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WHAT DOES THE NEW GLOBAL FOREST WATCH WEBSITE SAY ABOUT ARMENIA?
http://asbarez.com/120651/what-does-the-new-global-forest-watch-website-say-about-armenia/
Friday, March 14th, 2014
The new Global Forest Watch website shines a spotlight on global tree
loss (screengrab from www.globalforestwatch.org)
BY JASON SOHIGIAN
Last month's launch of the Global Forest Watch website was big news.
Google, World Resources Institute, and a few dozen other partners are
part of the effort. The site allows users to monitor deforestation in
"near real time." The big takeaway: global tree cover loss far exceeds
tree cover gain. Data shows that the world lost 2,300,000 square
kilometers of tree cover between 2000 and 2012, or the equivalent of
losing 50 soccer fields' worth of forests every minute of every day
for the past 13 years. By contrast, only 800,000 square kilometers
have regrown, been planted, or restored during the same period.
We welcome initiatives like GFW, which use cutting edge technology to
make forestry data available to the public. This kind of transparency
is essential to shine a spotlight on forest loss and to show areas
where natural regeneration or reforestation has been successful. This
information empowers citizens and is even valued by corporations that
want to use sustainably harvested wood.
Now, what does the site show for Armenia? GFW shows that there was
forest loss in Armenia over an area of 2,089 hectares and a gain
of 1,276 over the period of 2000 to 2011. It's interesting to note
that the data relies on Landsat satellite imagery which has become
an accepted source to measure forest cover globally. According to
this data, Armenia has seen a loss of approximately 813 hectares of
forest over this 12 year timeframe. For reference, a hectare is 2.47
acres or an area the size of a soccer field.
Armenia Tree Project has been planting in urban areas and towns since
1994 and launched its forestry program in 2004. ATP has planted a
total of 4,455,869 trees to date at more than 925 sites in all regions
of Armenia. Most of our forestry has been focused around 30 sites in
Northern Armenia. Our forestry department has planted approximately
3,500,000 tree seedlings over an area of 850 hectares.
However, our seedlings have not even formed into forests with a canopy
that would be recognized by satellite data at this resolution. There is
no question we are losing forest cover and ATP is trying to turn the
tide along with other partners. It's also worth noting that Armenia's
Hayantar forestry department has been planting during this timeframe.
A new tree seedling sprouting up at a site planted by ATP in Northern
Armenia (Photo by Jason Sohigian)
There have been other efforts to monitor forest cover in Armenia
and the general conclusion was that that there has been a net gain
in forest cover, consistent with what we have seen in other parts
of Europe. However some experts in the environmental community have
pointed out that the regrowth of forest has been a lower quality
"coppice" tree which is almost like a shrub that has grown out of
tree stumps. Setting the statistics aside, there is a consensus that
Armenia needs to curb forest loss and that reforestation should be
accelerated in order to restore our historic tree cover.
Some of the drivers of forest loss have been industrial logging,
unsustainable livestock grazing, and the use of wood for cooking
and heating fuel. Of course we recognize that people in rural areas
rely on wood. At the same time forests are a renewable resource when
they are sustainably managed and not overexploited. In addition to
planting there are other strategies that may be deployed in order
to reduce the pressure on forests. These include subsidizing the
cost of natural gas for households, enforcing a ban on wood exports,
and reducing tax on imported wood.
In general, we are in favor of initiatives like GFW that make the
information about our forests transparent and publicly accessible. In
the end we hope this draws attention to the issue of deforestation in
Armenia and globally, and that it shows the importance of investing
resources in protecting and restoring this important part of our
natural infrastructure.
Clearly there's a lot left to be done in Armenia to reverse
deforestation. One thing we know is that sustainable management of
our natural resources like forests will be more cost-effective than
depleting the reserves and trying to fund environmental restoration
programs. Particularly when some environmental impacts-like
desertification caused by deforestation-are irreversible.
Jason Sohigian is deputy director of the Armenia Tree Project. He
has a master's degree in Sustainability and Environmental Management
from Harvard University. His research on Payments for Environmental
Services was adapted for a talk at TEDx Yerevan on "Redefining Our
Economic Systems."
http://asbarez.com/120651/what-does-the-new-global-forest-watch-website-say-about-armenia/
Friday, March 14th, 2014
The new Global Forest Watch website shines a spotlight on global tree
loss (screengrab from www.globalforestwatch.org)
BY JASON SOHIGIAN
Last month's launch of the Global Forest Watch website was big news.
Google, World Resources Institute, and a few dozen other partners are
part of the effort. The site allows users to monitor deforestation in
"near real time." The big takeaway: global tree cover loss far exceeds
tree cover gain. Data shows that the world lost 2,300,000 square
kilometers of tree cover between 2000 and 2012, or the equivalent of
losing 50 soccer fields' worth of forests every minute of every day
for the past 13 years. By contrast, only 800,000 square kilometers
have regrown, been planted, or restored during the same period.
We welcome initiatives like GFW, which use cutting edge technology to
make forestry data available to the public. This kind of transparency
is essential to shine a spotlight on forest loss and to show areas
where natural regeneration or reforestation has been successful. This
information empowers citizens and is even valued by corporations that
want to use sustainably harvested wood.
Now, what does the site show for Armenia? GFW shows that there was
forest loss in Armenia over an area of 2,089 hectares and a gain
of 1,276 over the period of 2000 to 2011. It's interesting to note
that the data relies on Landsat satellite imagery which has become
an accepted source to measure forest cover globally. According to
this data, Armenia has seen a loss of approximately 813 hectares of
forest over this 12 year timeframe. For reference, a hectare is 2.47
acres or an area the size of a soccer field.
Armenia Tree Project has been planting in urban areas and towns since
1994 and launched its forestry program in 2004. ATP has planted a
total of 4,455,869 trees to date at more than 925 sites in all regions
of Armenia. Most of our forestry has been focused around 30 sites in
Northern Armenia. Our forestry department has planted approximately
3,500,000 tree seedlings over an area of 850 hectares.
However, our seedlings have not even formed into forests with a canopy
that would be recognized by satellite data at this resolution. There is
no question we are losing forest cover and ATP is trying to turn the
tide along with other partners. It's also worth noting that Armenia's
Hayantar forestry department has been planting during this timeframe.
A new tree seedling sprouting up at a site planted by ATP in Northern
Armenia (Photo by Jason Sohigian)
There have been other efforts to monitor forest cover in Armenia
and the general conclusion was that that there has been a net gain
in forest cover, consistent with what we have seen in other parts
of Europe. However some experts in the environmental community have
pointed out that the regrowth of forest has been a lower quality
"coppice" tree which is almost like a shrub that has grown out of
tree stumps. Setting the statistics aside, there is a consensus that
Armenia needs to curb forest loss and that reforestation should be
accelerated in order to restore our historic tree cover.
Some of the drivers of forest loss have been industrial logging,
unsustainable livestock grazing, and the use of wood for cooking
and heating fuel. Of course we recognize that people in rural areas
rely on wood. At the same time forests are a renewable resource when
they are sustainably managed and not overexploited. In addition to
planting there are other strategies that may be deployed in order
to reduce the pressure on forests. These include subsidizing the
cost of natural gas for households, enforcing a ban on wood exports,
and reducing tax on imported wood.
In general, we are in favor of initiatives like GFW that make the
information about our forests transparent and publicly accessible. In
the end we hope this draws attention to the issue of deforestation in
Armenia and globally, and that it shows the importance of investing
resources in protecting and restoring this important part of our
natural infrastructure.
Clearly there's a lot left to be done in Armenia to reverse
deforestation. One thing we know is that sustainable management of
our natural resources like forests will be more cost-effective than
depleting the reserves and trying to fund environmental restoration
programs. Particularly when some environmental impacts-like
desertification caused by deforestation-are irreversible.
Jason Sohigian is deputy director of the Armenia Tree Project. He
has a master's degree in Sustainability and Environmental Management
from Harvard University. His research on Payments for Environmental
Services was adapted for a talk at TEDx Yerevan on "Redefining Our
Economic Systems."