{"id":296695,"date":"2025-07-03T00:22:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T00:22:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/03\/what-on-earth-is-reforestation\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T00:22:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T00:22:37","slug":"what-on-earth-is-reforestation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/03\/what-on-earth-is-reforestation\/","title":{"rendered":"What on Earth is \u2018reforestation\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>Editor\u2019s note: From \u201cclimate adaptation\u201d to \u201cblue carbon,\u201d from \u201clandscape approach&#8221; to \u201cecosystem services,\u201d environmental jargon is everywhere these days. Conservation International\u2019s blog looks to make sense of it in an occasional explainer series we\u2019re calling \u201cWhat on Earth?\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In this installment and <a data-sf-ec-immutable=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gDZy36Yml3Q\">video<\/a>, we explore &#8220;reforestation,&#8221; a practice critical to stopping climate change.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"What on Earth is Reforestation?\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gDZy36Yml3Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s reforestation?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s easy: It\u2019s helping to bring forest back to an area where it was destroyed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I have a feeling there\u2019s more to it than that.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, yes: Reforestation involves indigenous peoples, wildlife, breathable air \u2014 even the cocoa powder and palm oil in your favorite breakfast spread. Fundamentally, though, it\u2019s a matter of creating the conditions for Earth to continue supporting<br \/>\n    human life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How is that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Forests are the best and most cost-efficient method for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservation.org\/blog\/we-can-limit-global-warming-to-1-5-degrees-with-natures-help\">removing and storing<\/a> consequential amounts of climate-warming carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2<\/sub>).<\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019ve heard about this<a data-sf-ec-immutable=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-climate-change-heatwaves\/think-the-heatwave-was-bad-climate-already-hitting-key-tipping-points-idUSKCN1UN065\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> climate breakdown<\/a> in the<br \/>\n    news. But how hot is too hot?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Glad you asked: Unfortunately, we\u2019re well on our way to crossing that \u201ctoo hot\u201d threshold, which countries agreed to cap at 1.5\u02daC (2.7\u02daF) above pre-industrial levels in the Paris Agreement. Higher than that and things get ugly.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, and we only have <a data-sf-ec-immutable=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2018\/oct\/08\/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">about a decade <\/a>to stop that from happening.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What does this have to do with trees?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s generally understood that fossil fuels are the leading culprit of all that planet-warming carbon, there\u2019s a serious under-the-radar offender. In fact: It pollutes so much CO<sub>2<\/sub> that <a data-sf-ec-immutable=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2018\/11\/chart-of-the-day-what-if-deforestation-were-a-country\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">if it were a country<\/a>, its emissions would rank third after China and the US.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s deforestation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Really?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Really. Last year, people wiped out enough <a data-sf-ec-immutable=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.globalforestwatch.org\/data-and-research\/world-lost-belgium-sized-area-of-primary-rainforests-last-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rainforests to cover Belgium<\/a>. <a data-sf-ec-immutable=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/advances.sciencemag.org\/content\/3\/7\/e1602602\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Unsustainable development <\/a>and agriculture are two big drivers of deforestation, especially in developing countries.\n<\/p>\n<p>And you may have heard of something called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservation.org\/blog\/eu-bid-to-halt-imported-deforestation-moot-without-investment\">imported deforestation<\/a>,\u201d which is when trees are cut down in one place \u2014 often a developing nation \u2014 to grow products such as cocoa, palm oil and rubber that are then sold somewhere else, say Europe.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can we back up to the part about global warming? Ending deforestation is required to end global warming?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Simply put: We\u2019ve got to stop cutting down all the trees if we\u2019re going to stop the climate breakdown.<\/p>\n<p>But even if we cut current CO<sub>2<\/sub> emissions from every source on the planet, it\u2019s still not enough to prevent worst-case warming scenarios.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But you just said \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It turns out that CO<sub>2<\/sub> is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservation.org\/priorities\/climate-change\"><em>cumulative<\/em><\/a>. What humans put into the air adds to<br \/>\n    what\u2019s already there, to what\u2019s been there since industrialization introduced carbon-belching smokestacks in the 1880s. And because CO<sub>2<\/sub> is cumulative \u2014 and because current emissions continue unabated \u2014 atmospheric<br \/>\n    CO<sub>2<\/sub> recently reached <a data-sf-ec-immutable=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/e360.yale.edu\/digest\/co2-concentrations-hit-highest-levels-in-3-million-years\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">415 parts per million<\/a>, a higher concentration than at any other point in human<br \/>\n    history.<\/p>\n<p>The last time the concentration was this high, about 3 million years ago, there were trees in Antarctica \u2014 no ice caves, ice sheets, ice blocks, penguins. And zero humans.<\/p>\n<p>In short: Cutting current CO<sub>2<\/sub> emissions is one requirement for a habitable Earth. Removing and storing CO<sub>2<\/sub> is another.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So, our best hope is trees?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nature\u2019s critical role in helping humans survive the climate crisis isn\u2019t hope \u2014 it\u2019s <a data-sf-ec-immutable=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/science.sciencemag.org\/content\/365\/6448\/76\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a>. A recent study found that growing<br \/>\n    more forest and restoring damaged ecosystems could remove as much as<a data-sf-ec-immutable=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/07\/04\/world\/forests-capture-two-thirds-of-carbon-emissions-scn-intl\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> two-thirds of the CO<sub>2<\/sub><\/a> that humans have been putting in the air since the 1880s.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are we waiting for? Let\u2019s plant all the trees!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not that simple.<\/p>\n<p>Nikola Alexandre, a forest restoration fellow at Conservation International, has an important point: \u201cBringing life back to land isn\u2019t always about planting trees,\u201d he says. \u201cNature has a remarkable ability to bounce back from<br \/>\n    disturbances on its own, especially if it\u2019s given even a bit of support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This could be as simple, he says, as supporting indigenous peoples and local communities to better protect saplings from fires and hungry livestock.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So, just let nature do its thing?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sort of. In Brazil, for example, <a data-sf-ec-immutable=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/90373326\/billions-of-new-trees-could-help-stop-climate-change-heres-how-we-get-them\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">70 million hectares<\/a> of previously forested area are<br \/>\n    degraded, 20 million hectares of which could regenerate naturally. And as Alexandre explains, natural tree growth is one of the restoration methods that removes and stores the most carbon from the atmosphere for the long term.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEncouraging natural regeneration is much, much cheaper than planting trees,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are certain times when it\u2019s important to plant trees, when there is a need to have a very specific mix of species. But planting should<br \/>\n    really only occur in areas that are not going to naturally regenerate so that restoration investments can be used where they\u2019re most vital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>So what\u2019s \u2018restoration\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Reforestation is an aspect of restoration. Restoration is \u201crewilding\u201d interconnected systems of living Earth \u2014 and despite its name, it\u2019s not just letting nature doing its thing. It actually involves complex, intricate science<br \/>\n    and arranging a mosaic of social and economic pieces to create the conditions by which nature can do its thing.<\/p>\n<p>As Alexandre explains, \u201cThe field of restoration is, by design, about weaving people and nature together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>So if we know what we need to do to save the planet, what\u2019s the problem?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re missing some keys to success, mainly political will and alignment \u2014 and money. Large-scale restoration \u2014 what we need to keep existing forests standing and to help new forests grow \u2014 is untenable unless countries, companies<br \/>\n    and local communities are in agreement. And, ultimately, it\u2019s going to take tremendous <a data-sf-ec-immutable=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cifor.org\/library\/7073\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">investment from the private sector<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The best place to start is by giving the Earth a break.<\/p>\n<p>Alexandre compares the current state of the planet to human health: \u201cSometimes when you\u2019re sick, you just need to take it easy, and other times, you need medicine. Thanks to us, the planet is sick right now. If we\u2019re able to help it<br \/>\n    get some rest, a lot of the healing will happen naturally \u2014 and we can focus our efforts on healing the wounds that run deeper.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Nikola Alexandre is a Restoration Fellow at Conservation International. Trisha Calvarese is a senior writer at Conservation International.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Further reading<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservation.org\/blog\/what-is-reforestation\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Editor\u2019s note: From \u201cclimate adaptation\u201d to \u201cblue carbon,\u201d from \u201clandscape approach&#8221; to \u201cecosystem services,\u201d environmental jargon is everywhere these days. Conservation International\u2019s blog looks to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":296696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[189],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-296695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newhampshiredigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}