• About
  • Our Work
  • Join
  • Partner
  • Media
EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

Sign-up for monthly updates on Winrock's work around the world.

WINROCK VOICES

How much does forest restoration benefit climate?

This new calculator can put a number on it.

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Blanca Bernal, Lara Murray and Timothy Pearson

The Paris Agreement was a historic turning point in climate negotiations. As a global commitment toward changing the development trajectories of countries around the world, it acknowledged the reality of climate change and the imperative to mitigate the rise of global temperatures by reducing national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Signatories agreed to a 2-degree Celsius maximum acceptable increase in global temperatures and made pledges to reduce their GHG emissions by 2030.

While this was a critical step in slowing the global pace of rising emissions, many remain skeptical about whether these climate targets are going to be meaningfully set in place.   Furthermore, scientific evidence indicates that 2 degrees Celsius is not going to be enough to stop climate change impacts.

The specifics on each signatory’s pledge and plans to lower emissions are contained in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Countries have adopted a wide range of strategies to do so, from policies to increase renewable energy to reducing forest degradation and loss. One high-profile global strategy is to increase forest cover, given that trees pull and store carbon from the atmosphere. NDC  pledges to increase forest cover are often linked with other international pledges to expand Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) efforts, including the Bonn Challenge and the New York Declaration of Forests.

Yet under these restoration commitments, countries pledge a total restoration area – not targeted greenhouse gas reductions linked to the NDC. Many countries struggle to reliably estimate how much carbon their forest landscape restoration efforts store and therefore accounting is poor or even absent when tracking progress toward meeting NDC goals.

FLR activities are diverse and a range of factors like species, environmental conditions and management practices affect how much carbon is stored. The main resource for estimating carbon stored in forests are the IPCC Guidelines, yet only a few types of forest restoration activities, such as plantations and natural regeneration, are included — and no confidence range for results is offered. So countries that want to include their FLR activities in national greenhouse gas accounting often must rely on experts to do in-country assessments, which are costly and time consuming.

Recognizing the wealth of research and data available around the world on the carbon storage from forest landscape restoration activities, Winrock worked to meet this need cost-effectively and reliably. Data on carbon sequestration (a.k.a. removals or storage) from agroforestry, planted forests and woodlots, natural regeneration and mangrove restoration activities around the world were collected, grouped and modeled to produce a global database of standard annual rates of carbon removals. To make this data even more accessible, Winrock created an easy-to-use online FLR Carbon Storage Calculator that produces custom estimates and visualizes the benefits of different FLR activities over time in specific locations worldwide.

We all recognize that decisions and policies about natural resources, including climate change, should be based on scientific evidence. Yet many cannot access the data. While information may be available, it is often not in a format that non-experts can use. By collecting, organizing and synthesizing data (backed up by published methods and results) and then presenting it in a user-friendly tool, Winrock has bridged this gap.

Practitioners, policymakers, analysts and academics worldwide can now use the FLR Carbon Storage Calculator to understand and easily compare scientifically robust estimates of the impact forest landscape restorations have. This can help stakeholders evaluate benefits and track progress toward NDC commitments — a critically important step to ensuring that the Paris Agreement can be realized.

Posted in EarthTech
ABOUT FARMER-TO-FARMER WINROCK VOLUNTEER ASSISTANCE

SUBSCRIBE TO POSTS

Loading

ARCHIVE

  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • November 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011

CATEGORIES

  • AET
  • Africa
    • Ghana
    • Senegal
  • Asia
  • Bangladesh
  • Cuba
  • El Salvador
  • Ethiopia
  • Field Staff
  • Guinea
  • Kenya
  • Latin America
  • Mali
  • Myanmar
  • Nepal
  • Nigeria
  • Postharvest
  • Rural Livelihoods
  • Senegal
  • Spotlights
  • Volunteer Feedback
  • Volunteer of the Month
  • Winrock Staff
WinrockIntl
Tweets by @WinrockIntl
Follow @WinrockIntl

204 E 4th Street | North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114

ph +1 501 280 3000 | fx +1 501 280 3090

2451 Crystal Drive, Suite 700 | Arlington, Virginia 22202

ph +1 703 302 6500 | fx +1 703 302 6512

  • Contact
  • E-News Signup
  • Low Bandwidth
  • Code of Conduct
  • Privacy Statement & Terms of Use
  • Site Map
  • Anti-Trafficking
Copyright © 2015- Winrock International
DEV ENVIRONMENT