Intact Forests: A Major Carbon Storehouse

The Boreal forests of Canada and Russia together are the world's largest and most important carbon storehouse, holding 22% of the total carbon stored on the earth's land surface. This is almost twice as much carbon per unit area as tropical forests. The Canadian Boreal Forest alone stores an estimated 186 billion tons of carbon in forest and peatland ecosystems, equivalent to 27 years worth of the world's carbon emissions in 2003 from the burning of fossil fuels (interboreal.org). Boreal forests play a critical role in the fight against climate change by keeping vast amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere.

'Globally, nearly 30% of the soil organic carbon is locked in tundra and Boreal ecosystems. Since approximately 75% of Canada is comprised of these ecosystems, a significant portion of the world's soil carbon is stored in Canadian territory.' (interboreal.org)

Deforestation accounts for an estimated 20% of global carbon emissions � that�s higher than emissions from the transportation, aviation and IT industries.

The facts beg immediate action: In Canada, the forest sector is the largest single industrial user of energy and releases significant greenhouse gas emissions. Logging also removes about 36 million tones of above ground carbon from the eco-system each year - that's more carbon than what's emitted from all the passenger vehicles in the country.

If logging in Canada continues at current rates over the next 10 to12 years, it's estimated that another 1 million square kilometers of the Boreal forest will become dysfunctional for some key species. It's worth noting that Canada's Boreal has an estimated carbon storage value of $3.7 trillion. Surely, it's worth more left where it is rather than logged.

The Stern Review and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified the conservation of forests, in particular intact forests, as a primary defense in combating climate change.

Preserving the Boreal's integrity through large-scale area conservation and shifts to sustainable forest management systems such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), are necessary steps to maintain the stability of the global climate and economy.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND FORESTS: CUTTING EDGE ACADEMIC STUDIES