The role of forestry in the climate change debate

Over the past decades, large forest areas have been deforested or degraded, especially in moist tropical forest areas. The causes lie in the continuing demand for areas to convert into commercial agricultural land, slash-and-burn subsistence farming, the exploitation of mineral resources, illegal logging for firewood and sawn timber, and non-sustainable forestry. Deforestation has been a cause for great concern in recent years. This is mainly due to its negative impact on global warming and regional rainfall patterns. Today, deforestation in the tropics and non-sustainable forestry contribute about 11 % to greenhouse gas emissions. After the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015, the REDD+ concept (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks) has become a key component of CO₂ compensation schemes for preserving forests in developing countries. Many countries with tropical forest areas, international organizations, NGOs and companies are currently engaged in creating methods and capacities for such compensation schemes and projects. Sustainable forestry as applied and advocated by Precious Woods will play an important role in this regard. We will continue to pursue the development of REDD+ activities and carefully review our eligibility for participating in REDD+ compensation projects.