Eye on the Taiga: Removing Global Policy Impediments to Safeguard the Boreal Forest

Conservation Letters

Jon Moen⁸  Lucy Rist⁸  Kevin Bishop³  F. S. Chapin III²  David Ellison⁴  Timo Kuuluvainen¹  Hans Petersson⁴  Klaus J. Puettmann⁷  Jeremy Rayner⁶  Ian G. Warkentin⁵ 

[1] Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland;Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA;Department of Aquatic sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden;Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden;Environmental Science (Biology), Memorial University of Newfoundland, Corner Brook NL, Canada;Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada;Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA;Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Sweden

关键词: Boreal forest;    carbon;    climate change;    conservation;    forest management;    mitigation;    resilience;   

DOI  :  10.1111/conl.12098

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Abstract

The absence of boreal forests from global policy agendas on sustainable development and climate change mitigation represents a massive missed opportunity for environmental protection. The boreal zone contains some of the world's largest pools of terrestrial carbon that, if not safeguarded from a conversion to a net source of greenhouse gases, could seriously exacerbate global climate change. At the same time, boreal countries have a strong tradition of forest management—expertise that could be effectively leveraged toward global and national carbon mitigation targets and sustainable development. Current obstacles against such contributions include weak incentives for carbon sequestration and a reluctance to embrace change by forest managers and policy makers. We discuss possible solutions to overcome these obstacles, including the improvement of ineffective incentives, the development of alternative forest management strategies, and the need to maintain ecosystem resilience through the pursuit of policy and management options.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
©2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.