Ecosystem Protection and Restoration: The Other Strategy for Climate Change.
While reduced burning of fossil fuels is the most common response to rising levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere, there is another, longer-term remedy that is gaining ground in the public view and business world: the restoration of destroyed and degraded ecosystems.
This fundamental strategy for addressing climate change is founded on a simple reality: while cutting the use of fossil fuels will reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, the only viable way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere is through the photosynthetic action of healthy ecosystems. Trees are the most powerful concentrators of carbon on earth. In one year, one hectare of healthy forest can remove all the CO2 equivalent to a column of air rising 1.4 kms above it.
Since the industrial revolution, almost 500 billion tons of CO2 have been released into the atmosphere from degraded ecosystems. Today 60% of the world's ecosystems are destroyed or degraded. Getting CO2 "back to earth" through ecosystem restoration projects represents a huge opportunity.
We know that the impact of climate change stands to be long term in nature, spanning many decades, perhaps centuries. We also know that functional forests and other ecosystems are the most manageable, cost-effective and therefore viable way of removing CO2 in the centuries ahead.
Clearly, ecosystem restoration and avoided deforestation are essential elements of any comprehensive, longterm strategy directed toward reversing climate change-one that complements technological approaches. In addition to the positive impact it has on atmospheric CO2, and delivering quality offset product, ecosystem restoration offers numerous co-benefits including:
- Fish and Wildlife enhancement
- Native biodiversity restoration
- Improved stormwater management
- Endangered species refuge
- Invasive species removal
- Employment and education
We believe it makes good sense to restore the majestic, oxygen generating forests and other ecosystems that once covered our landscapes, so that they can once again support a myriad of native life forms, while recapturing vast tonnages of the CO2 that continue to be released through human activity.
