Deforestation

How are the Indonesian government and companies trying to combat this?

-some companies have pledged to eliminate deforestation in their supply chain -The Indonesian government has issued a nation wide moratorium on issuing new permits for the use of primary natural forests and implemented a moratorium on the conversion of peatlands

What is a direct driver/agent of deforestation?

-sometimes referred to as as agents -human activities that directly reduce forest cover

What is monoculture?

the production of a single crop in a given area

Why is fragmentation a problem?

-it decreases biodiversity -it creates many more edges between a deforested area and a forested area -it increases the area of the forest that is affected -in 1990, we cut down about 7% of the forest but fragmented about 16.5% (area of the size of Texas)

What is driving deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia? What impacts has this had?

-palm oil -palm oil is used in everything -most of the palm oil plantations are owned by very large companies that do timber cutting and pulpwood production -biodiversity is being affected... orangutans

What are the indirect drivers for deforestation?

-poverty and overpopulation are often cited as the underlying causes of tropical deforestation -but this is a complex issue... a competitive global economy=need for money in poorer tropical countries >on the national level, governments sell logging concessions to raise money for projects, pay international debts to developed countries, and develop industry >peasant farmers raise crops for self-subsistence, driven by the basic human need for food (farming a way of life for large parts if the population)

How much Co2 is released by tropical tree loss?

-between 2014-2018, on average, we admitted 4.7 giga tons/per year of carbon dioxide -THAT IS MORE GREENHOUSE GASES THAN EVERY COUNTRY IN THE EU COMBINED RELEASED

How much tropical forest loss does cattle ranching account for? Where is it occurring? Why is it inefficient?

-cattle ranching accounts for more than 2/3 of tropical forest loss worldwide (70%_ >almost exclusively Colombia, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil -cattle provides only 8% of our biomass

What is deforestation?

-clearing of forests for other lands i.e. grazing, agriculture, new settlements -widely recognized as one of the most important environmental problems we are currently facing

What is fragmentation?

-areas that are isolated after deforestation -separating the forest regions

How much tropical forest was being destroyed in the 1980s?

-14 million hectares were being destroyed each year (about the size of North Carolina) -of this number, 5.4 million hectares (about 1/3) was from South America alone... primarily the Amazon

When did deforestation become an issue?

-1980s

How much forest has been lost in Borneo?

-Borneo is the world's 3rd largest island -only half the island's cover remains today -From 2000 to 2017, forest area declined by 14%, in 3.06 Mha of forest converted into industrial plantations (88% palm oil and 12% pulpwood)

How much ice free land has been transformed into agricultural land?

-about 40%

Why did Brazil deforestation rates decrease between 2004-2012 and then rise again?

-Falling commodity prices and an increase enforcement of government conservation initiatives -2004:PPCDAm (Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon).... created national and state parks, protected territories for indigenous population, strengthened enforcement and satellite monitoring, made i harder to illegally export deforested products -2008: Amazon Fund -Now rates increasing again due to agribusiness friendly government -Norway and Germany suspend payments to Amazon Fund

What is the Amazon fund? Who were the major funders and why did they suspend payments?

-In 2008 the Amazon Fund was established -Funded path for sustainable livelihoods for people in the Amazon basin (so these people don't have to result to selling illegally deforested products to survive -Norway and Germany major funders -They suspended payments in 2012 because Brazil stopped enforcing and participating in the Fund

What is the NYDF?

-New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) -Proposed in 2014 at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York -Aims to halve tropical deforestation by 2020 and end it by 2030

How is the NYDF going?

-Not so good... -Deforestation has increased -Deforestation worldwide has continued at an unsustainable pace: an area of tree cover the size of the UK was lost every year between 2014 & 2018

Where are we losing the most primary forest from right now?

-The tropical regions of Africa -Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire

What is the Cerrado? Why is the Cerrado at risk?

-a vast tropical savanna ecoregion -the cerrado is the most biologically diverse savanna in the world and is being cleared for large-scale farming at rates that are TWICE those in the Amazon -more than 60% of the savannah's former 200 million hectares has disappeared under the plow, mostly within the past two decades

What are examples of direct drivers?

-expansion of agriculture, infrastructure development, and wood extraction -e.g. conversion to cropland and pasture: large plantation farming (commercial farming), subsistence farming, wood extraction

Why is deforestation a problem (many many reasons given)?

-forests provide a habitat and if we lose habitats we lose biodiversity -forests act as system regulators (e.g. rainforests regulate both air temperature and atmospheric humidity through evapotranspiration) -Amazon, sometimes referred to as the lungs of the world, because they are huge carbon sinks... deforestation adds more carbon into our atmosphere -150 million native indigenous people rely on these areas for a way of life

How has Brazil tried to combat soybean related deforestation?

-in 2099, pressure in Brazil led to a moratorium (a temporary prohibition of an activity) on buying beef from ranches responsible for deforestation, and is one of the most important reasons why Amazon deforestation dropped by 70% in 205 to 2014

Why is palm oil production related deforestation particularly bad for the environment?

-the area under cultivation for palm oil is peatlands... carbon-rich swamps -peat is the precursor for coal -these soils contain up to 28 times as much carbon as the forests above them, carbon is released to the atmosphere when peatlands are drained for palm oil plantations

What is evapotranspiration?

-the combined processes of evaporation and transpiration -the process by which water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation from the soil and other surfaces and by transpiration from plants

How do the cattle ranching plots compare in shape to the deforestation in the amazon?

-they are not fishbone patterned -they are larger, blockier, and spreading in less linear ways

What do forests regulate and how?

-through system regulation and evapotranspiration

Where are forest canopies higher?

-tropical forests

What is soy mostly used for?

-used to feed cattle!!!! -and used to feed pigs, chickens, dairy cows, and farmed fish, through vegetable oil and biodiesel are also produced from soy

What do we need to do?

-we need to preserve intact sections of tropical forests >the question of "edge communities"... the fragmented areas -address the economic needs of the lesser developed nations in which all of the tropical forests reside >broad-scale commercial and conservation strategies need to be developed but these MUST take into account economic and environmental constraints of the particular country (e.g. detailed knowledge)

How does deforestation contribute to climate change?

-when we lose tropical trees, we emit carbon dioxide -we are also depleting our carbon sinks, therefore contributing to climate change

Where is the fishbone pattern common?

-where deforestation has the biggest percentage --it begins with a major road cutting through the dense forest, thereby opening up a new territory for small farms and ranches

What is forest degradation?

-where the land hasn't changed use, but the land has been affected anyway -e.g. a farmer chopping down wood and setting a fire and that fore goes beyond the bounds he plans to use. The fire hasn't deforested he area but it has degraded it

What is a primary forest? A secondary forest?

1) primary forests: forests of native tree species, where there are no indications of human activities and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed 2) secondary forests: regenerate on native forests, which have been cleared by natural or man-made causes, such as agriculture or ranching

Where are soybeans mostly grown?

1. BRAZIL (worlds biggest exporter) 2. Argentina 3. United States

What are the two types of wood products and how are they used?

1. pulp for paper 2. timber for construction and furniture -account for about 10% of global forest loss

What commodities really drive this?

1. soybeans 2. beef cattle 3. palm oil

Where are we losing the most tree cover in absolute terms?

Latin America

How much of the Cerrado has disappeared in the last 2 decades?

60%

What is the FAO?

Food and Agriculture Organization