Azzedine T. Downes’ Post

Our new research published today in #Nature shows that natural forest regeneration in tropical regions—without costly interventions—can restore over 215 million hectares of forest, an area larger than Mexico. The world has committed to ambitious forest restoration targets - such as #Target2 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework #GBF. In some locations, these can only be achieved through cost-effective forest restoration techniques. Nature-based solutions will be a key topic of discussion at #COP16 #COP16Colombia #COP16EnCali. Our dataset informs on where the potential for natural forest restoration can be leveraged to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges. This work was carried out in collaboration with Conservation International with an amazing group of co-authors - Hawthorne Beyer Matthew Fagan Robin Chazdon Marina Schmoeller do P. Rodrigues Starry Sprenkle-Hyppolite, Ph.D. Bronson Griscom James Watson Anazélia Tedesco Mariano Gonzalez Roglich Gabriel Daldegan Blaise Bodin Danielle Celentano Sarah Jane Wilson Jonathan Rhodes Nikola Alexandre Do-Hyung Kim Diego Bastos Renato Crouzeilles Link to the article:

Our new paper on the global potential for natural regeneration was published today in #Nature

Dbytes #634 (21 August 2024) Info, news & views for anyone interested in biodiversity conservation and good environmental decision making “Australia has a global carbon footprint that far exceeds its economic size and population - and is responsible for around 4.5% of global fossil carbon dioxide emissions, with 80% of those emissions coming from its fossil fuel exports.” Hannah Grant and Bill Hare, Climate Analytics -~<>~- In this issue of Dbytes 1. Motivating government on threatened species through electoral systems 2. The Blue Mountains – towards nature positive with natural capital accounting 3. Too big to fail? Who cares if there’s no accountability 4. Liked to death? The social media race for nature photos can trash ecosystems – or trigger rapid extinction 5. Fragmentation impacts may be mixed for conservation but generally bad for restoration 6. Huge risks to NSW and Queensland koala populations from new coal mines and expansions 7. Australia’s National Science Statement and National Science and Research Priorities released 8. An analysis of the features of successful written submissions to government inquiries https://lnkd.in/gx3TTNu3

TLDR - in our enthusiasm for tree planting, let's not forget that forests can sometimes regrow themselves if we just get out of the way! And increasingly there are maps pinpointing the places with highest regrowth potential. Back in 2020 we mapped how much carbon could be achieved from natural forest regrowth across any 1-km2 pixel (https://lnkd.in/eDrZnuUe). With over 100-fold variation in potential carbon removal across the globe, we were excited to have maps to pinpoint places with the highest potential carbon returns per hectare of investment. But we didn't say where we thought that regrowth would/could actually happen. This new study shows where that natural regrowth is most likely across the tropics. Congrats to Brooke Williams, the co-authors I know (Starry Sprenkle-Hyppolite, Ph.D., Matthew Fagan, Robin Chazdon, Bronson Griscom) and the rest of the group! It's a very nice and useful study.

Collaboration is key in tackling ecosystem challenges worldwide. By sharing resources and expertise, we can ensure the success of restoration projects, making strides in biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Read more: https://refore.st/3x0EOD5

"Rewilding is the reversing of negative impacts on natural environments through the restoration and conservation of ecosystems, wilderness areas and their natural processes, and it is essential for the survival of most life on our planet. Rewilding involves reintroducing native species and allowing nature to heal and nurture itself. Doing so can not only restore biodiversity, but it can protect endangered species, prevent flooding and help mitigate climate change."

Check out PPIC's latest report on the importance of climate-smart conservation projects to support the incredible - but endangered - biodiversity in our state's freshwater ecosystems

Restoring islands from the threats of invasive mammals can protect and restore carbon stocks of native woody vegetation that exist nowhere else in the world. A new study just published in Environmental Research Letters authored with the support of my colleagues at FLINTpro, terraPulse, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, University of Maryland, and ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes leverages AI, modeling, and carbon accounting to evaluate changes in forests over the last 40 years on nearly 1,000 islands, for the first time ever, using #NASA Earth Observations. We use these to report on the positive effects of island restoration on climate and develop a scalable framework to inform policy-making. Thanks to Predator Free 2050 Limited, Salesforce Nature Accelerator, NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Biological Diversity and Ecological Conservation, Clare.nz, and many others for making this possible. #remotesensing #islandrestoration #climatesolutions

#invasivespecies #INNS are one of the biggest threats to biodiversity globally. So is #climatechange. But restoring islands by removal/ #eradication of INNS increases climate resilience. It's a no brainer really! . . . #naturebasedsolutions #rewilding #restoration #nature #conservation

Man the chief destroyer of his own environment-unfortunately. Imagine that you have constructed a multi storey house using wood as the basic structural material and the termites are slowly destroying the structure. How long will it be before they destroy enough of the structure for parts of even all ofthe house to collapse" Conservation biologists believe that this urgent question when applied to the earth, is the one that we as a species should be asking ourselves. As we tinker with the only home for us and other species we are rapidly removing the only home for us and other species, and we are rapidly removing nature's biodiversity and ecological integrity upon which we and the other species are dependent and interdependent. Past mass extinctions(due to climatic changes, continental drift etc) took place slowly enough to allow new form of life to arise as an adaptations to an everchanging environment. But Man because of his "human-centred "view of wildlife and the environment - for the sake of food and money is acting as a termite who is eating his own house. This 'human-centred' approach has to be replaced with "life -centred(biocentric)" or ecosystem-centred (ecocentric) world view for protecting the wildlife and the environment. The biocentric views are based on ethical stance-that "each species has an intrinsic value unrelated to its usefulness to humans" and ecocentric view emphasize "the importance of preserving the whole spectrum of biodiversity by protecting entire ecosystem" Let all of us think and act proactively to save our precious ecosystems.