|
Deforestation and landuse change is second only to fossil fuels as the main cause for global increases in CO2. Not surprising considering more carbon is held in plants and soils than in all the remaining oil stocks, and more than double the amount currently in the atmosphere. Backing this up with economic data, the respected McKinsey Quarterly looked at global costs of reducing or ‘abating’ emissions across all sectors and regions. They found that of the cost-effective abatement necessary to keep world climate stable, fully one quarter of the measures were forestry measures – protecting, planting and replanting forests. Recent research by global leaders in science has also confirmed that action to mitigate global warming should not only focus on carbon-free energy but also on conserving existing forests and savannahs, and restoring natural forest.  Scientists are also becoming increasingly aware that biodiversity loss reduces the capacity of ecosystems to absorb carbon.
The natural resource activities of the Wet Tropics community enhances biodiversity and sequester carbon by literally building rainforests from the ground up, as quickly and robustly as possible (see below for more about biodiversity and climate change in the Wet Tropics). The plantings, currently in priority corridors on the Atherton Tablelands and along the Great Barrier Reef coastline, typically include up to 3000 stems per hectare of locally provenanced species carefully nurtured in local nurseries and planted out by community teams. It's not cheap to build resilience, and cost estimates for one hectare of biodiversity plantings are around $30,000.
Degree Celsius is not only about forests and trees. It aims to measure the full suite of agriculture, forestry and landuse change activities being carried out be the Wet Tropics landholders. These include, for instance, reducing fertilizer use on sugarcane, herd management to reduce methane, and grazing land management to improve measurable soil carbon. Many of the methodologies for measuring these activities, in terms of greenhouse gases, are still being developed and will be implemented as soon as possible.
Our region of the world has some of the highest carbon sequestration rates in the world with estimates as high as 376 tonnes of carbon per hectare. So investing here will grow your money and the resulting ecosystem services faster. Conversions from cleared land back to forest can be up to 80% of these values after 30 years, so around 300 tonnes, or close to 1100 tonnes of carbon dioxide (multiply carbon by 3.67 to make the conversion).
World Heritage Biodiversity and Climate Change
Here in the Wet Tropics there is an added imperative to restore natural forests. Our World Heritage Forests contain large populations of endemic species including tree kangaroos and possums. There are at least 65 vertebrate animals that will be affected by even a 10 increase in temperature, and a temperature increase associated with a business-as-usual scenario will wipe out most of our cool adapted upland species as illustrated in the diagram that shows the geographical pattern of species richness of endemic rainforest animals at each temperature scenario. With a 3.50C increase in temperature – a temperature rise recently predicted for the region under a medium emissions scenario – we will have lost half of the core environment for the Wet Tropics animals and an increase of 50C will completely remove the core environment of 57 species. It’s an environmental catastrophe of global significance.
 Historical habitat fragmentation has increased this proneness to extinction because it impedes the ability of animals to move to another place. That’s why Terrain NRM and Degree Celsius are working to fight climate change by building up the resilience of the region through the strategic conversion of land back to forests with a focus on landscape linkages; priority corridors connecting forests. Overall conservation management involving revegetation, and control of feral animals weeds and diseases will help maintain biodiversity and regulate regional climate.
Degree Celsius is currently assisting other regions in the roll out systems for aggregating carbon in reforestation activities and regrowth. It is also working on regional aggregation approaches to avoided deforestation and degradation.
|
