Earth Today | A Beryl nudge
Recent hurricane reminds of need for better, more climate efforts
Published:Thursday | July 18, 2024 | 12:07 AM
HAVING BARRELLED across sections of the Caribbean, leaving billions of dollars in damage, lost lives and impacted livelihoods, Hurricane Beryl has given a less-than-gentle nudge for accelerated and scaled-up action on climate change.
With extreme hurricane events, such as it was, only one of several manifestations of climate change, there is a confirmed need to build resilience through adaptation – including in the area of restored forest cover. And it would appear that Jamaica’s Forestry Department is making inroads.
Recently, the agency reported a 7.9 per cent growth in forest cover over the last decade, for which Chief Executive Officer and Conservator of Forests, Ainsley Henry, credits “a combination of factors”, including “underutilised farmlands [that] have been reverting to forests”.
“It must also be mentioned that the agency has been consistently implementing a reforestation programme within our managed areas. It is these factors that have contributed to the increase,” he told The Gleaner.
“This surge in forest cover is significant and underscores our commitment to safeguarding and expanding our forest resources,” he added.
The revelation of the growth in forest cover between 2013 and 2023 was made by the agency at a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the findings from the latest Land Use-Land Cover Change Assessment, hosted at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel last month.
Even with the progress to date, however, Henry cautioned that there is yet more work to be done.
“The figure confirmed that almost half the country is forested, but the quality of forests still needs some attention. Therefore, we as a country must manage and use it sustainably to ensure that the quality of forests is improved, and that forest cover remains to sustain future generations,” he encouraged.
Forests, which cover some 31 per cent of the world’s land surface, are recognised key contributors to the climate response. They store a reported 296 gigatonnes of carbon.
Carbon dioxide is among the greenhouse gases whose emissions, through the use of fossil fuels such as coal and gas, are changing the climate, while also prompting impacts such as warmer global temperatures, rising sea levels and coastal erosion, together with risks to water and food security and public health.
It is against this background that forests are seen and championed as a part of the climate solution. The 2024 report of the UN-REDD programme – titled Raising ambition, accelerating action: Towards enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions for forests – makes plain the need to reduce emissions through deforestation and degradation (REDD).
“Mitigating climate change requires reducing deforestation first, as it takes many years to capture the carbon lost through deforesting an equivalent area through afforestation and restoration,” the report said.
“Protecting forests is essential to maintain these benefits, while ensuring resilient economies and promoting sustainable socio-economic development. It is also one of the most cost-effective ways to mitigate climate change, which poses significant risks to people across the world,” it added.
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) reflect individual country commitments globally to cut emissions through sector-based interventions. According to the report, “current pledges of most NDCs do not meet the global ambition to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030”. The time for unkept promises is now past, it insisted.
“Global leaders have been making promises to protect forests for over a decade but have so far failed to deliver. The 2030 ambition to halt deforestation must be achieved if humanity is to avoid tremendous risks to our planet and the life it supports,” the report said.
“This report finds that commitments within the NDCs from the 20 countries with the highest emissions from tree cover loss are not enough to meet the goal. Only eight countries include explicit, quantified targets to reduce deforestation. All fall short of global ambition to halt deforestation by 2030,” it added.
The upcoming climate change conference next year will be a good opportunity for course correction.
“The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2025 is an excellent opportunity for countries to strengthen their NDCs and to act on deforestation before it is too late. Working together across nations to take these actions will put us on the path towards living in harmony with nature. The time to act is now,” the report said.