Tropical forests will play an important role in the new climate treaty that is to be signed in Copenhagen in December 2009. This treaty will likely include a financial mechanism to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). As for the second ‘D’, a wide range of tropical forest types and their potential for climate change mitigation will be considered. In existing natural forest, improved management practices such as reduced-impact logging methods can strongly reduce forest degradation.
Until now, less attention has been paid to the climate change mitigation potential of ‘new natural forests’ (or secondary forests), plantations, and agroforestry systems. Evidence is growing that these categories of forest merit more appreciation. Not only do they often harbour higher biodiversity values and provide more goods and services for rural livelihoods than is generally assumed, but they have also a high and growing significance for climate change mitigation and adaptation. This seminar addresses the challenge for science and policy to define how these ‘forgotten’ forests contribute best to climate goals, and under what conditions and to what extent forest-related climate instruments would contribute to sustainable forest management.
This knowledge is in particular important for setting an agenda of work beyond ‘Copenhagen’.
The aims of this seminar are to:
- Present and discuss recent scientific insights into the role of tropical forest in climate change mitigation and adaptation, with special attention to forest degradation, new natural forests, agroforests, and forest plantations.
- Present an integrated view on sustainable forest management, what is needed to make it happen, and how climate instruments can contribute.
- Discuss the policy and management implications emerging from our new insights on forests and climate, including priorities for further work.
Participation & registration
This seminar is intended for a broad audience of professionals working in relation to tropical forest management (policy, conservation, industry, trade, science, advisory).
Attendance is free of charge after registration at the VTB website: www.tropischebossen.nl/aanmelden.php
If you want to exhibit a poster on the topic, or display any other relevant information, please contact Leona van Eck at l.eck@minlnv.nl or at telephone number +31 318 822845
For more information, contact:
Frans Bongers (WUR Forestry Groups, frans.bongers@wur.nl),
René Boot (Tropenbos International, rene.boot@tropenbos.org)
Pieter Zuidema (Utrecht University, p.a.zuidema@uu.nl)
Herman Savenije (Ministry of LNV, h.j.f.savenije@minlnv.nl)