Plant a tree: Fight back global warming

Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people
– Franklin. D. Roosevelt

The opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics was a breathtaking spectacle. The four-hour-long extravaganza was a snapshot of the long and storeyed history of Great Britain. One scene in particular presented by Danny Boyle and Aptly titled ‘Pandemonium’, chronicled how the world transited from a predominantly agrarian society to one dominated by machinery. Through the ‘Pandemonium’, we saw how the green and pleasant landscape of England was transformed when the Industrial Revolution swept across that nation.

Mixed blessings

The Industrial Revolution brought sweeping changes to this planet. The world advanced rapidly in agriculture, transportation and communication. It created new job opportunities and in general mankind experienced a higher quality of life. However, this prosperity came at a price. Cities became crowded, slums were created and problems arose in regard to sanitation, housing and diseases.

The revolution also took a heavy toll on the environment laying the foundation for the global warming crisis we are facing today. Coal and other fossil fuels were the primary drivers of the new industries and the burning of these fuels emitted greenhouse gases, heavily increasing the atmospheric concentration of CO2.

This rise in CO2 is the main cause of global warming, as the influence on surface warming is greater in carbon dioxide than all the other greenhouse gases.

Global warming

Facts about global warming are unsettling. Since the mid-1880s, global temperatures have risen by more than 0.85°C making each of the past three decades progressively warmer than the preceding decades since 1850.

In January 2015, NASA reported that the 10 warmest years ever-recorded had been after 1998, and that 2014 was the warmest year of them all. The effects of rising temperatures are not waiting for some far flung future; it is beginning to take place right now.

Effects on health

One key area where we see the adverse effects of rising temperatures is health. According to a 2005 report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), extreme temperatures contribute directly to deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. In the 2003 summer heat wave in Europe for example, more than 70,000 deaths were recorded.

Forecasts for the future are even grimmer. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 deaths a year caused by malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat-related stress. Furthermore, the direct damage from costs to health from global warming is estimated to be between US$ 2-4 billion a year by 2030.

Sea level rise

Another key area where global warming is having an effect is the rise in sea water levels. During the past century, the global mean sea level has risen by more than 10 to 20 centimetres. This might seem small but even a small increase in the sea-water level can have devastating effects. Sea level rise increases the risk of both temporary and permanent flooding of coastal areas. Around 23 percent of the world’s population lives near the coast.

Moreover, as sea water reaches further inland it can cause soil erosion, flooding of wetlands, reducing the fertility of soil due to salinity and lost habitat for freshwater fish as well as birds and plants. Additionally, when large storms hit land, higher sea levels mean bigger and more powerful storm surges that can strip away everything in their path.

Effects on Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is not immune to the effects of global warming; In fact, we are highly vulnerable. The Climate Change Secretariat of Sri Lanka says the country is already experiencing a higher occurrence of extreme weather because of global warming. This includes high-intensity rainfall followed by flash floods and landslides as well as extended dry periods that result in water scarcity.

Some of Sri Lanka’s crop cultivation has also been affected. The Centre for Climate Change Studies Meteorological Department (CCCSMD) has observed how potato cultivation in Nuwara Eliya is withering due to global warming. Other crops in Nuwara Eliya will also be affected and this would pose significant life challenges to farmers in that region.

Carbon storage experts

As children, all of us learnt the process of photosynthesis: the process of producing food in trees. During this process, trees store carbon by converting CO2 into sugar, cellulose and other carbohydrates that they use for food and growth. Trees are thus unique in their ability to lock up large amounts of carbon in solid form; this process is known as carbon sequestration.

The actual rate of carbon sequestration in trees varies with species, climate and site. However, in general, forests with younger and faster-growing trees have higher annual sequestration rates. Carbon comprises over half of the weight of wood and therefore trees in a forest hold an enormous amount of carbon. When the carbon stored in forest soils is also taken into consideration, we can say with certainty that forests are the carbon-storage experts of the world.

When forests are cut down, the ability of trees to absorb carbon from the air diminishes. Moreover, if the wood is burned or left to rot after deforestation, carbon stored in trees is released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

According to a study by two of the world’s leading research groups, Winrock International and Woods Hole Research Center, three billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is estimated to be released to the atmosphere every year because of deforestation. To put this in perspective, an average car emits about 5 tonnes of CO2every year and this means that 3 billion tonnes is the equivalent of 600 million cars.

The good news

Nevertheless, the world can fight global warming, and it has to do this for the sake of survival. To do so, we need to place limits on the amount of carbon that is emitted, transition into a low-carbon economy by investing in energy efficient technologies, industries and approaches, while taking action to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.

As part of the fight against global warming, effective measures should be taken against deforestation. Furthermore, reforestation and afforestation should be encouraged and awareness should be created regarding the vital role that forests play in regard to the carbon cycle.

The degradation of forests too causes the emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

While the destruction of forests is a major cause for the emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, trees are also the only means by which atmospheric carbon can be converted to a solid form and brought into the biosphere, and there after the geosphere. Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is a global initiative that has arisen in answer to this global issue. It also seeks to go beyond and include the roles of conservation, sustainable managements of forests and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

REDD+in Sri Lanka

The UN-REDD Programme is the United Nations initiative on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries. This programme was launched in 2008 and three UN agencies - FAO, UNDP and UNEP - collaborated in its establishment.

Sri Lanka became a UN-REDD Partner Country in 2009 and REDD+ Sri Lanka was launched on 7th June 2013. The national REDD+ initiative, which is supported by the UN-REDD Programme, comes under the purview of the Forest Department. The Climate Change Secretariat and the Department of Wildlife Conservation are the other main stakeholders of REDD+. An unprecedented range of stakeholders including Civil Society Organisations, indigenous people, academics and the private sector have an opportunity to come around a common table together with government counterparts through the REDD+ programme in Sri Lanka. This initiative will help Sri Lanka to prepare an international mechanism to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation.

Hope for the future

Every country and every human being has a responsibility to fight the impending climate change crisis. Currently, over 140 countries have pledged to fight climate change through reducing carbon emissions. Presently, 64 countries are being supported through the UN-REDD Programme to move forward with their national REDD+ strategies. In October 2015, the United Nations presented a report that states the worldwide effort to combat climate change is building momentum, and that nations can cost effectively meet the crucial objective of restricting the global temperature rise to under 2 Celsius Centigrade.

Sri Lanka is determined to play its part in fighting global warming, which is causing climate change. By developing its own REDD+ programme, the Government of Sri Lanka is conveying a message to the world that preserving forests and promoting reforestation is an essential part of its arsenal against climate change.

You and I can help as well; we can spread awareness regarding the importance of forests. We can also become stakeholders in the fight against climate change by planting trees and turning our humble gardens into miniature forests.