. Community forest rights are able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, protect trees and generate significant economic returns. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas. The paper, titled “The Economic Costs & Benefits of Secure Community Forest Tenure: Evidence From Brazil and Guatemala” – showed that the biggest impact was in the global reduction of CO2 emissions due to tree cutting (deforestation). Only two countries were included in the study: Brazil and Guatemala. The secure rights to community forest land are expected to reduce the emission of over 5.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per decade. It is the equivalent of more than one billion cars per year. One of many indigenous tribes that call the Brazilian Amazon their home is The Yudja. WRI economist Erin Gray was the lead author. She said that secure rights in Brazil’s community forests and Guatemala’s in Guatemala were a good investment. This would allow government officials and climate negotiators to explore a cost-effective, powerful strategy for climate change mitigation. The Brazilian Amazon has many Indigenous Territories. These territories cover 13%. Over twenty-years, the authors estimated that community forest rights would bring $161.7 trillion in carbon capture and avoided emissions. Although the area covered by Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve is smaller, it offers benefits of $605 millions over that same time period. Juan-Carlos Altamirano (also an economist at WRI) was co-author. He stated that the global consequences are enormous. Although they have only one eighth of the forests in the world, Indigenous peoples and communities are entitled to some rights. However, these rights are often used and held by more communities under traditional arrangements. “The global implications are enormous. We know that we’re not just doing the right thing. The community forest benefits outweigh the costs. WRI research has shown that community forests are more carbon-capable and have healthier forests. Secure rights require investments in order to provide legal protections, their implementation and improve the ability of local residents to manage forest resources sustainably and to benefit. The researchers found that annual costs for securing community forest tenure were relatively low when you consider the reduced carbon emissions and avoidance of deforestation. For example in Brazil, investing $19 per ha today could yield $1 ,473 over twenty years. This is $77.5 per $1. $63 today could yield $1 ,899 of benefits over the same time period. Guatemala’s estimate also includes economic benefits for communities from sustainably harvesting and marketing forest product. Secure community forest rights provide many other benefits. In addition to carbon storage, they also offer numerous environmental, socio-economic and social benefits. These include reduced deforestation and improved biodiversity, water regulation and job creation as well as reduced conflicts and outmigration. These authors think that these methods could eventually prove to be even more beneficial for community forest rights. Peter Veit (Director, Land and Resource Rights Initiative at WRI) said that the paper “brings new light to many benefits associated with securing land right. It’s evident that more research is required to fully comprehend the economic benefits. As we gain more knowledge about this topic, we expect decision-makers to take additional actions to support community land rights. Video – Climate Change: What does it mean? Climate change refers to the changes in long-term weather patterns and average temperatures on our planet. Although the term may sound similar to global warming it is not.
