This is the fourth article in the five-part series |
Deforestation is the second leading contributor of carbon emissions worldwide after the burning of fossil fuels, accounting for one-fifth of annual emissions. However, the Kyoto Protocol lacks measures to protect forest or to reward nations for its conservation, an oversight that was contentious even when the pact was first drafted. With the UN conference now working on an agreement to succeed Kyoto, deforestation is once again a hot topic at this year's negotiations.
In advance of the first-ever Forest Day taking place tomorrow at the Bali conference, a report released today by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) indicates that financial incentives can go a long way to encourage developing nations to conserve forests. A similar call has been issued recently by Brazil and Indonesia, the nations which lead the world in deforestation. Their rationale is two-fold: one, the services tropical forests provide aren't just regional but global, and as such, it's fitting that all the world pay to keep them intact. It's true that of the 8 billion tonnes of carbon produced by human activity each year, tropical forests provide a 'sink' for one billion or more tonnes, essentially recapturing carbon into biomass and preventing its atmospheric warming effects. In a sense, then, those who support this argument represent forests as the worldwide insurance plan to which we all must contribute.
The second, smaller-scale rationale for conservation incentives is to improve the way of life of tropical nations' poor residents, who are the most dependent on farming and ranching methods that destroy forests. As Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva articulated at an event a few weeks ago, "You are not going to convince the poor anywhere in the world not to cut a tree without the right to a job and food in exchange."
A plan for forest conservation
Still, there's contention over the institution of such a plan, most notably in the measurement of carbon conserved and the verification that forests said to be protected really are. Illegal logging is common in many countries; it's responsible for more deforestation in Brazil and Indonesia than its legal counterpart. Recent advances in satellite imaging will likely improve future remote monitoring, an essential part of an international deforestation agreement.
Even with its difficulties, a REDD (“Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation”) agreement is a likely component of the next version of the Kyoto Protocol. And one possible means of its funding is already built into the existing Protocol in the Clean Development Mechanism, through which developed nations can finance carbon reduction projects in developing countries to help meet their own emissions limits. Eligible projects under the current CDM include switching to lower-emissions fuels, increasing efficiency, and planting trees, but forest conservation is not included.
Additional incentives, innovation needed
However, including conservation in the CDM might not be enough. The CDM is a market mechanism, meaning nations essentially pay a certain amount for a return of emission reductions credits. For forest conservation projects to be competitive with, for example, a wind energy project, they would have to offer a comparable economic value of dollars per credit. But addressing deforestation and its deeply-entrenched social causes may be more expensive than projects like wind turbines. For this reason, some scholars argue, the next Kyoto Protocol must offer compensation outside the CDM for countries that reduce deforestation.
In any case, many across the globe will be watching how forests fare at the current climate conference as an indication of their hope for protection under Kyoto's successor.
RELATED LINKS
Dec. 6 New York Times article: Forest Loss in Sumatra Becomes a Global Issue
OTHER ARTICLES IN THE SERIES
Beyond Kyoto: A Broader Policy on Climate Change:
Part V: U.S. Still Refuses Agreement on Binding Emissions Limits
Part III: Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation
Part II: Increasing Corporate Support of Climate Action
Part I: The Future of the Kyoto Protocol
EarthTrends
Top photo by DavidGardinerGarcia on Flickr
