Understanding the Role of Technology and Forests in Tackling Climate Change
Forests and soil absorb around 30% of global carbon emissions[1], making them an important part of the fight against climate change. At the same time, the land sector produces 25% of global carbon emissions and about half of that comes from deforestation and forest degradation.[2] This is why sustainable forest management is core to sustainable development.
FSC on the Map created the possibility of collecting geospatial information about forests from certificate holders. Based on this submitted data, which is used by the FSC GIS Portal, a variety of analyses can be carried out, including vegetation analysis and the composition of forest and wood species. FSC teams can also carry out indirect carbon storage analysis, which we hope will increase understanding of the amount of carbon stored in FSC forests.
The combination of reliable data – drawn from the FSC on the Map – and cutting-edge geospatial technologies – will take us a step closer to identifying trends in the carbon storage of forests and raise awareness of the importance of forests in tackling climate change.
This technology is more accurate than other tools. It can source a more detailed and better resolution representation of small forest areas and identify forest loss and/or gain, independent from the data presented by the certificate holder. This matters in a climate emergency.
Hold us accountable
FSC GIS technology allows our certification bodies to track FSC operations and allows us to track the effectiveness of FSC certification system. Moreover, FSC on the Map allows our stakeholders to use the tool, paired with their own techniques, and monitor areas interesting to them.
The possibility to visualize certified areas is a great step towards transparency – a step forward already made by some of our certificate holders who have submitted their data. The FSC system welcomes increased scrutiny from our stakeholders. By making this platform available to all, we encourage you to let us know if you notice something wrong or questionable. We welcome feedback so we can continue improving.
We understand that it is not always possible for forest managers to provide us with the information we need; particularly managers of smaller forests who may not have the means or infrastructure to provide the data. We will continue to improve so we can make the system as available as possible to all our stakeholders.
[1]https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2927/examining-the-viability-of-planting-trees-to-help-mitigate-climate-change/
[2] https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/forests-and-climate-change
