A report to be presented at the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) on April 20 will canvas the possibility that the world’s forests may move from being important carbon “sinks” to a net source of CO2.
The study: ‘Adaptation of Forests and People to Climate Change – A Global Assessment’ was put together by the Vienna-based International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) through the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF).
The report was the result of work by 35 of the world’s top forestry scientists and is expected to play a key role at the UNFF discussions which run until May 01.
Risto Seppälä, a professor at the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla) and Immediate Past President of IUFRO, who chaired the expert panel that produced the report, described the very real risk of forests becoming sources for carbon.
“We normally think of forests as putting the brakes on global warming, but in fact over the next few decades, damage induced by climate change could cause forests to release huge quantities of carbon and create a situation in which they do more to accelerate warming than to slow it down,” he said.
The report said a rise in global temperatures has already slowed regenerative growth in the world’s tropical rainforests and the dryer conditions have made the forests more vulnerable to fire, disease and insect infestations.
“The current carbon-regulating functions of forests are at risk of being lost entirely unless carbon emissions are reduced drastically,” said Alexander Buck, IUFRO’s deputy director and a coordinator of the report, to news agency.
“With a global warming of 2.5 C (4.5 F) compared to pre-industrial times, the forest ecosystems would begin to turn into a net source of carbon, adding significantly to emissions from fossil fuels and deforestation,” he added.”Policymakers should focus greater attention on helping forests and the people who live around them adapt to anticipated problems,” said Professor Seppälä.
