Saving Forests Five Times More Effective than Carbon Capture

The best way to fight against global warming isn’t expensive, potentially ecologically disruptive carbon capture methods. It’s saving the forests that we already have, which act as massive carbon sinks, protecting the planet against catastrophic climate change.

According to a new report released by WWF Sweden, world leaders have got to join together in an international agreement to halt forest loss as a highly cost effective measure on climate change.

From Panda.org:

“Sweden should follow the examples set by its northern neighbors in developing systems to halt deforestation,” said WWF CEO General Lasse Gustavsson.. “One Swedish krona to stem deforestation results in the same emissions reductions as five kronor for the controversial carbon capture and storage technique,”

Gold in Green Forests, a report issued today by WWF-Sweden, says that next to energy efficiency halting forest loss and degradation is the most cost-effective method for mitigating climate change.

The annual loss of natural forests in developing countries is equivalent to one third of Sweden’s surface area. Forest fires, the conversion of forests to agricultural land and the cultivation of energy crops are responsible for the high rate of forest loss.

A program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, known as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) is currently being discussed in the negotiations for a global climate deal. REDD aims to make it worthwhile for developing countries to maintain their forests, as opposed to cutting them down.

Preventing deforestation should be among our first lines of defense against climate change. It definitely makes sense financially. The trick is getting nations like Indonesia – which is cutting its forests down at an alarming rate to make room for lucrative palm oil plantations – to agree to the program.

The whole report is available over at Panda.org.

Link [Panda.org]
Photo credit: Flickr user zoutedrop

World Bank Funds Destructive Palm Oil Industry

Should the World Bank be lending to the Indonesian palm oil industry, which is an environmental disaster, when the Bank may be called upon to manage international forest carbon funds? Rainforest Rescue definitely doesn’t think so – and they want your help in getting the Bank to end finance of industrial development that impacts rainforests.

From Rainforest Portal:

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) ignored its own environmental and social protection standards when it approved over a twenty year period nearly $200 million in loan guarantees for palm oil production in Indonesia. The IFC has temporarily frozen new investments in oil palm projects and is reviewing all current oil palm projects. The message must be conveyed to the World Bank that oil palm and any finance of industrial development that deforests or diminishes primary tropical rainforest must permanently end. And certainly oil palm — or any logging of primary forests, or replacement of primary forests with plantations — is not worthy of REDD forest carbon funding.

Indonesia is home to large primary rainforests and peat swamps, which naturally hold and continue to remove carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas that causes climate change.  Rampant destruction of these forests, largely to make way for palm oil plantations, has caused giant releases of CO2 into the atmosphere, making Indonesia the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet.  Oil palm inevitably causes widespread clearance of forests and peatlands and the theft of indigenous peoples’ lands.  Auditors found that Wilmar International Ltd., the recipient of IFC loans, was illegally using fire to clear primary forests, and seizing Indigenous peoples land without free, prior, and informed consent.

Protest this conflict of interest at the Rainforest Portal website by simply adding your name and email address to a protest email that will be sent to IFC officials.

Learn more about how palm oil production is threatening endangered orangutans and other wildlife, destroying Indonesian rainforests and ‘cooking the climate’ at Greenpeace.

Link [Rainforest Portal] + [Greenpeace]
Photo credit: Redapes.org

Man-Made Eco Disasters in the Making

Climate change and deforestation now stand to wipe out more than 60% of the Amazon rainforest by 2030. Not only will that be disastrous for the vast array of wildlife that the forest contains as well as people who have called it home for centuries, but for the world climate. And that’s far from the only man-made eco disaster in the making.

Check out this video from Instablogs, which illustrates some of the consequences of human interference in the earth’s fragile ecological balance.

Instablogs is a ‘news ecosystem’ where citizen journalists, bloggers and the traditional media contribute content, share it and connect with each other. Check it out at instablogs.com.

Link [Instablogs]

Targets to Save World’s Forests Won’t be Met by 2010

The world’s forests are shrinking at an alarming rate – some disappearing altogether – and we know we’ve got to do something about it. But, so far, efforts to save forests around the globe simply aren’t enough to meet the targets set under the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD), according to a new analysis.

From Nature.com:

The study is the first attempt to work out how much of the globe’s 20 major types of forest are safeguarded. It shows that only 7.7% are currently protected according to categories established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), headquartered in Gland, Switzerland. The work is based on the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s definition of a forest — that is, an area of land more than 0.5 hectares in size with more than 10% canopy cover.

“According to our analysis, the CBD targets will not be met,” says Neil Burgess, a conservation scientist at the University of Cambridge, UK, and one of the study’s authors.

John Healy, a forest ecologist at the University of Wales, Bangor, says that the study is important because it looks at forest protection in ecoregions and by forest type, rather than just total forest cover. “They have carried out the study in a far more biogeographically and ecologically meaningful way [than previous studies]“, he says.

But, he adds, “The reality is we don’t know whether the protection status is being enforced on the ground.”

The question now is, what can we do to help? There are a variety of charities and nature conservation organizations that work to preserve the world’s forests including the Nature Conservancy, Greenpeace, WWF, The Sierra Club and The Heritage Forests Campaign (which focuses on national forests in America).

Donate funds, volunteer your time or help spread the word. Some retail sites also donate a portion of each purchase to forest conservation, like The Rainforest Site Store.

Link [Nature.com]
Photo credit: Flickr user zoutedrop

Sustainable Urban Mushroom Skyscrapers Mimic Tropical Rainforests

Imagine living in a city filled with gigantic, mushroom-shaped skyscrapers modeled after the ecology of equatorial rainforests. Architect Sarah Mohd. Salleh has envisioned a way for humanity to survive in a future of overpopulation and land scarcity. Designed specifically for Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, the “Tropicool @KL” project aims to “retain the meaning of existing urban green lung and integrate it within a conducive tropical living environment.”

From EcoFriend:

Taking inspiration from the equatorial rainforests, a hostile place where life still thrives, the architect has envisioned similar structures for the urban world as well. Dubbed as The Symbiotic Tropical Mushrooms, the architecture is an artificial rainforest where trees are replaced with self-sufficient Mushroom towers. Just like in a tree, the canopy of the mushroom is integrated with transparent solar cells and the branches provide sustainable housing. The trunk is an energy passage from where supplies to the branches are made.

Apart from solar electricity, the buildings will also generate bio-mass energy, which would be channeled to each colony on the mushroom. Rainwater would be harvested and used for both potable and non-potable uses. Transportation will be minimized by keeping 90% of the area only for pedestrians. Each colony would be producing food and energy for itself by vertical gardens and living roofs.

You can’t say the world of futuristic eco-architecture is boring. This particular example shows just how creative architects can get with sustainability, and taking cues from nature is a great way to move forward as we all adjust to the realities of changing climate. As Inhabitat notes, it’s probably too complex to be built any time soon, but it’s an intriguing concept.

Link [Eco Friend] via [Inhabitat]

Demand for Palm Oil Destroying Indonesian Rainforests

The soaring global demand for palm oil is accelerating the destruction of the Indonesian rainforests. According to Greenpeace, palm oil plantations are linked to forest and peatland destruction which releases massive amounts of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

Andira Rain Tees: Supporting Education and Fair Trade While Saving the Rainforest

Help save Central and South American rainforests, one t-shirt at a time, with Andira Rain Tees. For every Rain Tee sold, a child living in endangered tropical rainforest land is given a tree to plant. Each tee features the thoughts and illustrations of children living in these areas of Central and South America – illustrations that show a love for their natural environment and a sadness about the rainforest destruction that they witness every day.

The Andira Rain Tee collection uses sustainable and earth-friendly fabrics like bamboo and organic cotton and supports fair trade practices. Andira, founded by Beth Doane, also offers a “Rescue an Animal” program through the charity Merazonia, located deep in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador – learn more here.

Andira Rain Tee designs are beautiful and playful and provoke thought about how important it is to protect and preserve the rainforests of the world – not just for the children who live there but for the good of the entire planet. The Andira Rain Tee collection includes six women’s t-shirt designs, 4 children’s t-shirt designs and a Rain Tee story tote. Check it all out at RainTees.com.

Link [Rain Tees]

1/40th of the World’s Rainforests Cleared in 5 Years

A satellite image shows where the dark green pristine forest areas in the Brazil rainforest are being encroached upon by the light green and brown deforested areas.

I am so sick of having to save the rainforest. Really, it boggles my mind that there are still people out there who think it’s okay to cut it down. It’s amazing that some people just don’t care. We’re screwing over the planet a few acres at a time. That’s why news like this is so very depressing.

From Seattlepi.com:

The remote-sensing work lead by Matthew Hansen of South Dakota State University says that from 2000 to 2005 alone, we managed to chop down 2.5 percent of the world’s rainforests. That’s 1/40th of the whole!

Hansen and his team used Landsat photography to measure the forest loss — meaning they didn’t have to reply on notoriously incomplete estimates from governments, which in some cases don’t even know the clearing is going on.

This new research shows that Brazil accounts for nearly half of global deforestation. Brazil alone! Since Brazil is a ‘developing country’, they’re exempt from the Kyoto treaty and thus have no motivation to protect the ‘lungs of the world’. They’re trying to build their economy through cutting down rainforest to plant fields for sugar cane and biofuels, as well as for logging.

It seems like well-off countries need to step in to help Brazil’s economy in a way that doesn’t sacrifice the rainforests. And, consumers need to stop buying Brazilian wood. There are plenty of alternatives out there.

The world without rainforests will not be a pleasant place to be.

Link [Seattlepi.com]
Photo credit: NASA Earth Observatory