Climate change is one of the major global environmental problems, one that has the potential to confront us with great costs during the decades to come. Climate change is caused by emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide (CO). As z deforestation leads to CO emissions and growing forests sequester CO, forestry z z projects provide us with options to mitigate CO effects. This study analyses the z contribution Jorestry projects can make within the context of climate change. The contribution of forestry projects is here discussed on two levels. On a first level, the COz effect of individual projects is analysed. On a second level, the study asks whether the analysis of forestry projects can contribute to questions on climate change which have been discussed in the economic literature during the past two decades. While most studies on forestry projects focus on particular details, predominantly on technical issues, this study takes a rather broad perspective, drawing together different relevant aspects: the stability of international agreements is discussed, costs and benefIts of reducing GHG emissions in industrial countries are reviewed, the underlying causes of deforestation are analysed and insights from resource economics are taken into consideration. Such a wide perspectiveallows the identifIcation, discussion and appreciation of problems and opportunities associated with forestry projects in the context of climate change which are otherwise not recognised.

Tropical forests are an undervalued asset in meeting the greatest global challenges of our time—averting climate change and promoting development. Despite their importance, tropical forests and their ecosystems are being destroyed at a high and even increasing rate in most forest-rich countries. The good news is that the science, economics, and politics are aligned to support a major international effort over the next five years to reverse tropical deforestation. Why Forests? Why Now? synthesizes the latest evidence on the importance of tropical forests in a way that is accessible to anyone interested in climate change and development and to readers already familiar with the problem of deforestation. It makes the case to decisionmakers in rich countries that rewarding developing countries for protecting their forests is urgent, affordable, and achievable.

This book discusses how future landscapes will be shaped by pervasive change and where, when, and how society should manage landscapes for change. Readers will learn about the major anthropogenic drivers of landscape change, including climate change and human induced disturbance regimes, and the unique consequences that multiple and simultaneously occurring change agents can have on landscapes. The author uses landscape trajectories as a guide to selecting the appropriate course of action, and considers how landscape position, inertia, and direction will determine landscape futures. The author introduces the concept of landscapes as socio-technical-ecological systems (STES), which combines ecological and technological influences on future landscape change and the need for society to acknowledge both when considering landscape management. Thinking beyond solutions, the author identifies barriers to managing landscapes for change including the cost, cultural identity of local populations, and the fear of taking action under uncertain conditions. Nevertheless, processes, tools, and technologies exist for overcoming social and ecological barriers to managing landscapes for change, and continued investment in social and scientific infrastructure holds out hope for maintaining our landscape values even as we enter an era of unprecedented change and disruption.

A global assessment of potential and anticipated impacts of efforts to achieve the SDGs on forests and related socio-economic systems. This title is available as Open Access via Cambridge Core.