potential despite significant continuing deforestation, Dr Raupach stressed that major changes in governance and price incentives are needed to realize this potential.

The authors, however, also cognize that efforts to mitigate climate change by increasing both the overall area and volume of biota in those forests involves the danger of releasing huge amounts of carbon back into the atmosphere through bushfires and insect outbreaks.

Dr Canadell explained that forests also affect biophysical properties of the land surface, such as sunlight reflectivity and evaporation, and that climate models suggest large reforestation programs in the boreal (colder) regions of the world could have limited benefits due to the replacement of large areas of reflective snow with dark forest canopies.

Conversely, he added, the climate benefits of reforestation in the tropics are enhanced by positive biophysical changes such as cloud formation which further reflect sunlight.

Source: sciencedaily

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