Challenges Of Forestry Incarbon Trading

ABSTRACT 

Forests play central and primary roles in the mitigation of climate change. Forests are

important carbon pools which continuously exchange C02 with the atmosphere, due to

both natural processes and human action. At the global level, 19% of the carbon in the

earth's biosphere is stored in plants, and 81% in the soil. In tropical forests,

approximately 50% of the carbon is stored in the biomass and 50% in the soil (Karsenty

et al, 2003). Wood products derived from harvested timber are also significant carbon

pools.

The earth's biosphere constitutes a carbon sink that absorbs approximately 2.3 GtC

annually. This represents nearly 30% of all fossil fuel emissions (totaling from 6.3 to 6.5

GtC/year).

Planting new forests, rehabilitating degraded forests and enriching existing forests

contribute to mitigating climate change as these actions increase the rate and quantity of

carbon sequestration in biomass.

Tree planting projects are doubly interesting from the point of view of C 02 sequestration,

inasmuch as carbon storage in durable products such as boards, plywood, or furniture

complements the permanent stock in standing trees. Even if the life span of products is

limited, an average life span of several dozen years is still significant, since it allows to

“gain time” while waiting for cleaner technologies in the energy and transportation sector

to develop, and it can also help avoid concentration peaks of C02 in the planet’s

atmosphere. If a part of the annual harvest replenishes and increases the pool of wood

products, the forestry sector’s storage capacity can increase considerably without

occupying more space in the landscape (Karsenty et al, ibid.).

The carbon reservoir in the forest biomass and soils is very large, highlighting the

importance of conserving natural forest, and eliminating agricultural practices which

contribute to the deterioration of these reservoirs.