Forest landscapes restoration measures as a cost effective solution for climate change mitigation and adaptation in India

Tewari, V. P.

Forest landscapes restoration measures as a cost effective solution for climate change mitigation and adaptation in India

XV World Forestry Congress, 2-6 May 2022

Year of publication 2022

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 8p.

Author Tewari, V. P.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Article

Full item page

Synopsis (short abstract) Global deforestation and forest degradation have led to massive loss of biodiversity. Hence, it is important not only to protect but also restore the forest ecosystems. Forest biodiversity protection, biomass production and climate change mitigation and adaptation are important key motivation for forest restoration. Tree-based landscape restoration is a widely accepted cost-effective measure to combat climate change. India’s commitment of Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement is to sequester additional 2.5 to 3 billion tons CO2 equivalent by 2030 through increased forest and tree cover and this ties in with the Bonn Challenge commitment to restore 21 mha of deforested and degraded lands by 2030 (now increased to 26 mha during UNCCD COP 14 meeting held in Sept. 2019) as well as the SDGs. This commitment can only be met if existing forests are protected and improved and tree cover is extended by 25 to 30 mha. The main objectives of the Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) in India is to reverse the process of degradation of forests & improve its productive potential, improve the regeneration of native flora & enrich the biodiversity, and enhance biomass production, carbon stocks & incomes of the rural households. For a successful FLR works in India, focus needs to be on proactive involvement of communities and local people, better coordination among the various government agencies and departments for effective implementation of project activities, robust Institutional mechanism, and continuous fund flow and support to sustain the activities and keep the restored areas intact. Here, we present how India can achieve the NDC and Bonn Challenge through forest landscape restoration. Potential to increase forest and tree cover and the carbon sequestration that can be achieved has been discussed. This will support planning for landscape restoration through the past and on-going initiatives which identifies different types of interventions implemented. Keywords: Deforestation and forest degradation; Climate change; Biodiversity conservation; Research; Landscape management ID: 3469382

Language English

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As part of its intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) to the Paris climate agreement 2015, India has committed to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. One of the strategies worked out towards this is to afforest about 2.98 million ha of salty wastelands in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab states of India. Trials were conducted on barren lithic, calcid, coarse sandy to loamy sand salt affected soil in Jodhpur (Rajasthan) and silty black highly saline soil in little Rann of kachchh (Gujarat). The approach was to grow salt tolerant species & use soil amendments. The indigenous multipurpose halophytic tree Salvadora persica maintained 66.7 to 85.2 % survival even after ten years. Gypsum + 9g N treatment gave 85.2 % survival and 12.0 & 5.67 kg tree-1 of fresh & dry biomass in arid sandy soils in Rajasthan while on black soil in Gujarat, wheat husk (WH)+FYM+urea treatment gave 90% survival and 7.17 & 3.71 kg tree -1 Green & dry biomass. A. bivenosa was more suitable with WH+FYM treatment on black soil. Acacia ampliceps (Australian tree) recorded 76 % survival on gypsum treated deep alkali soils (60 to 75 cm depth) and yielded twofold biomass (12.0 & 5.35 tree-1 to 5.43 & 2.14 kg tree-1 fresh & dry biomass for gypsum treated and 8.1 & 5.35 kg tree-1 to 3.9 & 1.56 kg tree-1 fresh & dry biomass for untreated trees on deeper and shallow soils) at five years of age. Natural regeneration of S. persica was also observed on sandy soil in Rajasthan, especially under Prosopis juliflora. Overall, significant improvement in site conditions improved and growth of indigenous vegetation was observed. Keywords: Sustainable forest management; Deforestation and forest degradation; Landscape management; Climate change; Economic Development ID: 3485327
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The key role of forest and landscape restoration in climate action 2022

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Forest and land degradation affects almost 2 billion hectares (ha) of land and threatens the livelihoods, well-being, food, water and energy security of nearly 3.2 billion people. Forest and landscape restoration (FLR) is a relatively recent response to address these impacts and aims to recover the ecological functionality and enhance human well-being in deforested and degraded landscapes. Forest and landscape restoration practices have also proven to have significant benefits for addressing the impacts of climate change. These include carbon sequestration and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improving the resilience of landscapes and reducing disaster risks. Forest and landscape restoration is therefore one of the key solutions of the agriculture, forestry and other land-use (AFOLU) sector considered in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), confirmed in the Glasgow’s Declaration on Forest and Land during the twenty-sixth UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP26). This publication highlights the links between FLR and climate change mitigation and adaptation issues, and considers further opportunities to enable greater integration between the two agendas. Many large restoration initiatives have been launched in the last decade. More projects are under preparation through the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, including many projects of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). These projects, often funded under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other climate funds are emphasized in the report to illustrate the numerous climate benefits of FLR. As a relatively cost-effective approach to supporting carbon sequestration, conservation and sustainable forest use, FLR is playing an active role in enabling climate mitigation. Should the Bonn Challenge reach its goal to restore 350 million ha, it could sequester up to 1.7 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (Gt CO2) per year. Reduction of GHG emissions is also crucial, and the FLR approach provides a strong basis to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, especially through Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) activities. It can also support sustainable bioenergy, in particular the wood energy sector, a large contributor of GHGs. Forest and landscape restoration is also key for supporting the conservation of existing forests and landscapes to protect and enhance carbon already stored in ecosystems, such as those in peatlands. This publication describes the different tools that have been developed by FAO to better measure the quantities of carbon stored and other climate benefits achieved through FLR projects.
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In the last 25 years, almost 50 million hectares of primary forest have been lost due to deforestation. Numerous international initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge and the New York Declaration on Forests have set ambitious goals to restore degraded and deforested lands by 2030. Realizing global commitments on forest and landscape restoration (FLR) will require the establishment of billions of trees on millions of hectares of degraded land to address the triple crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change and failing food systems. A significant amount of FLR will require tree planting or increasing tree cover in production landscapes.