Aim of the BD in CC Thinktank
Aim
to integrate Biodiversity in Climate Change policy/ the Kyoto mechanism/ Emissions Trading Scheme
Themes
Avoiding Deforestation
The real challenge seen by development experts and climate community alike is the halt deforestation in tropical areas. These figures are well-known: Brazil, having a plantation area of 5 million ha, is reporting loss of forest cover of 23 million ha in ten year period 1990-2000. Taking into account that for one hectare of mature tropical forest, which is destroyed within one year, it will take a one hectare plantation some 100 years of more to sequester the amount of carbon which has been lost through deforestation, the impact of the CDM in its current format will be small and in no way replace the necessary efforts in halting deforestation also via the CDM.
The diagram shows changes in wood volume in the world's most forest-rich nations between 1990-2005. P. Kauppi et al. « Returning forests analyzed with the Forest Identity », 2006: It is possible to sustain a large commercial wood harvest while expanding natural forest resources. It is not forest industry itself but rather a high density of population in combination with poverty that tends to drive deforestation. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/103/46/17574 "When we look at changes in both area covered and biomass, we can get a more complete picture of the ecosystems." He hoped the Forest Identity formula would be used as a tool to help governments and policymakers to formulate effective strategies. Professor Kauppi said he was hopeful for the long-term future of the planet's forests, but warned that appropriate action was essential. "Critically, it is about how people live in rural areas in developing nations," he concluded. "Can their living conditions be improved? If they can, then there is reason to be optimistic."
Peace and Biodiversity
Biodiversity-rich tropical forests in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Indochina, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Central Africa, the Amazon, Colombia, Central America and New Caledonia have all been the sites of armed conflict, sometimes involving international forces. While these conflicts have frequently, even invariably, caused negative impacts on biodiversity, peace is often even worse, as it enables forest exploitation to operate with impunity. Because many of the remaining tropical forests are along international borders, international coop- eration is required for their conservation; as a response, the concept of interna- tional “peace parks” is being promoted in many parts of the world as a way of linking biodiversity conservation with national security. The Convention on Biological Diversity, which entered into force at the end of 1993 and now has nearly 180 State Parties, offers a useful framework for such cooperation.
Abstract from http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2002/envsec_conserving_peace.pdf "Conserving the Peace: Resources, Livelihoods and Security"
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