Conserving forests is the best way to stabilize the climate

FOrests have taught us much more than we can ever convey. The more we learn, the more we recognize trees as essential partners not only in our survival, but also in our education and socialization. March 21st is International Forest Day, a day where we reflect on the glory and gifts of the world’s forests, but also on the serious dangers they face.

Last month’s IPCC report has given us the unchanging truth: we face ‘inevitable multiple climate risks’ over the next two decades, entering an era that will expose millions of people to food and water insecurity, and will eradicate them. of many animals and plants. Species. Any further delay in global action “misses a short and quickly closed window of opportunity to secure a viable and sustainable future for all.”

It’s hard to hear such bad news. Fortunately, two of the most important solutions are our areas of expertise – conserving forests and proposing alternatives to wood for making toilet paper, clothing and packaging. According to the IPCC, “reduction of deforestation and forest degradation rates represented mitigating one of the most effective and robust options for climate change“.

But these climate heroes – our forests – are in constant danger. Even the oldest and most vital forests are recorded for wood, biofuel pellets, cardboard, paper packaging and viscose fabrics.

The trend to convert biodiversity into carbon-rich old growth forests and industrial plantations such as pines, eucalyptus trees and palm oil has also cost us dearly. We have lost historic carbon storage and sequestration capacity, destroyed wildlife habitats, and exposed ourselves to the life-threatening dangers of climate instability: more extreme weather, more floods, more fires, and even more virulent pandemics.

Large forests influence regional weather patterns. The Amazon rainforest, for example, generates atmospheric conditions that promote not only regular rainfall there and in the surrounding farmland, but as far as the Great Plains of North America. By seeing trees only as a source of wood and pulp, we have weakened our natural allies. Targeting and further disinformation campaigns claiming that industrial logs are sustainable and carbon neutral are making humanity increasingly vulnerable to truly existential threats.

Conserving global forests is the fastest, most economical and effective way to stabilize our climate. Forests are also key to conserving the vibrant biodiversity, the remarkable and intricate range and inter-species relationships with which we share this planet. These species work together to clean our air and water, and to regulate our global carbon, water and nutrient cycles. It is no coincidence that we inhabit a world covered with forest – they make life on earth worth living.

Forests are also amazing role models for living. Trees bloom when living in different communities. Contrary to the assumptions that trees are difficult to compete for survival, recent scientific studies show that trees and forests support each other, and are healthier when collaborating with others. They protect each other from the weather, collaborate in the collection of resources, distribute nutrients and water to those in need, and support their offspring for a good start in life. Forests can teach us about the debilitating role of birth and death, about resilience, and how caring for our communities is essential in our fight against climate change.

Because forests are integral to life on this planet, it is time to implement as many solutions as we can to protect them. A growing chorus of scientists is calling for the conservation of at least 30% of the planet’s forests by 2030 and 50% of the Earth’s for 2050 dedicated to the maintenance of natural ecosystems.

Handful of approaches to forest protection while achieving economic benefits for indigenous peoples and local communities, and ultimately all of us. For example, enabling indigenous peoples and collaborating with Western science can improve the ability of forests to survive, thus saving carbon, circulating water, and protecting species. Creating an economic system that values ​​carbon storage through forest protection and restoration will transform our future.

For example, companies can replace the massive amount of wood pulp currently used to make paper packaging and textiles, with cellulose extracted from other non-wood sources such as recycled clothing and paper, food waste and agricultural waste. If this replacement is applied to the packaging supply chain alone, more than three billion trees will be saved in the forests each year, adding up to 2030 worldwide saved forests.

We have a short opportunity to save old growth forests and change our trajectory. The conservation of these carbon- and species-rich forest landscapes, previously unaffected by industrial activity, is vital to planetary stability. When and where logs occur, respect native rights, save mother trees (large trees that connect and support other trees through an underground mycelium network, fondly called the Woodbreaking Web), and maintain their networks must be part of sustainable forest management. In addition, the regeneration of degraded forests with a diversity of species is necessary to build up the resilience and self-healing of forests.

In the last two years – and even in recent weeks – we have seen how supply chains and governments can pivot to deal with emergencies, and reject goods from unconscious sources. We can do this to save the forests of the world as well. A viable planet needs no less.

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