"Trees, forests and sustainable forestry can help the world recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and combat looming environmental crises such as climate change and biodiversity loss. But this requires societies to better recognise the considerable value of forests and their crucial roles in building inclusive, resilient and sustainable economies.
There are three pathways along which societies, communities and individual landowners, users and managers can derive more tangible value from forests and trees while addressing environmental degradation, preventing future pandemics, increasing resilience and transforming economies. These are:
• Halting deforestation and maintaining forests. This could avoid emitting between two gigatons (Gt) and 3,6Gt of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO₂e) per year between 2020 and 2050, including about 14% of what is needed up to 2030 to keep planetary warming below 1,5°C, while safeguarding more than half the earth's terrestrial biodiversity.
• Restoring degraded lands and expanding agroforestry. About 1,5 billion hectares of degraded land would benefit from restoration, and increasing tree cover could boost agricultural productivity on another one billion hectares. Restoring degraded land through afforestation and reforestation could cost-effectively take between 0,9 GtCO,e and 1,5 GtCO₂e per year out of the atmosphere between 2020 and 2050.
• Sustainably using forests and building green value chains. This would help meet future demand for materials (with global consumption of all natural resources expected to more than double from 92 billion tons in 2017 to 190 billion tons in 2060), and underpin sustainable economies.
THE ROLE OF SMALLHOLDERS
Denne historien er fra September 23, 2022-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra September 23, 2022-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
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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Understanding eye conditions in horses: causes and first aid
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IPM requires a completely different mindset
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Does parrot farming protect wild species?
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Bacterial and fungal diseases of garlic
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Technology that can help protect South Africa's farms
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Free State has no reason to mark Transport Month
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SA's food system ‘vulnerable to climate change'
The Just Transition Agenda for Food System Policymaking in SA webinar, hosted by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) in October, highlighted the role that South Africa’s food system plays in contributing to climate change and how vulnerable it is to the impact thereof.