Expert says forests are worth more alive than dead

29/04/2009

Although steps have been made to reduce deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, the burning of tropical forests still contributes seven billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.

Andrew Mitchell, the founder and director of the Global Canopy Programme, claims tropical forests are far more valuable alive than dead, and hopes to convince governments of his argument.

Although climate change may kill the forests in the future, leading some to argue against efforts to save it from deforestation, Mitchell claims that stopping deforestation could increase their resilience to climate change.

A summit held in Trinidad earlier in April presented a Blueprint for a Sustainable Energy Partnership for the Americas. One of the proposals was a ‘vision for the Amazon’ which involved extending the energy production potential held in the great forest, harnessing the trees' natural process of evotranspiration, which generates billions of tonnes of water a day, which can then be used to generate power.

Investing in forestry can also encourage biofuel production, using bi-products of sustainable forestry.

Mitchell says that forests should be viewed as locally owned ‘eco utilities’ or valuable assets in their own right that are worth investing in and protecting.