Trying to turn the tide of deforestation

Deforestation brought about by excessive logging has contributed to greenhouse gas emissions and undermined the ecosystems and sustainability of local economies. Well managed and cultivated tree plantations create fruits, leaves, bark and roots, firewood, building materials and healthy trees also help maintain an area’s ecosystems by recycling nutrients, prevent erosion and maintain moderate water flows. Tree logging can clear land for arable farming and growing new crops - but a recent report in the journal Science found that the economic benefits were short term in nature.

David Shukman reports on a plan to grow 24 million trees to soak up carbon dioxide and restore the rainforest have got underway in Ghana - a country where four fifths of its forests have been destroyed. Critical to the success of the project will be protection of property rights including giving local families secure land tenure for the new trees that are being planted.

Creating tree plantations contributes to fresh CO2 emissions of course - but given that 18% of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by tropical deforestation and that deforestation increases the risks of major economic and social collapse through flood damage, investment in new plantations perhaps as part of the Clean Development Mechanism seems a small price to pay.

Deforestation faster in Africa (BBC news)

Unit 1 Micro: Winning the War on Deforestation [5 Feb 2012]
Unit 1 Micro: Illegal logging and the human cost [23 Jan 2012]
Unit 3 Micro: Prezi on Environmental Economics [11 Jan 2012]
Economics of Deforestation [20 Dec 2011]
Unit 3 Micro: You Sue, I Sue - Patent Wars Explode! [25 Sep 2011]
Study Note - Economic Systems [13 Sep 2011]
Economics at the Movies: The Cove - Trade in Dolphins [28 Aug 2011]
Transport Economics: Rail Investment [12 Aug 2011]
Unit 1 Micro: FirstBuy, Affordability and Effective Demand in Property [10 Jul 2011]
Where there’s muck there’s brass [6 Jul 2011]
Transport Economics - Government Failure in Roadbuilding? [27 Jun 2011]
Oceans at grave risk [20 Jun 2011]
AS economics: Using the cost-benefit principle [18 May 2011]
A2 Micro: Innovation in Markets [4 May 2011]
Timetric: Mortgage Lending and Mortgage Rates [14 Mar 2011]
Tuesday Talks - the cycling city [8 Mar 2011]
EU Economics: Germany leads Euro Zone revival [25 Feb 2011]
Economics Q&A: Can economics provide answers to the crisis of collapsing stocks in global fishing? [19 Jan 2011]
Economics Q&A: How can the tragedy of the commons lead to environmental market failure? [18 Jan 2011]
Environmental Economics: Five Fresh Links [13 Jan 2011]
Trees as private and public goods [3 Jan 2011]
EU Economics: EU Economy in Charts Jan 2011 [29 Dec 2010]
Ghana becomes a producer of crude oil [15 Dec 2010]
Promising news on deforestation [2 Dec 2010]
Successors to Roosevelt and Kruger - Marine Parks of the Sea [8 Nov 2010]
Economics at the Movies - The Vanishing Bees [27 Oct 2010]
Economics at the Movies - The End of the Line [26 Oct 2010]
Housing market and negative equity [31 Aug 2010]
Falling in love with a fish [11 Aug 2010]
Cocoa Economics [30 Jul 2010]
Housing and the British Economy [5 Jun 2010]
Warnings of hysteresis for the EU economy [29 May 2010]
Revision Presentation - EU & Carbon Emissions Trading [22 Feb 2010]
Revision Presentation - Market Failure & the Environment [21 Feb 2010]
Sustainable development and the tragedy of commons [21 Feb 2010]
Is monetary policy becoming less effective? [16 Dec 2009]
New figures show extent of wealth inequality in the UK [11 Dec 2009]
Reasons to expect a Nike Swoosh recovery [13 Nov 2009]
New series of BBC Earth Report - Deforestation and Externalities [27 Oct 2009]
Explaining the Tragedy of the Commons [3 Oct 2009]
Pain in Spain - on the brink of depression [26 Sep 2009]
The Wealth Effect [12 Sep 2009]
Full speed ahead [27 Aug 2009]
Tentative signs of a pulse in the housing market [30 Jul 2009]
Cost Benefit Analysis and New Rail Lines [16 Jun 2009]
Europe Revision: Fishing [4 Jun 2009]
BBC Video: Ireland in Recession [24 May 2009]
Economies of Scale for Wind Farms [23 May 2009]
Revision: Deflation in Residential and Commercial Property [14 May 2009]
Revision: Consumer Borrowing [4 May 2009]
Fishing for a problem for the tragedy of the commons [23 Apr 2009]
Wimbledon serves up £55m in debenture sales [4 Apr 2009]
Revision presentation - UK Housing Market 2009 [25 Mar 2009]
Bubble Behaviour [22 Mar 2009]
Spanish Economy - After the Fiesta [20 Feb 2009]
Requiem for DRM [12 Jan 2009]
Interest rates are no longer the key story [8 Jan 2009]
Barclays Boss says housing downturn is only half done [16 Dec 2008]
Buyers desert the property market - with good reason [30 Oct 2008]
Budgeting for expansion [27 Oct 2008]
Negative equity - why is it a problem? [20 Oct 2008]
Savings and Hot Money - Shelters from the Storm [5 Oct 2008]
Mortgage Market - Closed for Business [29 Sep 2008]
Housing - a buyers market [27 Sep 2008]
Housing market activity - some interesting data [26 Sep 2008]
Property woes deepen [28 Aug 2008]
Shaking foundations [26 Aug 2008]
How best to avoid the ‘D-words’ [26 Aug 2008]
Sharp fall in London property “asking prices” [18 Aug 2008]
Bricomortis [21 Jul 2008]
UK house prices down 2% in June [10 Jul 2008]
Denmark the first to enter recession - form an orderly queue please [3 Jul 2008]
My Domain? [27 Jun 2008]
The Squeeze is on! [24 Jun 2008]
Does Manchester need a congestion charge? [10 Jun 2008]
Back to the 1990s [29 May 2008]
House prices down, rents up [20 May 2008]
Growing demand for social housing [19 May 2008]
Flood defences, cost benefit and opportunity cost [17 May 2008]
Mervyn faces the Music [14 May 2008]
Elegy for Estate Agents [11 May 2008]
Property - then and now [9 May 2008]
Developments in the housing market [27 Apr 2008]
The social curse of the property boom [19 Apr 2008]
Buy to let - a problem of over-supply? [18 Apr 2008]
Chart of the Day: Falling UK House Prices [8 Apr 2008]
A bubble waiting to be pricked [7 Apr 2008]
Chart of the Day: Construction Sector Confidence [6 Apr 2008]
US Recession Watch: Hold onto your Hats! [27 Mar 2008]
UK Housing Market Update (March 2008) [21 Mar 2008]
Logging in Alaska - an Environmental Catastrophe? [4 Feb 2008]

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