🌱 Why is it vital to protect forest biodiversity?
More diverse forests – with “more different species with individual genetic codes” living in them – are better at coping with environmental and climate change. In line with this, “[n]atural forests are one of the most important and stable stores of carbon”. Overall, deforestation is “estimated to contribute as much as 20% to global annual greenhouse gas emissions”.[i]
🌱 What ecosystem services do forests provide?
It is worth noting that forests provide a multitude of other ecosystem services. Over three-quarters of “accessible fresh water [globally] comes from forested catchments”. Forests are the source for many traditional medicines, which large populations in developing countries rely on.[ii] Forests also provide firewood, wild food, and resources for peoples’ livelihoods for over 90% of those living in extreme poverty. Overall, forests are estimated to “provide more than 86 million green jobs”.[iii]
🌱 What role do forests play in protecting biodiversity?
As it is not possible to “protect the Earth’s biodiversity without protecting our forest”, action to halt deforestation needs to be taken urgently.[iv] Over the course of the past few years, the EU has therefore enacted several new laws that aim to help prevent or reverse global deforestation and habitat loss trends. The most significant amongst these include the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, the Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR), and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). While the Nature Restoration Law sets binding targets on EU member states to restore ecosystems, the EUDR and CSDDD require companies to carry out due diligence and risk assessments.
This post has been adapted from a newsletter written by Christine Nikander and Heidrun Kordholste-Nikander. The newsletter titled “How does the mining of critical raw materials impact forests and their biodiversity?” was originally published in “The E-Waste Newsletter”.
[i] Convention on Biological Diversity: Forest Biodiversity. https://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/cop/cop-09/media/cop9-press-kit-forest-en.pdf (21.08.2024)
[ii] Convention on Biological Diversity: Forest Biodiversity. https://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/cop/cop-09/media/cop9-press-kit-forest-en.pdf (21.08.2024)
[iii] UN Environment Programme: Earth’s biodiversity depends on the world’s forests. https://www.unep-wcmc.org/en/news/earths-biodiversity-depends-on-the-worlds-forests (21.08.2024)
[iv] UN Environment Programme: Earth’s biodiversity depends on the world’s forests. https://www.unep-wcmc.org/en/news/earths-biodiversity-depends-on-the-worlds-forests (21.08.2024)