DECARBONISATION

Indigenous Forests Produce Far Less Emissions Than Other Forests

While Amazonian countries with more Indigenous forest area naturally had larger carbon fluxes, the annual carbon flux per hectare — or the carbon flux density — varied little among the countries’ relatively stable, mature Indigenous forests. From 2001 to 2021, the carbon flux density ranged from a net sink of roughly 0.78 tonnes CO2e/hectare/year in the Bolivian Amazon to 2.0 tonnes CO2e/hectare/year in the Colombian Amazon. Outside Indigenous lands, however, annual net carbon flux density varied considerably, from forests in the Brazilian Amazon emitting 1.4 tonnes CO2e/hectare/year to forests in French Guyana removing 2.0 tonnes CO2e/hectare/year. This reflects the differences across Amazonian countries in how much forest outside Indigenous lands are being degraded and lost.

Outside Indigenous Lands, the Amazon Forest Is a Net Carbon Source Forests in the Amazon bioregion outside Indigenous lands were collectively a net carbon source between 2001 and 2021. These forests emitted 1.3 billion tonnes CO2e/year due to forest loss and removed about 1 billion tonnes CO2/year, making them a net source of approximately 270 million tonnes CO2e/year, equivalent to the annual fossil fuel emissions from France.

OUTSIDE INDIGENOUS LANDS, THE AMAZON FOREST WAS A NET CARBON SOURCE BETWEEN 2001 AND 2021

Indigenous forests were stronger net carbon sinks per hectare than most forests outside Indigenous lands between 2001 and 2021 The contribution of Indigenous forests to mitigating climate change comes primarily from their lower emissions compared to forests outside Indigenous lands, as opposed to more efficient removals. Our analysis shows that the carbon emissions per hectare of forest inside Indigenous lands were much lower than for outside Indigenous lands (0.60 tonnes CO2e/hectare/year inside and 3.2 tonnes CO2e/hectare/year outside, respectively), while Indigenous forests captured about as much carbon per hectare of forest as forests outside Indigenous lands (2.2 tonnes CO2/hectare/year inside and 2.5 tonnes CO2/hectare/year outside). Given that forest loss drives carbon emissions, this finding shows that the focus of forestrelated climate change mitigation in Indigenous lands should be on keeping emissions low by protecting standing forest.

Other Community Lands Are Also Strong Carbon Sinks

Forest loss in Brazil, which comprises three-quarters of total regional loss, is the driving factor. Forest loss outside Indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon was such a significant source of carbon it counteracted the effects of the other Amazonian countries, which were either small carbon sinks or carbon sources. In Brazil, forests outside Indigenous lands are rapidly being lost to commercial farming and cattle ranching, extractive industries, infrastructure and other developments.

Carbon fluxes in Amazonian Indigenous forests are not alone in their ability to curb climate change. While most communities in the Amazon identify as Indigenous, many Afro-descendent communities — descendants of enslaved Africans — also hold and manage land in a collective manner. Our analysis of Afrodescendant forests in Brazil found that about 90% were net carbon sinks from 2001 to 2021.5 Removals were about twice as large as emissions (3.5 million tonnes CO2/year vs. 1.6 million tonnes CO2e/year), and their net sinks per hectare were comparable to those of Indigenous forests in Brazil (1.6 tonnes CO2e/hectare/year in Afro-descendent forests vs. 1.7 tonnes CO2e/hectare/year in Indigenous forests).Further, our analysis of carbon fluxes in Indigenous forests in Mexico and the Philippines as well as community forests in Mexico (peasant communities that do not identify as Indigenous, but hold and man