Again, taking the corona crisis as an example, what we are doing now is trying different available antiviral drugs, convalescent plasma therapy and undertaking vaccine trials. In our hypothetical scenario with forest and climate change, the Klimawald (“Climate forest”) concept is like a combination of two methods: antiviral drugs and convalescent plasma therapy. Wherein the former is about using a certain combination of existing drugs to treat the disease, and, the latter involves transfusion of plasma from a COVID-19 recovered patient into an infected patient. Thereby, the antibodies present in the plasma of the recovered patient helps to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the infected patient. Similarly, in our climate forest, a species is selected to be planted for its ability to tolerate drought or the ability to enhance the resilience of the forest in future climatic conditions. We planted 11 species of conifers and broad-leaved trees; 7 of them are native; 4 come either from Southern Europe, the Mediterranean mountains or from North America.

Now, let us move on to the real world, where things are more complex and challenging. Just like it is not easy to convince people to adopt social distancing, it is not easy to bring people from diverse backgrounds and different interests for a common cause. “Why did we build Klimawald?”, “What was the need?” and “How far we have succeeded?” were some questions we asked ourselves. We acknowledge the responsibility of maintaining the beauty of this planet in a way that it was given to us. Centuries ago, Ludwig van Beethoven said, “How happy I am to be able to walk among the shrubs, the trees, the woods, the grass, and the rocks! For the woods, the trees and the rocks give man the resonance he needs.” We hope our future generations will be able to describe the beauty of forests as he did.

The project Klimawald began under the title “Carbon Offset Week” in which we – the initiators –  wanted to organize a planting campaign for people who wish to offset their carbon emissions. When the Office of Land, Forest, and Agriculture (AELF) and Hospitalstift willingly offered a hectare of land for plantation, the concept of “Carbon Offset Week” was revised. Now, the aim was not only to plant trees, but also to restore a damaged forest, and, therefore, with Dr. Gregor Aas and Dr. Birgit Thies we developed the concept of Klimawald (“Klima” meaning climate and “wald” meaning forest in German). We identified four major threats to German forests: low species diversity, long and intensive droughts, the velocity of climate change and the dispersal rate of trees. Klimawald model suggests thinning, planting diverse species, and selecting future-oriented species. We built Klimawald to acknowledge our carbon footprints, take responsibility for the impact of human-induced climate change and contribute to prepare forests for future scenarios.

Ecologist Eugene P Odum once said, “The future belongs, not to those who have the most, but to those who do the most with what they have”. In our case, we had one hectare of forest land which was converted from spruce-pine forest to mixed forest with the help of scientists, forestry practitioners, students, and citizens. Apart from the human resources, the financial resources for the project were covered through donations and support from our partners. The success of a project depends on how an action is followed up by another. In the case of Klimawald, the planting event in spring was followed by two watering events in summer. The average survival rate was about 90% at the end of August 2019.

What we learned from this project is that the knowledge can be translated into action when individual interests synergize. Klimawald also showed us a way to hold dialogue with different sections of our civil society. Some of our partners and supporters who had never worked together found common grounds to cooperate. The idea of Klimawald not only generated interest among the citizens of Bayreuth, but it has moved beyond its borders and motivated students from Höxter to develop their own Klimawald Höxter. It also led to the development of a similar project by our team members in South Korea. In the meantime, the Klimawald site has become a spot for excursion and environmental education. The project also stirred a debate on the model of climate forests. In the forthcoming year, we want to improve the project, build close networks and take further actions.

Overall, the experience of developing an idea of Carbon Offset Week into a Klimawald project was very enriching. According to a Korean proverb, “고생 끝에 낙이 온다 (gosaeng kkeute nagi onda)”, delights come at the end of hardship (English translation), and a delightful moment has arrived in the journey of Klimawald. Out of 160 projects in Germany, Klimawald is now nominated for the award “Blauer Kompass 2020” of the German Federal Environment Agency. Apart from three jury awards, there is an audience award for which the voting has already begun, and we are in the second spot as of April 15, 2020. Global Change Ecology (GCE) is an international study program and so is our team. The diversity of nationalities is a strength of GCE students. And to confront a global problem like COVID-19 or climate change, we need this strength!

We hope that the help and support received during the planting and the watering event will be showered on us again for the “Blauer Kompass 2020” competition. Klimawald was built with your participation and will stand the test of time with your participation. Because the story has just begun…

On this link, you click,

Klimawald you select,

While you press Abstimmen

Remember this simple request,

Same time again tomorrow,

On the same address,

You can vote for us,

Till 20 April.

For more information visit: https://en.klimawaldbayreuth.com/

Blauer Kompass 2020: www.uba.de/tatenbank

(written by: Nikunj Pathak on behalf of Kun Ro, Ahram Chae, Theresa Landwehr, Steffen Schwardmann and the Klimawald team)

References: https://www.bmz.de/en/publications/topics/climate/Materialie283_forest_action_plan.pdf

The post From Carbon Offset Week to COVID-19: The story of Klimawald appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

“It gets harder and harder to achieve a consensus on how the forest of the future will – and should – look like”, Gregor Aas, head of the ÖBG, says when opening the forum. The forum is split up into two parts: Part one is about adaption of the forests to climatic changes, part two is dealing with the climate protection function of the forests and how this could be used when dealing with a changing climate.

“How is the climate changing in Germany and how accurate are the forecasts?” is the title of the first talk. It is held by Johannes Luers (substituting Christoph Thomas who has been sick on the day of the conference). Some of the prognosis shown on his slides state that there is a climate change of +1°C already on a global level, others state that it’s already +1.3°C. “Over land, the temperature increase is already more than the +1.5°C which are the goal of the Paris Agreement”, Lüers says. The oceans need longer to warm up than the land – and 70% of the planet are covered by water. “Soon, it will be more, due to the rising sea levels”, Lüers says. The culprit for the rising temperatures is – as widely known – the greenhouse effect which is caused by different climate gases, such as CO2 or methane. “The human made climate change might not seem dramatic – but the consequences will be dramatic.” Time series of temperature measurements at the ÖBG show that there is a significant change in extreme values. The records indicate that between 1997 and 2016, 7 of the 10 hottest months and years ever measured took place – and only 1 of the 10 coldest months and 0 of the 10 coldest years. “The cold stimulus is missing – this affects the plants”, Lüers says. Forests have to deal with extreme years – wetness, drought and storms are making the forests’ life hard. “We don’t know what will happen in the future, there is always the human error.”

Next, Christian Ammer from the University of Göttingen talks about “How climate change affects the ecosystem of the forests and how silviculture can react to that”. He first lists some of the challenges and obstacles, the forest has to deal with today: deficits in precipitation, rising temperatures, more insect infestations and also the long lifespan of forests which makes them more vulnerable. “There are two scenarios: either the forests can adapt – or they can’t”, Ammer says. No matter which scenario will occur, there will be reductions in growth and altered mortalities. “I will present you a typical lumberjack – my former neighbour Sepp”, Ammer says, showing a picture of a middle-aged man in green overalls, standing in the middle of a forest. People like Sepp are now dealing with the questions how to treat their forests. Ammer talks about adaption: Mixed forests are more flexible, they recover faster from dry years than pure stands. Not only from an ecological but also from an economic point of view, mixed stands show positive effects to climate change. Indigenous species that are adapting well to climate change are the grand fir and the European black pine. “I totally failed in trying to persuade Sepp to plant some of them”, he says, causing quite some laughter in the audience. “His grandfather didn’t do that, his father neither – so why should he? You see, it isn’t always easy to change something.” But Sepp’s daughter listened to Ammer’s words and started planting some of the adapting species. Also, the thinning of the forest could reduce the risk of drought stress in young spruces, he says. Ammer concludes that the choice of tree species and crop treatment can help with the adaptation to climate change. But he also mentions that these actions are just to reduce the symptoms of a bigger problem: the human influence. “How many of you did come here by car today?”, he asks in the end of his talk. An embarrassed silence fills the room.

After a short break, Ralf Petercord from the Bavarian office for Forests and Forestry gives the probably most emotional talk of the conference: “Which new pests and tree diseases are brought by climate change?” Petercord uses a lot of empathy and irony while talking about different insect and fungus calamities. “The bark beetle is definitely not interested in how the weather is behaving tomorrow or in 10 years – it is interested in the weather today”, he says. As the previous speakers, also he mentions the unusually warm winters and extremely hot summers which occur in ever shorter intervals. The reactions of insects and fungi to climate change are various: They show different distribution patterns, a decreased generation time and a broader host range which means that they can attack more different species. With figures on various slides, he shows how the bark beetle population and also their effects on trees have increased after very warm years – the heat summer of 2003 is a very indicative marker – but there is a general increase visible since 2015. Also, the Oak Processionary Moth has changed its distribution dramatically: “In 2007, this moth was listed as an endangered species in Upper Franconia – today you can find it almost all over Bavaria!”, Petercord says, gesticulating on the stage. The Gypsy Moth causes huge damages in forests as well: Their complete defoliation leads to a thin canopy – due to the missing shade many young birds die in their nests. “Our forests are dying! We have to do something so that they can recover”, Petercord says, putting quite a lot of emotion in his words. As one of the strategies to handle pests he names that we all have to reduce our consumption of wood: According to Petercord, every German person uses about 600 Gramms of wood every day. Also, using pesticides in forests should be an option for him. When a member of the audience asks what he thinks about the insects’ demise, he answers: “I think, the insects’ demise is not only caused by pesticides but by the fact that we are driving around in SUVs in the city and want cheaper food all the time. First, I talk about the poor insects – and then I want to have my 500 gramms of meat from Aldi for 2,63 Euro!?” These words are greeted with tumultuous applause by the audience.

“Nature conservation, climate protection and climate adaption – how does that fit?“ – this is the topic of the last talk, held by Susanne Winter from WWF. She speaks about the loss of biodiversity in Germany – which has already crossed a tipping point. “The climatic relevance of forests is huge. About 15-20% of the annual CO2 emissions are caused by deforestation”, Winter says. According to her, the usage of wood is not sustainable per se, referring to wood that is used for energy generation. “Forests work as a carbon sink. But this sink function has decreased”, she says. While German forests were storing 75.500 tons of CO2 in 1990, in 2016, they only absorbed 57.000 tons of the climate gas. There will be a point when forests work as a source of CO2 instead of a sink – for example when deforestation continues, if swamp soils are used by the agricultural sector for crop production or if peat is extracted to the same extent or even more than now, Winter says. In the audience, a few people show with their reactions that they don’t agree with Winter’s words: A lady – the print of her jumper reveals she is part of a forestry society in Lower Franconia – rolls her eyes and throws up her arms, a gesture of obvious frustration.

At the end of the event, the title “Controversies of the forest” is just perfectly accurate. We don’t know yet what the future with a changing climate will bring and how the forests are going to react to these alterations. Different measures for mitigation do exist – but the human factor is hard to estimate. Also, regarding some of the reactions of people in the audience, it is obvious that many different parts of the German population are differently affected by changes in the forest – and that their expectations, hopes and fears need to be considered. But this requires a lot of work and a lot of communication. But as the example of Christian Ammer’s friend Sepp (and his daughter) showed: There is a way. With enough patience, solutions can be found.

The post Waldkontroversen: How will the forest deal with climate change? appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Two seconds

Three seconds

Four seconds

Five seconds

Every minute, forest areas of the size of 50 soccer fields are lost.
Every minute, every day.

Today, March 21st 2018, we celebrate the International Day of Forests. Ever since 2013, this date calls for global awareness on the degrading state of forests worldwide. It takes only one day in our calendars for us to remember how dependent mankind’s survival is on the  lungs of the planet.

With the current rate of deforestation, there will be no forests left within the next 100 years. The loss, degradation and conversion of forests threaten our survival.

“We are on the verge of destroying the perfect balance that nature has created for the wellbeing of human beings. Halting deforestation is not about saving the planet , it’s about ensuring the human well-being. The Earth will survive us and has done so for 4.5 billion years, she is much older and wiser.“
– Christiana Figueres (Former UNFCC Executive Secretary, 2018)

Certainly, once forests or green shelters and sources of life are lost, services and goods provided by nature also disappear. The maintenance of human well-being is then a question of time: how long can we survive with a degrading nature around us? Certain regions of the world already know the devastating answer.

Photos by Carla Madueño

We can stop thinking drama, and start thinking solutions

Today, we must talk about hope and urgency put into action. And there are certain actors and voices out there that I would like to remind you of today: Youth.

On the international day of forests, I want to send a big call to Youth around the globe teaching us every day how to stand on our young feet for a forest-friendly society.

• Youth teaches us that warriors can all have all ages, since what really matters is the strength of the own conviction.
• Youth teaches us that they are real cultural and intergenerational bridges that catalyze people’s fears and challenges.
• Youth teaches us that inclusive dialogue and participation is possible and necessary.
• And among all, youth helps people recover relations with the forests.

Youth is key in healing a broken world, through intergenerational reconciliation.

If you don’t believe youth can be an empowering and strong ally to protect forests, here are some examples:

Planting trees with only 9 years old: Back in 2007, a 9-year old German boy Felix Finkbeiner inspired by a school assignment imagined children planting 1 million trees in every country on Earth. His movement spreaded quickly throughout Germany and the Globe and by 2011 achieved with the help of other children planting a total of 1 million trees around the world.

Two sisters from Bali banned plastic from entire island: The Wijsen sisters from Bali are the living example that empowered and determined youth can solve the plastic pollution challenge. The young sisters, Melati and Isabel, successfully campaigned 4 years to get plastic bags banned from the Bali island. Indonesia is the 2nd largest plastic polluter in the world, after China.

“If we could meet with world leaders and speak to them, we would tell them to listen more to the youth, consider us as more than just inspiration. We have bright innovative ideas of how to deal with some of the greatest issues of our time”
– Wijsen sisters

Leave the smartphone, reconnect with your closest forest

May our decisions enlighten not a brighter future, but a greener present. Science and politics talk about changes to be carried out by 2030, 2050 or next millenia to protect forests. I believe that we simply cannot wait for decades to solve our greatest challenges.

On March 21st 2018, we stand for a change – now and not tomorrow.

Today, take a moment off, go to the closest forest or green space in your city, your village or town. Think about the impacts of your lifestyle, reconnect with nature, discover life beyond human beings and beyond the concrete jungle.

Meditate on the lives on the other side of the smartphone. Celebrate the hidden, still unknown and sheltered life in our green forests (and outside the scope of the International Day of Forest, celebrate also life in our blue oceans).

Stop thinking drama,
Start thinking solutions,
Stand up for forest protection
Empower Youth as forest warriors.

The post A youth pledge on forest’s day appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Being the only participant from Armenia, I would like to share my experience as well as do my best in involving Armenians in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.2 Halting deforestation target.

To halt agriculture or not – that is the question

Since a lot has been said about the conference, I would rather concentrate on its “gaps”. One fundamental statement of the conference was “industrial agriculture is the main driving force of deforestation”.

But first wait. Do we all know what really drives agriculture? Let’s think about those developing countries whose economies mainly depend on agriculture. Would it be possible for a country that cannot even fill their people’s stomachs to start caring about the environment and the future of the planet? I don’t really think so.

Halting deforestation but promoting at the same time Zero Hunger (SDG goal 2.4) may therefore not align at first sight. The Halting Deforestation conference could have addressed this issue better by focusing on people’s current needs rather than on future political agendas. Discussions left out of sight opportunities for agricultural sustainability that maintains ecosystems, strengthens climate change adaptation capacity and extreme weather resilience (droughts, floods, and other disasters) as well as progressive improvement of land and soil quality.

Yes. 80% of deforestation is caused by agriculture,  but for some countries agriculture is the only way to keep their economy running and to secure livelihoods.

Other drivers of deforestation that weren’t assessed

Even though the conference served its purpose by reviewing on-the-ground initiatives to combat deforestation, it didn’t directly reduce the risk of nor provide immediate solutions to deforestation. Evidently, there were some drivers of deforestation left out of the discussion:

• Extractive activities: Industrial logging and mining (private sector representatives largely absent)
  
• Energy and transport: biomass energy questions raised by audience never answered)
  

If not aware of the real dangers yet, we can perhaps make an urgent call with the case of Mining in the Amazon Rainforest.

To halt or not illegal mining in the Amazon

In the Amazon region, logging and mining are the main environmental threats. Both destroy the forest and are slowly converting this major carbon sink into a carbon source, counteracting climate change.

Since 2000, mining in the Amazon region has been actively developed, destroying more than 10% of the Amazon Rainforest. According to the WWF, iron, gold and copper are found in the Amazon forest and the overexploitation of these minerals is increasing dramatically.

Gold mining is however not only bad for the environment but has also chronic socioeconomic consequences. As our Peruvian GCE Student Carla Madueño explains in the following lines:

“Illegal mining in the Amazon is a matter of concern for all. This rainforest is also called green gold that must be cut down so that illegal workers can extract the precious gold contained in the soils of protected forests. The use of highly toxic metals (cyanide, metal oxides, mercury, sulfuric acid) poses an immediate health threat to humans and the entire biome. 

Yes 40 % of our Peruvian Amazon soils are rich in gold, but 100% are rich in green gold (biodiversity and ecosystem services).
That is the real opportunity we must not miss, as it is our own human survival that depends on it.

Peru’s rainforests are rich in gold. That is our blessing and curse. 40% of the soils of the Peruvian Amazon region are estimated to contain gold, which has been transported throughout millenia with erosion mechanisms from the upper Eastern Andes to the lower Western Amazon basin.”

Mining in the Amazon forest is by far not the only example. Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, the Congo basin, Indonesian forests and the Philippines suffer currently under illegal and unmanaged mining.

Take home message: Youth must halt deforestation

We do believe that youth is the future and a strong driver forwards. Any problem can be solved with the support and efforts of the youth. For instance, the Wijsen sisters banned plastic in Bali and the Dutch boy Boyan Slat is fighting for plastic-free oceans.

We believe international youth organizations such as IFSA and the Youth in Landscapes Initiative are as well brilliant examples of youth caring for the environment and connecting cross-sectoral to the rest of the world to figure out solutions now.

About

Main author Lilith Musinian , co-author Carla Madueño.

Related material

• United Youth to halt deforestation (Blog entry here)
  
• Become an export now! IFSA short course on halting deforestation
• Halting deforestation Photo Gallery by FAO Forestry

The post Shortcomings of the UN Halting Deforestation conference appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

The Capacity Development Workshop held on Monday February 19th, was led by the International Forestry Student Association (IFSA), the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) and the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and trained 50 international Youth delegates on accelerating efforts to halt deforestation. Furthermore, Youth proposals were collected for later High Level UN Political Agendas.

Halting or not halting deforestation, that is the question

Forests are our best asset to combat climate change and they are key in securing food, water and ecosystem services for mankind survival. Despite of their fundamental role to sustain life on this planet, we keep on losing them at terrifying annual rates.

With the current rate of deforestation, there will be no forests left within the next 100 years.

Given that deforestation is in the eyes of a conservationist an ecological tragedy and in the eyes of the investor a money-making opportunity, we need to reconcile these opposing interests.

Youth ideas feed UN Plan for Forests

In order to contribute to and accelerate global forest goals and SDGs, the workshop in the morning of February 19th led by Wageningen University (Netherlands) collected Youth proposals for the Halting Deforestation Conference (CPF). Discussions went about how to have an integrated management of lands at the landscape level: where different actors of society, different land use types and different instutional frameworks are best combined to ensure forests protection and sustainable management.

Desmitifying Gender in Forest Conservation Efforts

After the morning session on the Landscape approach, the noon session led by Taylor Tondelli (FAO) touched with the Youth delegates on the importance of mainstreaming gender in efforts to halt deforestation. To see, what we did exactly, check out the video below.

I found this group dynamic to be extremely mind-opening. Participants had assigned roles. We were all standing in one single line and as Ms. Tondelli would read statements we had to give either a step forward (yes) or backwards (no), depending on whether read power statements matched our roles. Example: one would give a step forward if in the role of a woman community leader one would have “political influence on the community” or a step backwards if “at night one wouldn’t feel secure to walk alone”. At the end of this power dynamic, assigned roles revealed high assymetries in power distribution across different societal actors.

Make our voices heard

Throughout the Capacity Development Workshop Youth delegates worked on global proposals to halt deforestation: ideas ranged from experimental urban jungles, to mainstreaming deforestation through comedy and art and music for collective awareness.

All Youth proposals were collected in the afternoon session by IFSA and GLF Sponsored Youth in Landscapes delegates. Youth Proposals to halt deforestation will contribute to the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017 – 2030 and will be presented at the 13th Session of the UN Forum on Forests this May.

Finally, selected Youth delegates prepared online content for the IFSA short course on Halting Deforestation. You can see here, what the results of these hours working on solutions are.

Quick links

IFSA Short course on deforestation Check out now (!)

Halting Deforestation Conference

The post United Youth in Rome to halt deforestation appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Presentation of the recent report: a pathway to zero deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute.

Summing up their findings, the speakers underlined the availability of public forests for a potential designation to protected areas. Apart from law enforcement campaigns and credit restrictions for deforestation, the installation of protected areas is a key tool for forest protection. Generally, an active engagement of stakeholders from public and private sectors involved in the related supply chain is required to achieve the goal of zero deforestation.

There is a high pressure within the society to reduce deforestation, however in the current phase of political instability and ongoing corruption, this is not well represented by the officials.

Comparisons on the municipal level showed best conservation performances in districts inhabited by indigenous people. Generally, all instruments for successful forest conservation are already installed but lack in sufficient implementation and enforcement. At the moment the Amazonian rainforests decline by 5000 m² annually. The associated fire events and resulting deterioration of air quality costs the Brazilian health care system 20 mio. USD per year.

A crucial factor in the region is the link between the forest and the rain regime: natural rainforest ecosystems preserve the local climate and therefore maintain the level of agricultural production. Especially important in that regard is the inclusion and information of the agrobusiness sector. With a decreased rate of deforestation, the value of agricultural production increases. This is an incentive for local farmers to support forest conservation. Furthermore, no further deforestation is needed. An increased livestock productivity can be realized by a more effective land-use of the already existing farm lands. A pathway of zero deforestation contributes to the Paris Agreement and should be seen as a vivid contribution to climate conservation.

Less deforestation leads to increases in the agricultural production.

By Sophie Reinermann, Jan-Christopher Fischer and Georg Küstner.

The post COP23: Zero amazon deforestation appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

“Forests play a huge role in our efforts to tackle climate change” – Manuel Pulgar-Vidal

On Sunday, a series of events under an initiative called Forests Global Climate Action were given in COP23 Bonn zone. Here, many countries and corporations have shown that by establishing sustainable forestry management, it is possible to cut emissions. During the opening event, Inger Andersen, Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said that

“nature-based solutions such as protecting and restoring forests can contribute over one-third of the total climate change mitigation required by 2030 to keep the temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius”.

Indeed, forest ecosystems represent a key role not only because its potential in the Climate Change mitigation but also for being a mean of community and ecosystems adaptation and resilience building as Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Head of WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Programme, held:

“Forests play a huge role in our efforts to tackle climate change – the science behind their contributions is clear. Protecting forests will ensure they continue to absorb emissions from the atmosphere, protect biodiversity, and provide livelihoods for forest-dependent peoples”.

However, it was also recognized by different speakers along the events that more decisive and collective action is still needed to seize the opportunity that forests represent, since destructive [often illegal] logging and deforestation continues:

“After 10 years of REDD programme, we need a broader approach that include more action, leadership and partnership” – Charlotte Streck, Co-founder and Director of Climate Focus

“Funding for forests should also combat illegal activities and forest degradation by incorporating prevention and detection activities” – Davyth Stewart, Head of Project Leaf of Interpol

Under this context, as the enabling conditions to advance implementation and enhance Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) through forests were detailed.

Commitment by Private Sector

Jeff Seabright, Chief  Sustainability Officer at Unilever and moderator of one of these events, concluded that strong collaboration and urgent and ambitious action between State and non-State actors is definitely required in the elimination of deforestation from commodities supply chain. Here, four were detailed as the key commodity areas: palm oil, soybean, feed for livestock (basically associated with beef consumption) and paper (of cellulose pulp derived from wood).

Fernando Sampaio, Executive Director of PCI Strategy at the State of Mato Grosso in Brazil, the largest exporter of commodities, assured that they are experiencing a transition to a more sustainable and inclusive state. Based on partnerships and commitments between the sub national government, industries and smallholders, they are looking to be known as a region that provides without forest degradation goods and services.

On the side of the companies, Kevin Rabinovitch, Global Vice President of Sustainability at Mars Inc., presented a new policy to reduce their carbon footprint 27% by 2025 and 67% by 2050 by addressing deforestation throughout their corporate value chain. In the same way, Laura Phillips in behalf of Walmart’s Senior Vice President of Sustainability, informed about their commitment to deforestation-free commodities and emphasized its importance due to Walmart as the end of the supply chain, being in direct contact with customers.

Contribution of indigenous peoples

On the other hand, Roberto Espinoza, Technical Adviser of Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP) explained that contribution of indigenous peoples is vital to achieve climatic commitment and even go further, since Paris Agreement has asked for more ambitious pledges.

Additionally, he said that INDCs will not be accomplished with isolated actors. For this reason, he presented some measures that Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica (COICA) suggests, particularly to the Amazon region:

• Land rights and titles for more than 20 million ha, which would work as deforestation frontiers
• Autonomy over their territories, which allows them to rule under their holistic vision of the indigenous peoples that gives the actual value to the standing forest
• Indigenous monitoring, verification and revision, supporting the already established national strategies
• Indigenous REDD and a NDC “minga” (that in native language means with collective approach), which can add ambition to the NDCs already given by the nine countries that comprise the Amazon basin

Incubator for Nature Conservation

At the afternoon, IUCN launched a new programme called Incubator for Nature Conservation which seeks to help nurture and shape innovative ideas for making and channeling revenue to finance protected areas, answering to the question can a protected area be a good business?

In this context, it was presented one of the partner sites: Cordillera Azul National Park (CIMA) a 13 500 – km cloud forest in the Peruvian Amazonian jungle, which holds habitats with many endemic and protected species. It has been faced threats from land-trafficking, logging, migratory and industrial agriculture and illegal crops. There are no human settlements within the park itself, but more than 520 villages in its buffer zone including 32 indigenous communities and evidence of an isolated indigenous population from the Kakatiabo ethnic group in the southeast of the park. The national park is financed through the Althelia Climate Fund and the loan received by them is repayable through the sale of carbon credits… what, unfortunately, has not worked as expected. A second financing phase now needs to be designed, under a new regulatory national framework and working with IUCN experts directly to develop and implement solutions, ranging from other approaches for carbon financing to ecotourism to sale of products from the area.

Successful experiences will serve as model for setting up workable financing systems in protected areas around the world.

The post COP23: Forest day appeared first on Global Change Ecology.