Deforestation a key part of UN global treaty talks

AFIASO, Ghana (AP) — Years ago, no one thought twice about felling the rainforest around this village in West Africa.

Land was cleared, cocoa and palm oil were planted, and the hamlet survived. But the wind blows stronger across the fields and scrub these days, and the rainfall is heavier than the elders remember.

"Before, the weather wasn't so hot," says the village chief, Nana Opare Ababio.

Afiaso, with 620 people, is on the border of Ghana's Kakum National Park, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Accra, where a 160-nation U.N. conference is discussing how the issues of deforestation and conservation fit into a new global treaty on climate change.

As delegates ponder the big picture, sometimes it helps to see the direct impact these issues have on villages like Afiaso.

An estimated 32 million acres (13 million hectares) of forest are lost to loggers, farmers and fires every year, according to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization. Most of it is in the Amazon, in Southeast Asia and in West Africa.

Trees, and especially the diverse vegetation of tropical rainforests, soak up and store carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming. Decaying or burning trees releases carbon into the air. Scientists estimate that deforestation accounts for up to 20 percent of the carbon added by man to the atmosphere.

Read on

South Africa: Public Called to Plant More Trees

The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has called on all South Africans to join in celebrating this year's Arbor Week by planting trees in their communities to mitigate the effects of climate change.

This year Arbor Week is themed "Plant trees - save our planet" and will take place from 1 September.

Tree planting remains one of the most cost-effective ways to address climate change. Trees and forests play a vital role in regulating the climate since they absorb carbon dioxide.

Deforestation, in turn, accounts for over 20 percent of the carbon dioxide humans generate, rivaling the emissions from other sources.

Trees also play a crucial role in providing a range of products and services to rural and urban populations, including food, timber, fibre, medicines and energy as well as soil fertility, water and biodiversity conservation.

Arbor Week will set the stage for similar events around the country in which see various stakeholders including government departments, non-government organisations, schools and communities participating in tree planting.

The Arbor Week campaign aims to promote improved knowledge of trees particularly indigenous trees and their importance as well as highlight the vital roles of trees in the natural environment.

The necessity for the public to contribute to the greening of South Africa by planting and caring for trees will also be emphasised.

Read on

Nigeria: Country's Forest Could Go By 2020

Grace Azubuike
Abuja

Forests in Nigeria will be cleared entirely within 12 years if current rates of deforestation are not reduced, according to the country's national forest conservation council (NFCCN).

The heavy reliance on wood for fuel – 40 million tonnes per year - is taking a heavy toll on the nation's forest resources which are burnt for charcoal. The lack of reforestation activity means clearing is not being offset by new plantings.


"Considering the rate at which trees are chopped down without any regeneration efforts, all of Nigeria's forests will disappear by 2020," Kabiru Yammama told Agence France-Presse.

With forests almost gone in the north of the country already, the loss of tree cover is also thought to be helping accelerate the spread of deserts and reduce farming land. A report by the NFCCN last year estimated that 35 per cent of arable land had been lost to desertification in the north over the last 50 years

Read on