cover image: Contact:  - Study: Congo Basin Peatlands Indispensable for Climate Stability

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Contact: - Study: Congo Basin Peatlands Indispensable for Climate Stability

18 Nov 2021

According to the study, the waterlogged forests and tropical peatlands of the Congo Basin contain 8.1 billion metric tons of irrecoverable carbon – equivalent to more than 20 times Africa’s annual emissions – and have some of the highest concentrations of irrecoverable carbon worldwide. [...] According to the Nature Sustainability study, the largest and highest-density irrecoverable carbon ecosystems, in addition to the Congo Basin, include • The tropical forests and peatlands of the Amazon biome (31.5 Gigatonnes irrecoverable carbon); • Islands of Southeast Asia (13.1 Gigatonnes); • The temperate forests of northwestern North America (5.0 Gigatonnes); • Mangroves, seagrasses and tidal. [...] These key findings include • Tropical ecosystems like those found throughout much of the African continent comprise most of the “doubly irreplaceable” land on Earth, making them high priority settings for both biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation • More than a third of irrecoverable carbon (46.7 billion Gigatonnes) is stored within the government-recognized lands of Indigenous p. [...] Our research shows that investing in irrecoverable carbon reserves is a win-win-win approach that can improve the health of our climate, the health of Earth’s species and, ultimately, the health of humanity.” Susan Cook-Patton, a coauthor of the paper and senior forest restoration scientist with The Nature Conservancy said that, “given the strengthened commitments that need to come out of the Glas. [...] Through science, partnerships and fieldwork, Conservation International is driving innovation and investments in nature-based solutions to the climate crisis, supporting protections for critical habitats, and fostering economic development that is grounded in the conservation of nature.

Authors

Jessica Brown

Pages
4
Published in
United States of America