Forests Are Vulnerable to Climate Change Effects

A new report released by Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), a Jakarta-based initiative, urges the leaders of the world to act swiftly for the prevention of global warming, so as to save the world's forests from threats posed by climate change. The study is addressed to the delegates of the 190 nations meeting in Poznan, Poland, December 1 to 12.

 

"Unless immediate action is taken, climate change could have a devastating effect on the world's forests and the nearly 1 billion people who depend on them for their livelihoods. The imperative to assist forests and forest communities to adapt to climate change has been poorly addressed in national policies and international negotiations," said Frances Seymour, the general director of CIFOR.

 

Among other dangers to forests, the report mentioned keeping out insect pests, which have the capacity to thoroughly decimate vast spreads of trees in a matter of months. Such cases can now be seen in the United States, and the report warns about such phenomena getting out of hand. Maintaining forest corridors is also essential for the survival of hundreds of animal species, which use its cover to migrate from one region to another, when deforestation reaches their natural habitats.

 

Also, Seymour urged international officials to come up with a better way of protecting trees against wildfires, saying that climate change could bring about more drought, which could, in turn, trigger an increase in the number of fires set off by lightning. He also added that creating plantations, composed of trees able to withstand climate change, was an effective way of ensuring a steady supply of clean air for the entire planet.

 

Mangrove forests in Asia could be overwhelmed by rising sea levels within the next decade, the report also cautioned, so this UN meeting, as well as the 2009 Copenhagen summit, must come up with sustainable ways of addressing this issue, before it's too late. Seymour reminded that financial problems should not take lead in front of environmental concerns, because the amount of money that could be saved was nothing compared to how much nations would have to pay in a few decades, to offset the effects of climate change.