GEO3/4 unit 3 AOS1 land cover change (deforestation)

what are the 8 broad land cover categories?

- cultivated and managed

-natural and semi natural vegetation

cultivated aquatic or regularly flooded areas

-natural and semi natural aquatic land cover or regularly flooded vegetation areas

-artificial surfaces

-bare areas

-artificial bodies, snow and ice

-natural water bodies, snow and ice

what is the distribution of present day global land cover?

forests approx 31%

grasslands approx 14%

tundra approx 8%

barelands approx 19%

wetlands approx 6%

ice approx 10%

water approx 71%

Chars of the last glacial maximum

20,000 years ago

6 degrees colder than current day

drier conditions

had ice sheets, tundra, sparse veg, desert expansion

chars of the holocene climactic optimum

8000 years ago

5-7 degrees warmer than LGM

wetter conditions

saw forest expansions, savannas and green sahara

chars of the present day (Anthropocene)

much warmer and is warming

urbanisation, deforestation, desertification.

what is the distribution of land cover during the LGM on a global scale?

Foresty was very minimal, only located along the equator.

ice accumulated to produce enormous ice sheets covering large areas in north america, asia and europe (30% of land cover)

more desert and semi desert areas due to drier conditions

sea level 125m lower than today.

what is the distribution of land cover during the HCO on a global scale?

Forests expanded, particularly in Africa and Asia, and retreated pole-ward into higher altitudes.

forests covered 47% of total land.

ice sheets melted, causing sea levels to rise.

soils thawed, causing more agriculture.

what are the natural chars of a forest?

forests are classified to be tropical, sub tropical, temperate and boreal.

open forests are categorized by an open canopy whilst closed forest are categorized by a closed canopy of over 80%.

34% primary forests, 59% secondary and 7% planted

chars include: vegetation, climate, soil, biodiversity, water, cycle, landform

what are the natural processes causing deforestation?

BIOTIC

- pests invasions - weakens and damages trees

- disease outbreaks

ABIOTIC

Geophysical changes:

- volcanic eruptions

- wildfires

- landslides

Natural processes only contribute to under 5% of total forest loss.

what are the human causes of deforestation?

DIRECT CAUSES

- agriculture - main cause 75% total

- logging - 20%

- fuelwood collection - 5%

- infrastructure development

INDIRECT

- lack of forest protection laws

- food security assurance

- land tenure uncertainty

- wars and conflict

- urban expansion

what is the location of PNG amongst the global distribution of forest and deforestation fronts?

PNG is located 150km north of australia and is part of the indo-pacific region, one of the worlds largest areas of tropical rainforest. (1.2% of global forest cover)

Lies within a global belt of high deforestation across tropical equatorial regions such as the amazon, congo, SE asia.

PNG has the largest remaining amount of primary forest in Asia pacific.

reasons for current changes in PNGs forests.

illegal and legal logging for eco gain driven by demand for tropical hardwood. (60% of forestry loss in PNG)

agriculture expansion for food and economic gain

infrastructure development e.g papua highway

weak governance leading to tribal conflict and illegal logging

pop growth - (2-3% increase per year, increase pop to 13 mil in 2030)

increasing wildfires (approx 20 per year)

environmental impacts with deforestation in PNG - negative

NEGATIVE

loss of biodiversity - removes the natural habitat of endemic species e.g. tree kangaroos. much of the 7% of global biodiversity is dependent on the rainforests intact ecosystems - 1/3 of species are endemic. 50% of species lives are threatened

Less tree canopy exposes soil to rainwater causing more surface runoff, sedimentation increased by 70% in rivers, harming the water quality and increasing floods.

Examples include Sissano lagoon in Aitape, killing marine life a coral.

increased emissions of carbon due to trees holding co2.

58 mega tonnes of CO2 emitted in 2023

environmental impacts with deforestation in PNG - positive

forest management improvement and some reforestation such as UN+REDD programs.

social impacts with deforestation in PNG - Negative

CULTURAL DEGRADATION

- deforestation often occurs without consent of indigenous landowners because land is often leased without consultation under SABLs (special agriculture business leases). Forest fragmentation for palm oil and logging opens forests, removing the barriers between the 800+ language groups.

social impacts with deforestation in PNG - positive

INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITY DEV

- logging and mining companies use the deforested materials to build roads, schools or clinics to access forested areas. This can improve the social conditions for remote communities. e.g Highlands highway - connecting Lae and remote western provinces allowing easier access across country to service

economic impacts of deforestation in PNG

NEGATIVE

- Much of the deforestation is driven by illegal logging firms (over 1/3 of PNG logging is leased to foreign companies - Rimbunan in Malaysia) leading to profit repatriation. 70% of logging is illegal

POSITIVE

- job creations - over 200,000 jobs in palm oil

- value of timber and palm oil boosts GDP - timber exports from deforested areas contribute to about 10% of PNG's GDP. GDP is growing 3 dollars annually. palm oil has grown 30% in the last decade and contributes to 20-30$ of GDP

what is the local scale response of deforestation in PNG?

- Portable/walkabout sawmill strategy

- PNGFA papa new guinea forest authority and other NGO's such as greenpeace

- community based forestry initiative that promotes sustainable small scale logging

- Aims to provide low impact, selective harvesting that allows locals to benefit economically and protectively.

- is used in the Tavolo tribe in ENB and Tairak tribe in WNB

- is used because deforestation is accelerating (4.4% loss) and primary deforestation method is illegal logging (70%)

- established in 1970s and expanded 90s-2000s.

- locally managed to process timber on selective and not clear felling forests.

- lease to purchase

- ecotimber certificate makes wood more priceable and more beneficial - 4-20x original costs through FORCERT

strengths of the portable sawmill

STRENGTHS

Economic - value of eco timber is higher as it is certified by the ecotimber certificate so there is more profit for locals (4-20x more than the normal amount)

Environmental - is less impactful on the environment as there is less waste left on the forest floor meaning less impact on biodiversity and ecosystems.

social - 'lease to purchase' allows locals to continue long term and grow their business over time.

weaknesses of the portable sawmill

Economic - high upfront costs and limited access to finance for maintenance. only 20% of sawmills are operating at optimum levels.

Environmental - small scale logging may lead to forest degradation if not monitored properly.

what is the global scale response to deforestation in PNG?

GLOBAL FOREST WATCH (GFW)

- created by UNEP, NASA, Esri and 40 others

- launched in 2014 and is ongoing

- it is a online forest monitoring and alert system to inform forest managers and help conserve forests.

- it aims to track changes and send real time alerts of illegal activity/ tree cover loss to reduce impacts globally.

- it is global in scale, but has been used in the Oro province and New Britain monitoring palm oil production areas.

- Is used to overcome the lack of quick detection of illegal deforestation as illegal logging contributes to 70% of PNGs deforestation, as well as there being a 30% palm oil expansion in the last decade leading to forest loss.

How has the global forest watch used spatial tech.

- GIS and satellite tech (remote sensing) reveals patterns, relationships and situations (analyze) helping forest managers, gov's and NGO's make real time decisions.

- satellite imagery provides zooming as small as 30x30 allowing high transparency leaving less room for illegal activity to be missed

- leads to high accountability e.g. 7000+ alerts in the Oro province

- NASA provides the satellite data using GPS coordinates around the world.

- smartphones can be used to download maps and satellite images using GPS coordinates around the world as well as uploading GPS locations and photographs from the ground.

GFW strengths and opportunities

- uses real time data - allows trends to be acted upon quickly.

- tech advances and crowd sourcing - traditional satellite tech is usually unable to see through clouds, but GFW uses new radar for detecting deforestation (RADD) which can see through clearly, which is important for PNG's rain climate.

- power to locals - E.g. Maisin people of the Oro province now have access to data.

GFW weaknesses and threats

Not enforceable - it isnt actually doing anything to stop deforestation, it is just spreading awareness about the issue.

Complexities - Still needs more information about forest use permits and land tenure to become very beneficial.

Economic power vs environmental protection - since 40% live under the poverty line, the economic output may outweigh locals desire to maintain foresty.

what is the national scale response to deforestation in PNG

National forest inventory (NFI)

- the REDD+ has implemented a initiative to developing countries to reduce biodiversity loss and enhance carbon stocks through the UN-REDD program

- the NFI is essentially a stock take of the forest and its biodiversity, which aims to build a strong database of PNG's forest resources to provide more evidence based decision making for sustainability and climate change mitigation.

- it is nationwide covering all forested areas across PNG including both accessible and remote areas, 160 plots, 1000 sites, across 7 provinces.

- it is used to improve an understanding and inform national forest policies and sustainable land management.

- 2014 onwards

- used through a combination of field-based measurements, remote sensing and satellite imagery as well as the mckinnon list field observation technique which is a species count and stratfield sampling method.

strengths of the NFI

- has improved understanding of PNG's forest biodiversity and carbon stocks through assessing 1000 sites across 7 provinces

- Enabled international engagement, including access to REDD+ result based payments (5.8 million Euros funded by the EU

- works in partnership with local indigenous people for greater sustainability and management.

Weaknesses and challenges of the NFI

WEAKNESSES

- incomplete coverage - as of 2019, only 160 plots across 7 provinces have been accessed which is well below the initial target of 435-1000 clusters.

- limited impact on enforcement: deforestation and illegal logging will continue despite new data, due to weak governance and lack of enforcement.

CHALLENGES

- enhancement of technology use such as satellite imagery, drones and GIS tools.

- link data to action - make sure the data recorded directly informs forest policy.

what are the challenges of the social/environmental/economic issues

a need for stronger enforcement laws and reduction of corruption - illegal logging continues due to weak enforcement and corruption e.g. foreign companies abusing the SABLs to exploit forests illegally.

Development of sustainable alternatives for local communities - logging will still continue as it is highly dependent for income, meaning deforestation will continue unless alternatives are provided such as promoting eco-tourism projects.

Define deforestation and sustainability and forest fragmentation

Deforestation - the long term reduction of tree canopy cover to below 10-30 percent

sustainability - the ability to improve the present without compromising the future.

forest fragmentation - the deterioration of a forest resulting from the clearing of pockets of forest leaving a series of seperate fragments of intact forest