Better Forest Management Has
Key Role in Combating Climate Change, Says U.N.
Source:
GreenBiz.com
NEW YORK, March 30, 2006 - Not only do
forests absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, thereby mitigating the
effects of climate change, but using wood from a sustainably managed
forest as fuel instead of oil, coal, and natural gas, can also reduce
global warming, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
Changes in global climate are already stressing forests through higher
temperatures, altered rain patterns and more frequent and extreme
weather. At the same time, the world's forests and forest soils
currently store more than one trillion tons of carbon - twice the amount
found floating free in the atmosphere -- however, when destroyed or
over-harvested and burned, forests can become sources of carbon dioxide.
"We need to stop deforestation and expand the land area covered by
forests, certainly," says Wulf Killmann, who chairs FAO's
Interdepartmental Climate Change Working Group.
"But we also need to substitute fossil fuels with biofuels -- like wood
fuels from responsibly managed forests -- in order to reduce carbon
emissions, and we should use more wood in long-lasting products to keep
trapped carbon out of the atmosphere for longer periods of time."
The FAO says that this can be achieved not just by preventing forests
from being cut down, but through afforestation (new plantings) and
reforestation (replanting of deforested areas) of non-forested lands.
Particularly in the tropics, where vegetation grows rapidly and
therefore removes carbon from the atmosphere more quickly, planting
trees can remove large amounts of carbon from the air within a
relatively short time. Here, forests can store as much as 15 metric tons
of carbon per hectare per year in their biomass and wood, the UN agency
said.
FAO and other experts have estimated that global carbon retention
resulting from reduced deforestation, increased forest re-growth and
more agro-forestry and plantations could make up for about 15% of carbon
emissions from fossil fuels over the next 50 years.
Harvested wood is also a carbon sink -- wood used in construction or for
furniture effectively stores carbon for centuries. High-energy
construction materials used in place of wood, such as plastics,
aluminum, or cement, typically require large amounts of fossil fuels
during manufacturing. Replacing them with wood therefore has additional
benefits in terms of reducing carbon emissions.
Similarly, the use of wood fuel instead of oil, coal and natural gas,
can actually mitigate climate change. Although burning wood and biomass
does release carbon dioxide into the air, if those fuels come from a
sustainably managed forest, those carbon releases can be offset by
replanting. Indeed, if managed properly, forests can supply bioenergy
virtually without contributing any greenhouse gas to the atmosphere.
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