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Large areas of the world could be easily reforested, scientists say
December 22nd, 2010
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
With concerns about the rapid deforestation of the Amazon rain forest, scientists say that large swathes of the globe could be easily reforested. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, forest lands the size of Russia could easily be replanted across the world.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The IUCN have drawn up a world map showing 1.5 billion hectares where there are opportunities to replant degraded or cleared forests.
"There's no one-size-fits-all blueprint. The restoration would need to be driven by the community needs in each area," Carole Saint-Laurent, IUCN's senior forest policy advisor says.
"We know it can be done. There are people all over the world who are doing it already."
According to IUCN, three quarters of the world's forests have been cleared, degraded or fragmented due to human activity, while a third have disappeared altogether.
Forests fulfill population needs for food, fuel and timber and restoring them can benefit communities as well as the environment, the organization said.
"This study came out of a partnership with about 30 governments all over the world. We are bringing people who are working on forest restoration together, as well as increasing understanding of the contribution that forest landscape restoration can make in addressing climate change," Saint-Laurent says.
"So far this is all at a global level, but our next step is to apply this to individual countries to give a more detailed picture."
"These are 1.5 billion hectares where opportunities could be found," said Saint-Laurent. "More analysis needs to be carried out to find what's really possible within that, because we haven't been able to map land rights, and there might be areas that are not suitable from a social point of view.
"Even if you took out a third, it's still a vast area and a vast opportunity.
"We are talking about taking landscapes that are not doing anything for anybody and producing something of value," Saint-Laurent says.
"It can help create livelihoods for communities. There's an increasing groundswell of interest at the moment in forest restoration.
"People are starting to see there's a wonderful opportunity that forests can offer more to people than they already do."