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Estimating emissions and removals from forest degradation

An overview of country experience









Neeff, T., Vollrath, A., Lindquist, E., García, J., Fox, J., Sandker, M. & Nakalema, T. 2023. Estimating emissions and removals from forest degradation An overview of country experience. Rome, FAO.



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    Article
    Carbon emissions and removals from forests: new estimates, 1990–2020 2021
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    National, regional and global CO2 emissions and removals from forests were estimated for the period 1990–2020 using as input the country reports of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020. The new Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates, based on a simple carbon stock change approach, update published information on net emissions and removals from forests in relation to (a) net forest conversion and (b) forest land. Results show a significant reduction in global emissions from net forest conversion over the study period, from a mean of 4.3 in 1991–2000 to 2.9 Gt CO2 yr−1 in 2016–2020. At the same time, forest land was a significant carbon sink globally but decreased in strength over the study period, from −3.5 to −2.6 Gt CO2 yr−1. Combining net forest conversion with forest land, our estimates indicated that globally forests were a small net source of CO2 to the atmosphere on average during 1990–2020, with mean net emissions of 0.4 Gt CO2 yr−1. The exception was the brief period 2011–2015, when forest land removals counterbalanced emissions from net forest conversion, resulting in a global net sink of −0.7 Gt CO2 yr−1. Importantly, the new estimates allow for the first time in the literature the characterization of forest emissions and removals for the decade just concluded, 2011–2020, showing that in this period the net contribution of forests to the atmosphere was very small, i.e., a sink of less than −0.2 Gt CO2 yr−1 – an estimate not yet reported in the literature. This near-zero balance was nonetheless the result of large global fluxes of opposite sign, namely net forest conversion emissions of 3.1 Gt CO2 yr−1 counterbalanced by net removals on forest land of −3.3 Gt CO2 yr−1. Finally, we compared our estimates with data independently reported by countries to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, indicating close agreement between FAO and country emissions and removals estimates. Data from this study are openly available via the Zenodo portal (Tubiello, 2020), with DOI https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3941973, as well as in the FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database) emissions database (FAO, 2021a).
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Good practices in sample-based area estimation 2024
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    Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD+), as well as greenhouse gas reporting for the agriculture, forestry and other land use sector, requires land use changes to be characterized to estimate the associated greenhouse gas emissions or absorptions. It is becoming increasingly common to generate these estimates using sample-based area estimation (SBAE). This technique has been widely used in recent years in the generation of activity data – particularly for estimating areas of deforestation – for REDD+ measuring, reporting and verification. However, implementing countries and agencies have repeatedly highlighted the lack of guidance on how to address certain frequently encountered issues with this approach. This paper seeks to enable donors, academia, and countries that currently use or want to use SBAE for generating activity data for REDD+ or for other national or international reporting purposes, to delve into current good practice and existing literature, as well as gain a better understanding of the most pressing research needs in the area. The paper moreover will give non-experts an overview of area estimation, as well as its applications and limitations. Published by FAO with the collaborative support of several partners in the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI), the World Bank and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the paper is expected to contribute to improved forest data.
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    Book (series)
    Forest land emissions and removals
    Global, regional and country trends, 1990–2020
    2020
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    The FAOSTAT Land Emissions-Forest Land domain contains information on emissions and removals of CO2 from forest land use dynamics. The domain contains information for 214 countries and territories, providing estimates of net emissions to the atmosphere from forests, comprised of emissions from deforestation and emissions/removals on remaining forest land for the period 1990-2020. Statistics of forest land area and biomass stock are collected from countries, analysed and disseminated by FAO in five-year cycles through the Forest Resources Assessment (FRA).

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