The carbon emissions from forests decreased by 25% between 2001 and 2015

The total carbon emissions from forests declined more than 25 percent between 2001 and 2015, mainly as a result of the slowdown in global deforestation rates, according to new estimates published by the United Nations to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Global emissions from deforestation fell from 3.9 to 2.9 gigatons (Gt) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year in 2001-2015. Deforestation is defined as a change in land use from forest to other land uses.

“It is encouraging that overall deforestation is declining and that some countries in all regions have shown impressive progress, as Costa Rica, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Cape Verde, Vietnam, China, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Turkey, and other“Said the Director General of FAO, José Graziano da Silva. “I would urge all countries to share their experiences with other countries. Through South-South cooperation, FAO is ready to facilitate this collaboration and knowledge sharing”.

The FAO stressed while, despite the overall reduction of carbon emissions from forests linked to reduced deforestation, emissions from forest degradation have increased significantly between 1990 and 2015, from 0.4 to

FAO published these figures for the first time on International Forest Day, which is celebrated on March 21, 2015. The information comes from a larger study of FAO supported by the database on emissions from FAOSTAT and

Manage forests in a sustainable manner to address the impact of climate change

The sustainable management of forests will result in reducing carbon emissions from forests and has a vital role to play in tackling the effects of climate change, emphasized the Director General of FAO.

"Forests are crucial for the carbon balance and contain almost three quarters of total carbon in the atmosphere. Deforestation and forest degradation increase the concentration of greenhouse gases and, in turn, the growth of forests and trees absorb carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas emission”, he added.

Graziano da Silva also stressed the important role of sustainable agriculture to reduce pressure on forests, along with “the implementation of the UN-REDD program to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation ".

The imbalances between countries and regions

Carbon sequestration by forests helps offset, though not entirely, global emissions due to conversion of forests to other types of land use. Forests absorb and store additional two million tons of CO2 per year (2011-2015), excluding emissions from deforestation. Half of forest carbon sink is related to the growth of planted forests.

Developed countries still account for the bulk of the estimated overall carbon sinks, with a share of 60 percent (2011-2015). This percentage, however, has declined from 65 percent (2001-2010), mainly due to lower creation of new forest plantations.

Developing countries account for 40 percent of the total remaining carbon sink.

In terms of regions, Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean continued to emit more carbon than they absorb, although emissions in Africa and Latin America declined between 1990 and 2015. Only Brazil accounts for over 50 percent of the overall reduction Estimated carbon emissions between 2001 and 2015.

The forests of Europe and North America functioned as net sinks of carbon between 1990 and 2015 as they absorb more carbon than they emit, while Oceania showed no clear trend in forest emissions over the same period.

Methodology

The FAO analysis is based on national data submitted to the Organization by countries with land and air measurements. They are not directly comparable to measurements using only satellite images that, while useful, do not capture certain forest types or stages of the growth cycle, and easily capture the dynamic changes of land use.

For example, the dry forests of Central Africa and Brazil have large spaces between the trees, often have few leaves for much of the year, which makes them difficult to capture by remote sensing, and regular gathering activities in forests under management may be perceived as deforestation in satellite studies.

SOURCE: Fao.org