Implementation of REDD+ in sub-Saharan Africa: state of knowledge, challenges and opportunities

ABSTRACTDeforestation and forest degradation represent an important part of global CO2 emissions. The identification of the multiple drivers of land-use change, past and present forest cover change and associated carbon budget, and the presence of locally adapted systems to allow for proper monitoring are particularly lacking in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Any incentive system to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) will have to overcome those limits. This paper reviews the main challenges to implementing effective REDD+ mitigation activities in SSA. We estimate that SSA is currently a net carbon sink of approximately 319 TgCO2 yr−1. Forest degradation and deforestation put the forest carbon stock at risk (mean forest carbon stock is 57,679 TgC). Our results highlight the importance of looking beyond the forest sector to ensure that REDD+ efforts are aligned with agricultural and land-use policies.

Download Full-text

Opportunities for Reaping the Benefits of REDD+ in Sikkim Himalaya for Conservation and Enhancement of Carbon Stock

Indian Journal of Forestry ◽

10.54207/bsmps1000-2017-3q796x ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 209-215

Author(s):

Mohommad Shahid ◽

◽

L.K. Rai ◽

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Carbon Sink ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Forest Cover Change ◽

Change Analysis ◽

Carbon Sequestration Potential ◽

Sequestration Potential ◽

Article 5

Paris Agreement recognized the role of forests as carbon sink for mitigation of climate change, under Article 5 as REDD+, i.e., reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. Forest cover change analysis was done between two time periods 2005 and 2015 to assess the forest degradation. Carbon sequestration potential of the forests of Sikkim for mitigating climate change is also estimated. Benefits of implementing of REDD+ in Sikkim involving local communities as stakeholder to conserve and sustainably manage the forest is assessed. Gaps and challenges faced by the stakeholder in implementing REDD+ at project level are also highlighted.

Download Full-text

The national determinants of deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2012.0405 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 368 (1625) ◽

pp. 20120405 ◽

Cited By ~ 85

Author(s):

Thomas K. Rudel

Keyword(s):

Forest Cover ◽

Driving Forces ◽

National Level ◽

Congo Basin ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Small Scale ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Forest Cover Change ◽

Level Data ◽

Sub Saharan

For decades, the dynamics of tropical deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have defied easy explanation. The rates of deforestation have been lower than elsewhere in the tropics, and the driving forces evident in other places, government new land settlement schemes and industrialized agriculture, have largely been absent in SSA. The context and causes for African deforestation become clearer through an analysis of new, national-level data on forest cover change for SSA countries for the 2000–2005 period. The recent dynamic in SSA varies from dry to wet biomes. Deforestation occurred at faster rates in nations with predominantly dry forests. The wetter Congo basin countries had lower rates of deforestation, in part because tax receipts from oil and mineral industries in this region spurred rural to urban migration, declines in agriculture and increased imports of cereals from abroad. In this respect, the Congo basin countries may be experiencing an oil and mineral fuelled forest transition. Small farmers play a more important role in African deforestation than they do in southeast Asia and Latin America, in part because small-scale agriculture remains one of the few livelihoods open to rural peoples.

Download Full-text

The Sub-Saharan Africa carbon balance, an overview

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-6-2085-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 2085-2123 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

A. Bombelli ◽

M. Henry ◽

S. Castaldi ◽

S. Adu-Bredu ◽

A. Arneth ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Balance ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Fire Regime ◽

Carbon Sink ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Cycle System ◽

First Results ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Impact

Abstract. This study presents a summary overview of the carbon balance of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by synthesizing the available data from national communications to UNFCCC and first results from the project CarboAfrica (net ecosystem productivity and emissions from fires, deforestation and forest degradation, by field and model estimates). According to these preliminary estimates the overall carbon balance of SSA varies from 0.43 Pg C y−1 (using in situ measurements for savanna NEP) to a much higher sink of 2.53 Pg C y−1 (using model estimates for savanna NEP). UNFCCC estimates lead to a moderate carbon sink of 0.58 Pg C y−1. Excluding anthropogenic disturbance and intrinsic episodic events, the carbon uptake by forests (0.98 Pg C y−1) and savannas (from 1.38 to 3.48 Pg C y−1, depending on the used methodology) are the main components of the SSA sink effect. Fires (0.72 Pg C y−1), deforestation (0.25 Pg C y−1) and forest degradation (0.77 Pg C y−1) are the main contributors to the SSA carbon emissions, while the agricultural sector contributes only with 0.12 Pg C y−1. Notably, the impact of forest degradation is higher than that caused by deforestation, and the SSA forest net carbon balance is close to equilibrium. Savannas play a major role in shaping the SSA carbon balance, due to their large areal extent, their fire regime, and their strong interannual NEP variability, but they are also a major uncertainty in the overall budget. This paper shows that Africa plays a key role in the global carbon cycle system and probably could have a potential for carbon sequestration higher than expected, even if still highly uncertain. Further investigations are needed, particularly to better address the role of savannas and tropical forests. The current CarboAfrica network of carbon measurements could provide future unique data sets for better estimating the African carbon balance.

Download Full-text

Soil carbon stock and emission: estimates from three land-use systems in Ghana

Ecological Processes ◽

10.1186/s13717-020-00279-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Joseph Anokye ◽

Vincent Logah ◽

Andrews Opoku

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Use ◽

Soil Temperature ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Carbon Stock ◽

Arable Land ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Soil Carbon Stock ◽

Land Use Systems ◽

Sub Saharan

Abstract Background Land-use systems that sequester carbon and reduce CO2 emissions are key in the global mitigation strategies of climate change. Greenhouse gas emission from agro-ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa is little studied. Here, we quantified soil carbon stock (SCS) and CO2 emissions from three land-use systems viz. arable land, oil palm plantation and forestland in the semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana. Results Soil organic carbon concentration at the 0–15 cm layer in the forestland was 62 and 23% greater than that in the arable land and palm plantation, respectively. The SCS along the 1.0-m profile was 108.2, 99.0 and 73.5 Mg ha−1 in the forestland, palm plantation and arable land, respectively. Arable land emitted 30–46% more CO2 than palm plantation and forestland. In the dry season, CO2 emissions were respectively 0.93, 0.63 and 0.5 kg ha−1 h−1 from the arable land, palm plantation and forestland. Positive relationships were observed between CO2 emissions and SCS, soil temperature, and moisture. The SCS greatly influenced CO2 emission in the dry season more than in the wet season in the relatively higher carbon-input systems (forestland and palm plantation). Soil temperature accounted for more than 55% of CO2 emissions in both seasons, which has implications in the era of rising global temperatures. Conclusions The study provides relevant information on carbon storage abilities of the three land-use types in tropical climate and calls for drastic climate change actions to reduce degradation of forest cover and soil disturbance in agro-ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa.

Download Full-text

Estimation of Future Changes in Aboveground Forest Carbon Stock in Romania. A Prediction Based on Forest-Cover Pattern Scenario

Forests ◽

10.3390/f11090914 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 914

Author(s):

Monica Dumitrașcu ◽

Gheorghe Kucsicsa ◽

Cristina Dumitrică ◽

Elena-Ana Popovici ◽

Alexandra Vrînceanu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Stock ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Forest Biomass ◽

Forest Carbon ◽

Carbon Accumulation ◽

Pattern Change ◽

Forest Carbon Stock ◽

The Future ◽

Cover Pattern

The aboveground forest biomass plays a key role in the global carbon cycle and is considered a large and constant carbon reservoir. Hence, exploring the future potential changes in forest-cover pattern can help to estimate the trend of forest biomass and therefore, carbon stock in a certain area. As a result, the present paper attempts to model the potential changes in aboveground forest carbon stock based on the forest-cover pattern scenario simulated for 2050. Specifically, the resulting aboveground forest biomass, estimated for 2015 using the allometric equation based on diameter at breast height and the estimated forest density, was used as baseline data in the present approach. These spatial data were integrated into the forest-cover pattern scenario, predicted by using a spatially explicit model, i.e., the Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small regional extent (CLUE-S), in order to estimate the potential variation of aboveground forest carbon stock. Our results suggest an overall increase by approximately 4% in the aboveground forest carbon stock until 2050 in Romania. However, important differences in the forest-cover pattern change were predicted on the regional scale, thus highlighting that the rates of carbon accumulation will change significantly in large areas. This study may increase the knowledge of aboveground forest biomass and the future trend of carbon stock in the European countries. Furthermore, due to their predictive character, the results may provide a background for further studies, in order to investigate the potential ecological, socio-economic and forest management responses to the changes in the aboveground forest carbon stock. However, in view of the uncertainties associated with the data accuracy and methodology used, it is presumed that the results include several spatial errors related to the estimation of aboveground forest biomass and simulation of future forest-cover pattern change and therefore, represent an uncertainty for the practical management of applications and decisions.

Download Full-text

Estimation and Mapping of Asabot Monastery Dry Afromontane Forest Carbon Stock Under Diverse Land-Use Scenarios

State of the Art in Ethiopian Church Forests and Restoration Options ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-86626-6_6 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 91-110

Author(s):

Tulu Tolla ◽

Teshome Soromessa ◽

Richard P. Dick ◽

Seyoum Leta ◽

Mekuria Argaw ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Carbon Stock ◽

Forest Carbon ◽

Afromontane Forest ◽

Forest Carbon Stock ◽

Land Use Scenarios ◽

Dry Afromontane Forest

Download Full-text

The Impact of Charcoal Production for Energy on Tropical Rainforest Resources in Nigeria

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11780 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Angelique Lansu ◽

Jaap Bos ◽

Wilfried Ivens

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Population Growth ◽

Open Data ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Charcoal Production ◽

Household Energy ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Impact

<p>In Sub Saharan Africa, many people depend on biomass for their household energy. Charcoal production is a common technique for converting biomass into a useful energy source. Nigeria is the biggest charcoal producer in Sub Saharan Africa. A large amount of wood is harvested from Nigerian forests for this charcoal production for energy. The Nexus of charcoal-land use change-energy imposes a considerable burden on the amount of wood that must be extracted from the forest for charcoal production. Therefore, charcoal production is linked to deforestation and forest degradation. However, it is not clear to what extent the demand for charcoal in Nigeria contributes to deforestation by land use change, and degradation of forests by selected wood logging. In this study, an attempt was made to provide an answer to this and to state which situation could occur by 2030, following the expected population growth in Nigeria. To achieve this, literature and open data on charcoal production, deforestation, forest degradation and population growth in Nigeria have been collected and analysed. Subsequently, calculations were carried out to determine to what extent charcoal production contributed to deforestation in the period 1990-2015. In this period, the share of deforestation due to charcoal production increased from 6% to 14%. If the expected charcoal production in 2030 were to apply to the current situation, this share would be around 20%. The quantity of wood required can also be expressed in numbers of hectares with biomass. In that case, around 80,000 ha would be required in 2030. To validate the findings, further research is needed on the amount of biomass per hectare in Nigerian forests, and on the amount of charcoal exported, not only as source of household energy but also globally as barbecue fuel. A more extensive analysis of open data on the nexus charcoal-land use change-energy at multiple scales will help to project future interlinkages.</p>

Download Full-text