SYLLABUS

GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment 

Context: According to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports highlights that Africa’s forests have transformed from a carbon sink into a carbon source. 

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The shift means all three major rainforest regions Amazon, Southeast Asia, and Africa are now net carbon emitters, worsening global warming.

Key Findings of the Study 

• Affected Regions: The tropical moist broadleaf forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, and parts of West Africa have been the most severely impacted by the shift from carbon sinks to carbon sources.
• Transition and Biomass Loss: Africa's forests started losing carbon from 2010 to 2017, with an estimated biomass loss of about 106 billion kg annually—equivalent to the weight of 106 million cars.
• Urgent Necessity: To expand and implement initiatives such as the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). 

Reasons behind the change

• Deforestation and Land-use Changes: The primary cause is extensive deforestation and forest degradation driven by agricultural expansion, including shifting cultivation, clearing for fuelwood, and changes in land use.
• Infrastructure and Mining Impacts: Infrastructure development and mining activities have contributed significantly to vegetation loss and ecosystem degradation, worsening the shift.
• Wildfires and Biomass Loss: Both natural and human-induced wildfires have accelerated the loss of biomass and increased carbon release from African forests.
• Forest Quality Degradation: The issue extends beyond outright deforestation to the degradation of forest quality, with the loss of dense, carbon-rich vegetation reducing the forests’ capacity to absorb carbon.

Implications of the Study 

• Eroding Climate Mitigation Efforts: African forests turning into Net carbon emitters undermines climate-mitigation efforts and makes global emission-reduction targets even harder to achieve.
• Comprehensive Forest Area conservation: The shift shows that protecting forest area alone is insufficient; maintaining forest quality, preventing degradation, and preserving dense, carbon-rich vegetation are critical for long-term carbon storage.
• A Warning Signal for Other Tropical Forests: Similar trends in other tropical forests suggest that forest-based climate strategies are losing effectiveness without stronger conservation, restoration, and sustainable land-use measures.

Way Ahead 

• Strengthen Forest Conservation Frameworks: African nations and global partners should strengthen sustainable forest management and scientific monitoring, aligned with frameworks like the African Forest Forum’s SFMF, to reverse deforestation and degradation.
• Promote Forest Restoration and Resilience: Prioritise large-scale forest restoration and landscape resilience to rebuild carbon sequestration capacity, including controlling wildfires, rehabilitating degraded lands, and improving land-use practices to curb agricultural encroachment.
• Enhance International Collaboration: Sustained coordination at platforms like COP30 is essential to mobilize finance, ensure deforestation commitments are met, and aid technology transfer for forest monitoring and governance.

Sources:
The Week
The Gardian
Indian Express