|
Any long-term plan to reduce the threat of dangerous global warming must account for the use of land.
Deforestation and agricultural practices are believed to account for almost one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). The majority of emissions from land use change come from the clearing of tropical forests to make way for agriculture, while demand for agricultural, livestock, and tropical wood products by the world's largest economies is set to increase. A successful climate change treaty, with a recognized price for carbon emissions and sequestration, could improve this situation, but it may be years before the complexities are resolved to include agriculture and forests in such a system.
Our planet cannot wait. The National Wildlife Federation has initiated collaborative research and a dialogue with leaders of major commodity industries to reduce the “climate change footprint” of agriculture and livestock. Our first steps have included:
Producing white papers, or “think pieces,” to analyze the problem and propose solutions. See the first chapter of our white paper: “From Source to Sink”, which documents the contribution of soy, palm oil and livestock production to tropical deforestation; explores the effectiveness of “sustainability standards” and certification systems for these products; and posits a number of ways to provide financial incentives for production without deforestation. -
Engaging with the “certification roundtables” that promote sustainable production of the main agricultural commodities with major impacts on tropical rainforests (such as biofuels, wood/paper, livestock, palm oil and soy), to spotlight their GHG footprints. NWF has a leadership role in the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (visit and contribute to our wiki at www.BioenergyWiki.net), and the Forest Stewardship Council and is a member of the Grupo de Trabalho Pecuária Sustentável. See the report from our first workshop on reducing deforestation for cattle expansion in the Brazilian Amazon, a ground-breaking event that marked the first time all the major industry actors came together with government and NGOs, and agreed on the key building blocks for responsible cattle production.
-
Promoting financial incentives to give greater value to standing forests, otherwise forests will continue to be worth more dead than alive. This concept is known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). As well as protecting the tropical carbon sinks that help regulate our climate, such a measure could reduce competition in the United States from low-cost products sourced from regions of tropical deforestation. See the Unity Agreement of the Tropical Forest & Carbon Coalition, through which NWF and its coalition partners have helped to guide the drafting of provisions to reduce tropical deforestation in both the House and Senate versions of US climate legislation.
Designing pilot projects that demonstrate the potential for “sustainable commodities” markets to reduce agricultural impacts on tropical forests, and foster best practices (pilot projects under development).
For further information, contact Program Manager Nathalie Walker at WalkerN@nwf.org.
|
