I like Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary
General. He doesn’t just talk
about doing things; he makes things happen. I refer specifically to a new collaboration between the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
These two organizations intend to restore at least 150 million hectares
of forest by 2020 (a hectare is slightly more than 2 acres). Their joint effort will be announced at
the Secretary-General’s Climate Summit on September 23, 2014.
Restoring 150 million hectares of
forest, an area about the size of Alaska, would sequester roughly 1 gigaton of
carbon dioxide and/or the equivalent thereof every year, reducing the current
emissions gap by 11 – 17 percent.
The target date of 2020 is ambitious, but would generate US$85 billion per year in ecosystem
services that would benefit the rural poor all
over the world.
The rate of global deforestation
has slowed significantly since the beginning of the 21st
century. However, we still lose 13
million hectares a year (an area the size of Greece). The willingness of nations rich and poor to sign onto this
program is due in large part to the growing realization that forests provide
services that could very nearly be termed “priceless.” Among them are rainfall creation,
carbon removal from the atmosphere, storing and purifying water, maintaining
soil quality, providing rich habitat, and species maintenance.
Brazil can be cited as an
outstanding example of declining deforestation. It decreased by 70 percent between 2005 and 2013. This has been due in large part to a
moratorium agreed to by the soy and beef industries. The country has agreed to an 80 percent reduction by
2020. The Union of Concerned
Scientists says that Brazil has “already made a very large contribution to
combating climate change – more than that of any other nation on Earth. For this … Brazil can rightfully be
very proud.” It bears pointing out
that, prior to the moratorium, Brazil was the world’s leading contributor to
changing climate.
Glenn Hurowitz, of the American
consultancy group Climate Advisers and its activist arm, Catapult, is quoted as
saying, “ … in some countries we are winning battles against the war on trees …
I think it is the beginning of the end.
There are countries where forests are actually regrowing, including
Europe, the US, India, China, Vietnam, and even some in Africa.” Anti-deforestation pledges made by food
giants Wilmar, Unilever, and most recently Cargill point to a paradigm shift.
May this be the beginning of a new
activism on the part of participant nations and corporations.
With thanks to independent.co.uk
and unep.org.
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