scholarly journals Forest Carbon Gain and Loss in Protected Areas of Uganda: Implications to Carbon Benefits of Conservation

Land ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belachew Gizachew ◽  
Svein Solberg ◽  
Stefano Puliti
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Forest Carbon ◽  
Carbon Gain ◽  
Buffer Zones ◽  
Gain And Loss ◽  
Carbon Change ◽  
Carbon Losses ◽  
Change Mitigation

Uganda designated 16% of its land as Protected Area (PA). The original goal was natural resources, habitat and biodiversity conservation. However, PAs also offer great potential for carbon conservation in the context of climate change mitigation. Drawing on a wall-to-wall map of forest carbon change for the entire Uganda, that was developed using two Digital Elevation Model (DEM) datasets for the period 2000–2012, we (1) quantified forest carbon gain and loss within 713 PAs and their external buffer zones, (2) tested variations in forest carbon change among management categories, and (3) evaluated the effectiveness of PAs and the prevalence of local leakage in terms of forest carbon. The net annual forest carbon gain in PAs of Uganda was 0.22 ± 1.36 t/ha, but a significant proportion (63%) of the PAs exhibited a net carbon loss. Further, carbon gain and loss varied significantly among management categories. About 37% of the PAs were “effective”, i.e., gained or at least maintained forest carbon during the period. Nevertheless, carbon losses in the external buffer zones of those effective PAs significantly contrast with carbon gains inside of the PA boundaries, providing evidence of leakage and thus, isolation. The combined carbon losses inside the boundaries of a large number of PAs, together with leakage in external buffer zones suggest that PAs, regardless of the management categories, are threatened by deforestation and forest degradation. If Uganda will have to benefit from carbon conservation from its large number of PAs through climate change mitigation mechanisms such as REDD+, there is an urgent need to look into some of the current PA management approaches, and design protection strategies that account for the surrounding landscapes and communities outside of the PAs.

scholarly journals Valuing the Impact of Forest Disturbances on the Climate Regulation Service of Western U.S. Forests

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 903
Author(s):  
Raymundo Marcos-Martinez ◽  
José J. Sánchez ◽  
Lorie Srivastava ◽  
Natthanij Soonsawad ◽  
Dominique Bachelet
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Bark Beetle ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Forest Carbon ◽  
Social Costs ◽  
Carbon Sinks ◽  
Forest Disturbances ◽  
Beetle Damage ◽  
Carbon Losses ◽  
Change Mitigation

The protection and expansion of forest carbon sinks are critical to achieving climate-change mitigation targets. Yet, the increasing frequency and severity of forest disturbances challenge the sustainable provision of forest services. We investigated patterns of forest disturbances’ impacts on carbon sinks by combining spatial datasets of forest carbon sequestration from biomass growth and emissions from fire and bark beetle damage in the western United States (U.S.) and valued the social costs of forest carbon losses. We also examined potential future trends of forest carbon sinks under two climate-change projections using a global vegetation model. We found that forest carbon losses from bark-beetle damage were larger than emissions from fires between 2003 and 2012. The cumulative social costs of forest carbon losses ranged from USD 7 billion to USD 72 billion, depending on the severity of global warming and the discount rate. Forest carbon stocks could increase around 5% under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 or 7% under RCP 8.5 by 2091 relative to 2011 levels, mostly in forests with high net primary productivity. These results indicate that spatially explicit management of forest disturbances may increase forest carbon sinks, thereby improving opportunities to achieve critical climate-change mitigation goals.

scholarly journals Market-Level Implications of Regulating Forest Carbon Storage and Albedo for Climate Change Mitigation

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aapo Rautiainen ◽  
Jussi Lintunen ◽  
Jussi Uusivuori
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Forest Carbon ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
Land Allocation ◽  
Forest Carbon Storage ◽  
Welfare Losses ◽  
Level Model ◽  
Equilibrium Market ◽  
Change Mitigation

We explore the optimal regulation of forest carbon and albedo for climate change mitigation. We develop a partial equilibrium market-level model with socially optimal carbon and albedo pricing and characterize optimal land allocation and harvests. We numerically assess the policy's market-level impacts on land allocation, harvests, and climate forcing, and evaluate how parameter choices (albedo strength, productivity of forest land, and carbon and albedo prices) affect the outcomes. Carbon pricing alone leads to an overprovision of climate benefits at the expense of food and timber production. Complementing the policy with albedo pricing reduces these welfare losses.

scholarly journals Assessment of Carbon Stock in Forest Biomass and Emission Reduction Potential in Malaysia

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1294
Author(s):  
Asif Raihan ◽  
Rawshan Ara Begum ◽  
Mohd Nizam Mohd Said ◽  
Joy Jacqueline Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Emission Reduction ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Carbon Sink ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Forest Carbon ◽  
Change Mitigation

Malaysia has a large extent of forest cover that plays a crucial role in storing biomass carbon and enhancing carbon sink (carbon sequestration) and reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions, which helps to reduce the negative impacts of global climate change. This article estimates the economic value of forest carbon stock and carbon value per hectare of forested area based on the price of removing per ton CO2eq in USD from 1990 to 2050. The economic value of biomass carbon stored in the forests is estimated at nearly USD 51 billion in 2020 and approximately USD 41 billion in 2050, whereas carbon value per hectare forest area is estimated at USD 2885 in 2020 and USD 2388 in 2050. If the BAU scenario of forest loss (converting forests to other land use) continues, the projected estimation of carbon stock and its economic value might fall until 2050 unless further initiatives on proper planning of forest management and ambitious policy implementation are taken. Instead, Malaysia’s CO2 emission growth started to fall after 2010 due to rising forest carbon sink of 282 million tons between 2011 and 2016, indicating a huge potential of Malaysian forests for future climate change mitigation. The estimated and projected value of carbon stock in Malaysian forest biomass, annual growth of forest carbon, forest carbon density and carbon sink would be useful for the better understanding of enhancing carbon sink by avoiding deforestation, sustainable forest management, forest conservation and protection, accurate reporting of national carbon inventories and policy-making decisions. The findings of this study could also be useful in meeting emission reduction targets and policy implementation related to climate change mitigation in Malaysia.

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