TROPICAL FORESTS
DISTRIBUTION
- Tropical forests are closed-canopy forests growing within 28 degrees north or south of the equator.
- They are very wet places with 200cm of rainfall per year.
- Temperatures range from 20-35°C.
- More than half of all plant and animal species are present in tropical forests.
- Much of the global diet, potential for new and existing medicines is possible only because of these forests.
TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE
- Billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide are locked up in tropical forests every year, providing the best solution for climate change.
- Many studies are going on tropical forests, to know the amount of carbon dioxide fixed by tropical forests to help limit the global warming to below 2°C.
- The best way to study is through long-term measurements taken in defined plots, one tree at a time, year after year.
- These studies inform us about the species present, fast-growing trees with fixed maximum carbon dioxide and yields more timber.
HELPING HANDS
- Tropical people in local areas, gather the data that forms the basis of our knowledge about the vital ecosystems.
- Conventional wisdom suggests that making all their data freely accessible is egalitarian.
- The data gathered by these locals are extraordinarily disadvantaged.
- Field workers can put their lives at risk to expand the world's understanding of climate change and its repository of biodiversity.
| Tropical forests have an unparalleled ability to absorb carbon, without measuring this, the potentially massive contribution of tropical forests to slowing climate change will be overlooked and undervalued. |
PRECARIOUS-DANGEROUS
- Field workers risk their lives to measure and identify remote tropical trees. Many face the threat of kidnapping and murder.
- Most long-term workers have endured infectious diseases like malaria, typhoid etc.,
- Dangerous transport and the risk of gender-based violence are some of the risks faced by field workers.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
The investment in field research is so inadequate, that tropical nations have little idea of how the forests are faring as climate change accelerates.
| It is estimated that $7 million is spent every year to measure the amount of carbon sequestered in tropical forests. |
- It is unable to say the reason for slowing and lacking the bargaining power to raise the finance needed to protect them.
- the US spends over $90 million annually on national forest inventory. Wealthy countries have a firm understanding of their forest carbon balances.
FOR THE FIELD WORKERS
- Research funding must cover not only the costs of acquiring the data but also of training and guaranteeing safe, secure employment for forest workers.
- After the fieldwork, there should be funding for the essential work of curating, managing and sharing the data.
- Everyone could benefit from the open sharing of data.
