Report: African forests are turning from a source of carbon to a net source of emissions

A report published in the journal “Nature” revealed Scientific evidence indicates that African forests have turned into a net source of emissions after being an essential ally in the fight against global climate change, due to the increasing deforestation caused by human activities..

 

 

Ecofin agency reported: Concerned with African financial and economic affairs, which quoted the “Nature” report, that the African continent absorbed more carbon than it released into the atmosphere thanks to its tropical forests in 2010, but the huge losses in forest cover, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, and parts of West Africa, turned the scales..

 

The report, titled “Loss of tropical moist broadleaf forests around Africa’s forests from one carbon source to another,” is based on a decade-long monitoring of changes in above-ground forest biomass – the amount of carbon stored in trees and forest plants – using satellite data and powerful machine learning models..

This observation, conducted by a team of researchers from several European universities, including the universities of Leicester, Sheffield and Helsinki, relies on data provided by NASA’s space laser device"GEDI"And the advanced Japanese land observation satellite"ALOS", in addition to thousands of forest measurements conducted in the field, have resulted in the most detailed map to date of biomass changes on the African continent, covering a decade, with sufficient accuracy to capture local patterns of deforestation.

The researchers found that Africa absorbed more carbon than it released between 2007 and 2010, thanks in particular to its tropical forests, but since then, widespread deforestation has tipped the scales, making the continent a net source of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

 

 

During the period between 2010 and 2017, African forests lost approximately 106 million tons of biomass annually, equivalent to the weight of about 106 million cars. As a result, these forests are now releasing more carbon than they remove..

 

 

Tropical broadleaf rainforests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar and parts of West Africa were most affected. The increase in the areas of savanna areas resulting from the growth of shrubs was not sufficient to compensate for the losses..

Human activities are the main cause of this disorder. Farmers clear more land to produce food. Infrastructure and mining projects also exacerbate the loss of vegetation, undermining the resilience of ecosystems..

The report’s authors stressed the urgent need to act to save the planet’s most important natural climate stabilizers, and recommend that leaders implement policies to end global deforestation, as stipulated in the “Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use,” a key agreement reached at COP 26. COP26" Year 2021.

 

 

 They also call for the implementation of new land restoration initiatives, similar to the REDD+ "Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries", an international mechanism designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, in addition to reviewing nationally determined contributions"NDCs" Under the Paris Climate Agreement to compensate for the continued loss of natural carbon sinks.

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