Jonathan Gough

Why should we care about Rainforests?

This has become a serious focus for me in the last two years, as a result of my work with the Waterloo Foundation.  Is there a greater natural asset, after the oceans, than the tropical rainforests?  I won’t cover the facts and figures, although you can read them here, but suffice to say that if mankind can agree to stop de-forestation and accelerate reforestation, then we truly have a chance to achieve our climate change targets.  If we can’t, then we probably don’t.  

Why are they so important?  Estimates vary but let’s boil it down to this: carbon emissions from the destruction and burning of trees might be as much as 20% of the planet’s annual emissions AND the belt of forest around the centre of the planet acts as a carbon sink for about 20% of our global emissions.  The more we cut down, the greater the multiplier effect. 

There is a problem.  Currently these trees are still worth more dead than alive.  Let’s say that the Earth’s population is 6 billion and is likely to rise to 9 billion by 2050.  The changing diet of developing nations, and the established diets of developed nations, requires colossal and increasing amounts of meat to be farmed.  The cattle need space to graze and foodstuff to eat; so you clear the trees and make the space.  You might have thought that forest clearance was driven y the need for timber, but land use by farmed cattle (and other animals) is the majority use by several multiples.  Nations pay for beef, so grazing lands have a value.  Forested lands do not.

So how can we redress that balance?

There are a number of options, some more practical and more easily achievable than others.  Nations could seek to reduce population growth; safe and supported access to abortion in many countries would help.  Eating less meat would help; reduce your protein intake by 30% and go meat-free two days a week.  Paying rainforest nations not to cut down their trees should help, and then assist them to farm the already deforested land more efficiently.  If we can pay Common Agricultural Policy farmers Euro100 for an acre of set-aside, then surely we can find $5 per hectare in Brazil, Guyana and Indonesia to reward local indigenous people for not clearing their forests.

There is a lot more to talk about this, but I have temporarily run out of time.