Understanding the importance of primary tropical forest protection as a mitigation strategy

Understanding the importance of primary tropical forest protection as a mitigation strategy

Background:

Primary tropical forests play a key role in the urgent task of mitigating climate change. Nevertheless, despite the recognition of forest-based mitigation strategies, the role of primary forest protection has not been explicitly considered in international policy negotiations. The authors aim to address this deficit by estimating primary tropical forest ecosystem carbon stocks and flows.

Goals and methods:

The goals of this article are to provide evidence for the mitigation value of primary tropical forests compared to other forest-based strategies, evaluate the current focus of forest-based mitigation strategies, address the issue of emissions from degradation and selective logging impacts, compare the carbon stocks of primary forests and production forests, and conclude with recommendations for implementing primary forest protection as a global mitigation strategy.

Conclusions and takeaways:

The article emphasizes the significant role of primary tropical forests in mitigating climate change and highlights the need for supportive policies, changes in guidelines for the implementation of international agreements, and a comprehensive approach to forest-based mitigation strategies. The authors highlight the need for reforms in guidelines, accounting rules, and default values to accurately reflect the carbon stocks and sequestration potential of different forest types. Finally, they stress the imperative of implementing strategies that explicitly avoid emissions where possible and enable ongoing sequestration to effectively limit global warming.

 

 

Reference: 

Mackey B, Kormos CF, Keith H, et al. Understanding the importance of primary tropical forest protection as a mitigation strategyAbstract. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change. 2020;25(5):763 - 787. doi:10.1007/s11027-019-09891-4.