Posted on 25 October
2009 - Buenos Aires, Argentina – The world’s
ability to control climate change could
be crippled if global leaders do not support
clear and effective targets to arrest deforestation
at climate talks in Copenhagen in December,
WWF said at the conclusion
of a key global foresty summit.
As the XIIIth World
Forestry Congress finished Friday, WWF called
for an ambitious and bold climate deal at
Copenhagen to give clear guidance and incentives
for the forestry sector to do its part in
stopping catastrophic climate change and
adapt to predicted changes.
“Setting immediate deforestation
targets is a key component of any climate
change agreement,” said Rodney Taylor, Director
of WWF International’s Forest program.
“If the global deal
on climate change ignores the dangers of
unchecked deforestation, it will set the
world on an accelerated path to savage climate
change.”
Despite conservation
efforts, global deforestation continues
at an alarming rate – 13 million hectares
per year, or 36 football fields a minute.
It generates almost 20 per cent of global
greenhouse gas emissions and halting forest
loss has been identified as one of the most
cost-effective ways to keep the world out
of the danger zone of runaway climate change.
To this end, WWF during
the Congress proposed a global target of
zero net deforestation by 2020 to avoid
runaway climate change and stop the current
catastrophic trend of species loss.
“A zero net deforestation
by 2020 target will set the scale and urgency
needed to gather the political will to stop
forest loss,” Taylor said.
WWF will continue to
advocate for a strong deforestation target
to be included in all other relevant international
treaties and agreements, including in the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
In Copenhagen, negotiators
need to agree to strong financial and emissions
reduction commitments to craft a climate
deal that enables developing countries to
halt forest loss.
“WWF received strong
feedback at the Congress from various sectors,
including governments, other NGOs, and the
private sector to support our target on
deforestation,” said Gerald Steindlegger,
WWF International’s Forest Manager on Global
Policy.
Many developing countries
already are adopting major deforestation
policies that mirror WWF’s call for zero
net deforestation by 2020.
On Wednesday, government
representatives from Argentina and Paraguay
pledged during a special ceremony co-hosted
by WWF and its partner organization Fundacion
Vida Silvestre at the Congress to work towards
zero net deforestation in the Atlantic Forest,
and to implement a package of measures that
include national legislation to enforce
those commitments.
The Atlantic Forest
initially spanned 500,000 square kms, shared
between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
However, only 7.4 percent of the forest
is left today – or about 35,000 square kilometers,
making it one of the most threatened and
fragmented subtropical forests in the world.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian
government already has established a zero
deforestation target by 2010 for the Atlantic
Forest. Brazil also has pledged to establish
protected areas covering at least 10 percent
of the forest.
This year, the World
Forestry Congress brought together more
than 4,000 participants in Buenos Aires,
Argentina.
