Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 13 June 2008:
Vol. 320. no. 5882, pp. 1456 - 1457
DOI: 10.1126/science.1155458
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Perspective

Managing Forests for Climate Change Mitigation

Josep G. Canadell* and Michael R. Raupach

Forests currently absorb billions of tons of CO2 globally every year, an economic subsidy worth hundreds of billions of dollars if an equivalent sink had to be created in other ways. Concerns about the permanency of forest carbon stocks, difficulties in quantifying stock changes, and the threat of environmental and socioeconomic impacts of large-scale reforestation programs have limited the uptake of forestry activities in climate policies. With political will and the involvement of tropical regions, forests can contribute to climate change protection through carbon sequestration as well as offering economic, environmental, and sociocultural benefits. A key opportunity in tropical regions is the reduction of carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation.

Global Carbon Project, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, GPO Box 3023, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: pep.canadell{at}csiro.au

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Trade-offs and synergies between carbon storage and livelihood benefits from forest commons.
A. Chhatre and A. Agrawal (2009)
PNAS 106, 17667-17670
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Historical forest baselines reveal potential for continued carbon sequestration.
J. M. Rhemtulla, D. J. Mladenoff, and M. K. Clayton (2009)
PNAS 106, 6082-6087
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)