Scientists and policy makers throughout the world have identified forestry as a critical element in the climate change struggle, however no panacea-model has been presented that carries the potential to seriously achieve the necessary level of CO2 extraction in order to avoid a catastrophic 450 parts per million atmospheric load of CO2. When accounting for prescribed forest thinnings, our new model can achieve the long term sequestration of over 1200 MT of CO2e per hectare. This model outperforms both natural tropical forests (which average between 200-300 MT/ha CO2e storage) and the model being implemented by the Costa Rican government.
Our model can transform forestry from a long-term, low-return land-use proposition to a medium-term activity that economically outperforms the value of cattle pasture on a per hectare basis. Accordingly, the model will attract tropical landowners to participate in projects while creating a sensible solution to long-term carbon sequestration.
The land that is best suited for reforestation is held by private landowners in the wet tropics, primarily those with medium to large sized ranches. This is because privately held land is most likely to have been cleared of forest for pastures in the past. The owners of these farms must engage in profitable land-use activities, which has made some attempts to convert productive pasture to forest a difficult sell to the farmer. Indeed, Costa Rica, a country that has entered into a landmark agreement with the World Bank to reforest tens of thousands of hectares of cattle pasture, is reporting a lack of interested farmers.
Carbon sequestration projects based on forestry alone simply cannot be sustainable over the long-term if the landholder/farmer does not experience the financial benefits of maintaining land as forest. By designing a forest with a mixture of species that are both productive in terms of CO2 capture and storage, and valuable in terms of timber, our model satisfies the competing needs of profitable land-use and the needs of the global commons. The expected market growth of carbon on a global scale will further enhance the profit potential of reforestation projects.
The association between global warming and CO2 emissions is well established, as are the global socio-economic and ecological risks tied to climate change. It is also clear from countless studies and numerous policy recommendations that forestry must play a role in the climate change mitigation prescription. Not only does forestry represent a cost-effective and efficient manner to mitigate CO2 emissions, forests also serve as carbon sinks that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
