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Forest density is increasing now – that solves warming

The Independent 11 (June 5, “Forests fight back all over the world; Woodland density is going up after decades of decline, but concerns about deforestation remain. Andrew Marszal reports on the Great Reversal” Lexis//CR)
Forest density is increasing across much of the world after decades of decline, according to a new study by scientists from the United States and Europe. The change, which is being dubbed the Great Reversal by the authors, has important, has positive implications for carbon capture and climate change. The research, carried out by teams from the University of Helsinki and New York's Rockefeller University, shows that forests are thickening in 45 of 68 countries, which together account for 72 per cent of global forests. Traditionally, environmentalists have focused their concern solely on the dwindling extent of forested areas, but the authors believe new evidence of more dense forest - made up of more and larger trees - could be crucial in reducing atmospheric carbon, which is linked to climate change. Forests are often referred to as the planet's lungs, acting as huge carbon sinks that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow and trap large amounts within their biomass and surrounding soil. In countries from Finland to Malaysia, the thickening has taken place so quickly that it has reversed the carbon losses caused by forested areas continuing to shrink during the period studied (1990-2010). In other places, including the Brazilian rainforest and parts of Africa, increasing density has partially offset the toll of deforestation caused by logging and other human activities. With the Great Reversal, the study's authors believe a tipping point has been reached, with countries now able to pursue policies to boost their forests' thickness and carbon capacities dramatically. Jesse Ausubel, a director at the Rockefeller University and a co-author, said: "The enlarging forests in almost 50 nations studied may signal the start of a welcome and necessary restoration." Aapo Rautiainen, lead author of the report, and based at Helsinki University, said: "The reversal occurred in Europe much earlier, then a little bit later in North America, and it has now spread to certain parts of Asia. So that is a positive sign." He hopes policy-makers will take note: "The carbon-storage question is important as there is growing political interest in using forests as a part of climate mitigation policy.... There is a wide range of different ways you can manage forests - density is a decisive factor in carbon storage in addition to area." Professor Pekka Kauppi of Helsinki University, a co-author of the study, said: "People worry about forest area, and that's quite correct. But if you want to know the carbon budget, it cannot be monitored observing only the changes in area. It is more important to observe this change in forest density." Commenting on the study, Mette Loyche Wilkie, co-ordinator of the UN's Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 report, confirmed that in some countries "the growing stock per hectare is increasing - and so is the carbon sequestered". She noted that a recent UN report observed this trend occurring "globally". She added that the change was uneven, and most notable in Europe, where forests had grown in density by over 6 per cent in the past decade, and North America. Environmentalists expressed concerns, however, that much of the increasing density is driven by huge new monoculture plantations. For example, China's ambitious reforestation programme has added three million new hectares (nearly eight million acres) to the country's forests every year over the past decade, but green campaigners believe this is predominantly composed of one species - eucalyptus. Planted forests are certainly playing a major role. Every year, more than 10 million hectares of forest are planted worldwide, either on newly felled woodland or reclaimed land. Species that grow faster and taller are often preferred, even where this entails importing new species, with the effects on density not seen until these reach "middle age". Bustar Maitar, who works on Greenpeace's rainforest campaign in Indonesia, expressed concerns over the loss of biodiversity, saying: "There is a carbon capture, but it's mostly the timber plantations. Timber plantations are ecologically quite different from the forest. The solution is to stop cutting down natural forests." Though the study, entitled A National and International Analysis of Changing Forest Density, does not itself consider biodiversity, the authors concede there is a balance to be struck. "Almost always there are trade-offs. Harmonising with other goals for forests is always difficult," says Professor Kauppi. "They have to serve many purposes - whether it's beauty, like the English countryside where the important priority is the landscape, or biodiversity, or protection, there are many things. It always has to be balanced, but the carbon budget is important." The report's lead author, Mr Rautiainen, added: "In some regions, of course, the emphasis on monoculture plantations is very important, but there are also possibilities of managing semi-natural or natural forests. You can't directly infer worsening or improving biodiversity from forest density." While for much of the world thickening forests are a new phenomenon, in Europe this has been occurring since the Second World War. According to a German study in the Forest Policy and Economics journal in 2006, forest density has almost doubled in Western Europe over that time, primarily because of modern, intensive forest management, and the spectacular growth of major plantations. In the rest of the world, where the thickening trend is only now emerging, the increase is slower, currently at around 1 per cent each decade in South America and parts of Asia and Africa. However, in a country the size of Brazil, which has more than 500 million hectares of already dense forest, even a small shift means millions of additional tons of carbon are trapped in the remaining rainforest.
USAID partners with countries and corporations to ensure sustainable forests

USAID 8 (“International Deforestation and Climate Change: Statement for the record by US Assistant Administrator for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade” USAID Press Release, March 23 2008 http://www.illegal-logging.info/item_single.php?it_id=2657&it=news) MLR
USAID works in partnership with recipient countries, NGOs, and other partners on many fronts. The goal is to first empower local communities. Local populations are the most immediate custodians in the management of tropical forests, and USAID recognizes that engaging these users is critical to sustainably managing and protecting those forests. Second, we aim to improve forest policy. We work with host country governments to establish favorable forest management laws and policies, ensure transparency and stakeholder participation, and build capacity to implement those policies. Third we promote sustainable practices. We help establish sustainable forest management practices in forest enterprises. Fourth, we coordinate efforts across borders. Important tropical forests often cross political boundaries; we support programs that work across borders to promote effective large-scale forest conservation. And finally, we make it a priority to involve the private sector. Through public private partnerships, USAID successfully leverages private sector financing and commitments to facilitate legal and transparent trade of forest products derived from legitimate operators and well managed forests. By forging partnerships that function at local, national, and international levels, the US Government is implementing a wide range of effective initiatives and programs that reduce deforestation and associated greenhouse gas emissions while also supporting sustainable development goals. I would like to highlight for the Committee some of the key U.S. efforts in this area. As reported in our most recent performance report, USAID supports sustainable forest management and conservation around the globe, investing approximately $85 million in tropical forest activities from all funding accounts in FY 20061. These investments led to significant accomplishments in Africa, Asia, the Near East, Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, the Tropical Forest Conservation Act program receives an annual budget of $20 million per year allocated to the Debt Restructuring Account (DR) in Treasury in which USAID plays a key management role. In 2006, $27 million from this account leveraged $42.7 million for forest conservation through local NGOs and community groups.




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