Australia’s native forests have long been a stage for adversarial confrontations between loggers and protesters who engage in blockades and who are willing to lock on to equipment in order to immobilise it. They represent two divergent polarised viewpoints: one reductionist outlook that sees trees as a resource to be harvested, and another holistic perspective that views them as part of an ecological whole and a home to biodiversity.
Recently scientists and some of the media have been emphasising the role of the world’s forests in connection with climate change. Intact tropical forests are carbon sinks, although if they degrade they can become net carbon sources and pose an additional threat to a stable climate. The logging of forests contributes to climate change due to the release of the carbon they are storing, the loss of their carbon sink, and carbon generated from disturbed forest soils. Logging in peat-rich areas, often tropical, further multiplies climate impacts. This usually involves draining carbon-rich peat, and releases methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than CO2. In jurisdictions with a carbon price, there is also an economic value in leaving forests standing.
Deforestation and the illegal logging problem
Due to their high biodiversity, tropical forests generally have a greater ecological value than those in other parts of the world, but they are tragically being lost. Some of this is linked to timber harvesting for timber or paper, although much is tied to other commodities such as beef, soya, rubber, leather, palm oil, chocolate and coffee.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 187-utgaven av WellBeing.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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SKY WALKING
Explore the untamed beauty of the Gondwana Rainforests, where pristine pockets of wilderness beckon with thundering waterfalls, misty forest trails and encounters with rare wildlife.
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YOGA TO CONQUER THE FEAR OF DEATH
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LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD
Nostalgia is often touted as an unhelpful emotion, but recent research suggests reminiscing about the past can enrich our present and guide us towards a more fulfilling future.
ANCIENT wayfinders
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COMMUNITY & COOPERATION in the cost-of-living crisis
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On the men you
Finding your personality revealed in the foods you choose from a menu might seem like a piece of New Age flummery, but there is research suggesting that your food choices might reveal more about you than you suspect.
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatus)
Sweet potatoes are a nutritional powerhouse with many sustainable healing benefits.
Green Beat
All the latest in environmental issues