Tropical forests are an undervalued asset in meeting the greatest global challenges of our time—averting climate change and promoting development. Despite their importance, tropical forests and their ecosystems are being destroyed at a high and even increasing rate in most forest-rich countries. The good news is that the science, economics, and politics are aligned to support a major international effort over the next five years to reverse tropical deforestation. Why Forests? Why Now? synthesizes the latest evidence on the importance of tropical forests in a way that is accessible to anyone interested in climate change and development and to readers already familiar with the problem of deforestation. It makes the case to decisionmakers in rich countries that rewarding developing countries for protecting their forests is urgent, affordable, and achievable.

Forests and any other trees outside the forest play a relevant role all three great UN conventions on Climate Change, on Biodiversity, and on Combating Desertification. The policy processes to implement the measures in these conventions on sub-national, national, regional and international level are extremely complex. And that complexity comes, among other factors, from a blend of different sectoral and national interests, from a large number of scientifically not yet entirely resolved issues and a wide range of different biophysical, social, cultural and political conditions all over the world. The 3rd International DAAD Workshop on “Forests in Climate Change Research and Policy: The Role of Forest Management and Conservation in a Complex International Setting” held in Dubai and Doha along the conference of the parties (COP18) from 28st November to 2nd December had a strong focus on the role of forests and their management in context of international conventions and recent international and national policy. The volume contains 20 papers that are grouped under the topics The Role of Forests and their Management under Climate Change, International Policy Processes, Technical Issues on Remote Sensing, and Country Cases on Forest Management under Climate Change.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face - both in terms of its potential impact on our societies and the earth, and the scale of international co-operation that is needed to confront it. Emerging as a component of the international dialogue on the environment and climate, the role of forests in influencing earth systems will need to be assessed. Drawing together perspectives from researchers and policy makers, this book explores how forests will interact with the physical and natural world, and with human society as the climate changes. Also considered is how the world's forests can be managed to contribute to the mitigation of climate change and to maximize the full range of economic and non-market benefits. Providing an examination of the science, a detailed consideration of the science policy interface and the international frameworks and conventions, this book is valuable reading for all those interested in sustainable forest management, climate change and the associated environmental sciences.

Looks at the question: do forests cool or warm the atmosphere and reduce global warming?

A Brookings Institution Press and Chatham House publication The global climate change problem has finally entered the world's consciousness. While efforts to find a solution have increased momentum, international attention has focused primarily on the industrial and energy sectors. The forest, and land-use sector, however, remains one of the most significant untapped opportunities for carbon mitigation. The expiration of the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period in 2012 presents an opportunity for the international community to put this sector back on the agenda. In this timely, wide-ranging volume, an international team of experts explain the links between climate change and forests, highlighting the potential utility of this sector within emerging climate policy frameworks and carbon markets. After framing forestry activities within the larger context of climate-change policy, the contributors analyze the operation and efficacy of market-based mechanisms for forest conservation and climate change. Drawing on experiences from around the world, the authors present concrete recommendations for policymakers, project developers, and market participants. They discuss sequestration rights in Chile, carbon offset programs in Australia and New Zealand, and emerging policy incentives at all levels of the U.S. government. The book also explores the different voluntary schemes for carbon crediting, provides an overview of best practices in carbon accounting, and presents tools for use in future sequestration and offset programs. It concludes with consideration of various incentive options for slowing deforestation and protecting the world's remaining forests. Climate Change and Forests provides a realistic view of the role that the forest and land-use sector can play in a post-Kyoto regime. It will serve as a practical reference manual for anyone concerned about climate policy, including the negotiators working to define a robust and enduring international framework for addressing climate change.

First Published in 2008. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

'Ironically, the threat of global warming damage provides us with one of the most powerful arguments for avoiding the worst excesses of another global problem - deforestation. Dore and Guevara have assembled a very impressive set of essays that show just how important our forests are as carbon stores and sinks. Let us hope someone is listening.' - David Pearce, University College London, UK 'Global carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels seem destined to rise with adverse consequences for global warming and for sea-level rise. This book explores how and to what extent conservation and re-growth of tropical forests can ameliorate this problem, as well as placing economic values on such strategies. Individual contributions draw on the Americas experience to examine biophysical aspects of forestry relevant to sustainability, evaluate the economics of forest retention giving particular attention to non-market values, and assess forest policies in terms of their impacts on environmental conservation. . . . a readable holistic book accessible to a wide audience of economists, non-economists and policymakers, highlighting a major problem which refuses to go away.' - Clem Tisdell, University of Queensland, Australia The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change recognises that, in the formulation of a global strategy for reducing global emissions of carbon (the main factor in global warming) forests could play an important role. This book highlights that role and demonstrates how the forests of the world may be harvested judiciously and sustainably. The authors argue that the forests are more than just a source of timber and wood; they discuss the role that forests play in reducing global warming, in preventing soil erosion and in helping to minimise the loss of biodiversity. Drawing on the expertise of contributors associated with the analysis of forests, this book is an in depth and fascinating discussion as well as a policy guide for the sustainable management of forests.

The results presented in this book summarize the main findings of the CARBOFOR project, which brought together 52 scientists from 14 research units to investigate the effects of future climate on the carbon cycle, the productivity and vulnerability of French forests. This book explains the current forest carbon cycle in temperate and Mediterranean climates, including the dynamics of soil carbon and the total carbon stock of French forests, based on forest inventories. It reviews and illustrates the main ground-based methods for estimating carbon stocks in tree biomass. Spatial variations in projected climate change over metropolitan France throughout the 21st century are described. The book then goes on to consider the impacts of climate change on tree phenology and forest carbon balance, evapotranspiration and production as well as their first order interaction with forest management alternatives. The impact of climate change on forest vulnerability is analysed. A similar simulation study was carried out for a range of pathogenic fungi, emphasizing the importance of both warming and precipitation changes. The consequences of climate change on the occurrence of forest fires and the forest carbon cycle in the Mediterranean zone are also considered.A valuable reference for researchers and academics, forest engineers and managers, and graduate level students in forest ecology, ecological modelling and forestry.

The loss of biodiversity is a major environmental problem in nearly every terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. This loss is accelerating driven by climate change, as well as by other causes including agricultural exploitation, fragmentation and degradation triggered by land use changes. The crucial issue under debate is the impact on the welfare of current and future population, and the role of humans in the exploitation of natural resources. This is of particular importance in Central America, which it is amongst the richest and most threatened biodiversity regions on the Earth, and where the loss of ecosystems strongly affects its socio-economic vulnerability. This book addresses the impacts of climate and land-use change on tropical forest ecosystems in this important region, and assesses the expected economic costs if no policy action is taken, under different future scenarios and for different geographical scales. This innovative collection utilises both theoretical approaches and empirical results to provide a conceptual framework for an integrated analysis of climate and land-use change impacts on forest ecosystems and related economic effects, offering insight into the complex relationship between ecosystems and benefits to humans. This important contribution to forest ecosystems and climate change provides invaluable reading for students and scholars in the fields of environmental and ecological economics, environmental science and forestry, natural resource management, agriculture and climate change.

The importance of this book lies in being one of the first comprehensive attempts to summarise major findings in the field of carbon sinks and climate change. . . The book also deals comprehensively with the present and future role of forests in climate change policy and practice. . . This timely book is essential reading for policy decision-makers and foresters alike. Wasantha Athukorala, Economic Analysis and Policy Reforestation and avoiding deforestation are methods of harnessing nature to tackle global warming the greatest challenge facing humankind. In this book, Colin Hunt deals comprehensively with the present and future role of forests in climate change policy and practice. The author provides signposts for the way ahead in climate change policy and offers practical examples of forestry s role in climate change mitigation in both developed and tropical developing countries. Chapters on measuring carbon in plantations, their biodiversity benefits and potential for biofuel production complement the analysis. He also discusses the potential for forestry in climate change policy in the United States and other countries where policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions have been foreshadowed. The author employs scientific and socio-economic analysis and lays bare the complexity of forestry markets. A review of the workings of carbon markets, based both on the Kyoto Protocol and voluntary participation, provides a foundation from which to explore forestry s role. Emphasis is placed on acknowledging how forests idiosyncrasies affect the design of markets for sequestered carbon. The realization of forestry s potential in developed countries depends on the depth of cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, together with in-country rules on forestry. An increase in funding for carbon retention in tropical forests is an immediate imperative, but complexities dictate that the sources of finance will likely be dedicated funds rather than carbon markets. This timely and comprehensive book will be of great value to any reader interested in climate change. Policy-makers within international agencies and governments, academics and students in the fields of geography, economics, science policy, forestry, development studies as well as carbon market participants and forest developers in the private sector will find it especially useful.