Embargoed Release
NEW STUDY WARNS DAMAGE TO FORESTS FROM CLIMATE CHANGE COULD COST THE PLANET
ITS MAJOR KEEPER OF GREENHOUSE GASES
New York (17 April 2009) – The critical role of forests as massive "sinks" for absorbing greenhouse gases is "at risk of being lost entirely" to climate change-induced environmental stresses that threaten to damage and even decimate forests worldwide, according to a new report released today. The report will be formally presented at the next session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) taking place 20 April-1 May 2009 at the UN Headquarters in New York City.
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 17 APRIL 2009 AT 00:01 GMT/8:01 PM EDT ON 16 APRIL 2009
MEDIA CONTACTS
Tarun K. Bathija: +43 1 877 0151 42 or pr(at)iufro.org
Alexander Buck: +43 1 877 0151 13 or buck(at)iufro.org
MATERIALS
1. Press Release
[
English – PDF, 60 KB] [French – PDF, 80 KB] [Spanish – PDF, 80 KB] [German – PDF, 100 KB] [Finnish – PDF, 80 KB]
2. Full Report: Adaptation of Forests and People to Climate Change – A Global Assessment Report
- Download whole report (PDF, 3.6 MB)
OR - Download individual chapters (click for details)
3. Policy Brief: Making forests fit for climate change
- Download English version (PDF, 1.9 MB)
- Download French version (PDF, 1.9 MB)
- Download Spanish version (PDF, 1.9 MB)
- Download Chinese version (PDF, 2.2 MB)
- Download Arabic version (PDF, 1.1 MB)
- Download Russian version (PDF, 2.7 MB)
4. Executive Summary
[English – PDF, 90 KB]
5. Photos
Climate change is expected to have negative effects on the production of wood and non-wood
forest products in many regions. This can impose additional stresses on people who depend
on fuelwood for domestic energy and on non-wood forest products for their livelihoods.
Photo: Matti Nummelin
Coastal mangroves are important for protecting coastal areas from floods and storms.
Photo: Geoff Roberts
Eucalyptus forest, South Eatern Australia. More intense and frequent droughts will likely
lead to more fires, especially in Southern temperate forests.
Photo: Geoff Roberts
Sub-tropical Taxodium distichum swamp in the Everglades, Florida, United States.
Forests that are dependent on specific water levels will be particularly
sensitive to climate change.
Photo: John Innes
Dead white spruce (Picea glauca), Kluane, Yukon Territory, Canada.
A series of warmer-than-average winters have allowed populations of the
Spruce Beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) to develop, resulting in the
mortality of almost 400 000 ha of this boreal forest.
Photo: John Innes
Clearance of montane tropical rainforest for agricultural gardens
at Poring, Sabah, Malaysia. Efforts to manage tropical forests more
sustainably must take into account the complex relationships between the
welfare of local people and global concerns such as climate change.
Photo: John Innes
Oil palm plantation Malaysia. In recent years the establishment of oil palm
plantations has increased due to growing demand for biofuels
Photo: John Innes
Boreal forests are particularly affected by climate change. The observed
effects of recent climate change are greater in boreal forests than in other
forest biomes.
Photo: Erkki Oksanen
