In the case of forest cover change, the studies refer to the period 1980–2000 and are based on national statistics, remote sensing, and, to a limited degree, expert opinion. In the case of land cover change resulting from degradation in drylands (desertification), the period is unspecified but inferred to be within the last half-century, and the major study was entirely based on expert opinion, with associated low certainty. Change in cultivated ...

Carbon trading of credits from avoided deforestation could yield billions of dollars for tropical countries, according to an analysis by Rhett A.Butler, founder and editor from mongabay.com, a leading tropical forest web site. The proposed mechanism - Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD) - will enable these countries to maintain their forests as a global resource. Using conservative estimates on carbon storage in ...

Approximately 240 million of the world's poor that live in forested areas of developing countries depend on forests for their livelihoods. Forest and its products provide cash income, jobs, and consumption goods for poor families. Forestry provides formal and informal employment for an estimated 40-60 million people. The sector contributes in some developing countries more than eight per cent to GDP. Timber may be the most important forest produc...

Mining and deforestation.

Despite showing signs of slowing at the global level, the present pace of deforestation continues to be a source of serious concern for Latin America and the Caribbean. While the region’s forests represent one of the most important potential sources for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, it equally accounted for approximately 70% of the world’s decrease in forests between 2005 and 2010 (FAO 2010). The global forest resource assessment (FRA) con...

In November 2009, in an attempt to preserve the forests and slow deforestation, the Governments of Guyana and Norway signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on issues related to combating climate change, protecting biodiversity and improving sustainable development, with a particular focus on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in the framework of REDD-plus. Within the region, Panama, the Plurinational State ...

Estimating mitigation costs is a complex task that incorporates a high degree of uncertainty due to the variety of factors involved. However, this exercise provides valuable information to design mitigation strategies. Estimates for Mexico show the substantial economic benefits to be gained from a strategy that considers the transport sector, coupled with the amount of emissions could be reduced. It also highlights the lower costs associated to m...

Estimates of the marginal costs of emissions reduction for Central America show that decarbonization options should be directed towards energy efficiency in the residential and services sectors, mainly arising from savings due to reduced energy consumption. Similarly, the mitigation strategy should be focused towards reducing deforestation and degradation, with additional benefits for biodiversity and water supply. Sectors like transportation and...

Guatemala, case study locator map

The tropical lowland and highland forests of Borneo, including vast expanses of rainforest, have decreased rapidly after the end of the second world war. Forests are burned, logged and clear, and commonly replaced with agricultural land, built-up areas or palm oil plantations. These areas represent habitat for species, such as Orangutan and elephants.

All transport accounts for approximately 13.5% of the total emissions, while deforestation accounts for approximately 18%. However, estimates of the loss of marine carbon-binding ecosystems have previously not been included.

Using satellite images, land use changes were determined at Batang Toru (2001-2009) and Tripa (2001-2009) to calculate overall CO2 emissions. Deforestation in both areas led to different land use transitions, with the predominant land use in Batang Toru after deforestation being disturbed forest and in Tripa, oil palm plantations.

Net present value (NPV) is in millions of USD over a 30-year period (2000-2030) at a 4% discount rate. The NPV for local communities under a deforestation scenario would be 3,132 million USD and under a conservation scenario 5,341 million USD. The analysis shows that the local community would benefit most from a scenario under which the forest is conserved, negative effects on ecosystem services are avoided and payments for ecosystem services ar...

In Batang Toru, land use changes and deforestation led to an overall loss of around 10 tonnes of carbon per hectare between 1994 and 2009. Due to its exploitation for the cultivation of oil palm, the peat area of Tripa had to face a much more important decrease of 66 tonnes of carbon per hectare in the time period 1990-2009. In terms of CO2 emissions, it corresponds to an overall emission per year of 634,903 tCO2.