News bites

In Memoriam

We are sad to report the death of our wonderful Patron Bill Turnbull. For 20 years Bill helped Bees for Development in raising funds. In 2005 he ran the London Marathon dressed in a beekeeping suit and veil and in 2016 recorded the UK BBC Radio 4 Appeal raising a record amount for our work in Ethiopia. Through his work as a journalist in many nations and as a beekeeper, Bill fully appreciated the value of bees within rural livelihoods worldwide.

Conservation: Trees

More trees gained than lost

Deforestation is a devastating problem but what remained elusive is how much new forest is growing. Data from research at the University of Maryland and WRI (USA) shows that 130.9m ha of land gained tree cover globally between 2000-2020 (together an area larger than Peru).

Despite the world gaining this significant area of tree cover it lost much more, an overall net loss of over 100m ha. Also, new trees do not make up for the loss of old-growth of carbonrich forests. This new data provides a chance to examine where and why gain is happening, and the opportunities to monitor and inform forest restoration efforts worldwide.

English Oak. Whilst tree planting is increasing in many parts of Europe, many ancient forests are being felled to make way for industrial and transportation projects, destroying valuable ecosystems for both fauna and flora.

J. Phipps

More gain than loss

Thirty-six countries experienced a net gain of tree cover between 2000-2020 with distinct regional patterns. European countries including Denmark, Ireland, Poland and The Netherlands saw some of the largest increases and Europe has more tree cover now than it did in 2000: a net increase of 6m ha.

Asia has a large proportion of the countries with net gain: Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in Central Asia, and Bangladesh, India and Pakistan in South Asia. In South America, Uruguay is the only country with a net gain, while in Africa, gains were in Algeria, Morocco, South Sudan and Sudan.

In countries with overall net losses, the data detected subnational hotspots of tree gain. In the Amhara and Tigray states of northern Ethiopia, the data shows a net gain in tree cover despite losses in the southern part of the country. A pattern of gain is visible in Africa’s Sahel region, which may point to the positive effects of decades of grassroot re-greening efforts to combat desertification.

Gain does not cancel loss

Although tree gain is occurring in many places, it does not negate the impacts of loss, especially in primary forest. Animals and plants that make forests their homes need established, connected, old-growth forests to thrive.

Better understanding

When gain and loss are combined, the full picture of forest change dynamics is seen and net changes in the total area of trees can be calculated. The data shows also tree height which is the variable related to biomass and carbon storage. Tracking net changes in tree area along with tree height allows estimates of the resulting emissions and absorption of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere with greater precision.

Challenges and opportunities

It can take 10-15 years for some trees to reach 5m in height needed for detection using this technology. This means that the tree-based interventions initiated through AFR100, a massive restoration effort led by African governments since 2015, have not yet shown up on the map. Another caveat is that, for now, the data only shows tree cover change 2000-2020. Data will soon look at annual change to detect the nuance in forest dynamics. This will help governments and restoration implementers set more relevant baselines for tracking restoration commitments and assessing patterns over time.

Measuring tree gain and loss together provides an accurate picture of global forest change dynamics, enabling monitoring progress toward critical climate change mitigation, ecosystem protection and forest restoration goals.

Source: World Resources Institute wridigest@wri.org