Forestry policies developed in response to climate change must take account of three factors: protection, adaptation and mitigation. Protective measures should guard existing forests from destruction and degradation through clearfelling or unsustainable management, or from climate related damage. Adaptation initiatives should help managers prepare forests and woodlands for the anticipated additional stresses from a changing climate and the resulting extremes in weather. Mitigation initiatives are those that help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases or otherwise stabilise their concentration in the atmosphere. The ability of forests and forestry to lock up carbon in living forest biomass, soils and wood products is one obvious route to mitigation. Another is reduction in the net volume of greenhouse gas emissions by using wood from sustainably managed forests as fuel instead of fossil fuels. Substituting wood products for energy-intensive materials, such as concrete or steel is another mitigation option. Finally, forestry generates emissions through a whole range of activities from soil disturbance to timber transport – we can take steps to reduce these.
Adaptation and mitigation have sometimes been seen as competing approaches to dealing with climate change. In simple terms, this view states that if we could prevent any climate change from happening we would not need to adapt and if we had perfect adaptation strategies, we may not need to prevent climate change. Some argue that there need not be a trade off between the two as they are dealt with through different policies. Others point out that true synergies between them are rare. One example is planting trees in cities, which both absorb carbon dioxide and provide shade. It is now more generally accepted that a mixture of adaptation and mitigation is necessary because a certain amount of change is inevitable and societies may wish to avoid the most severe impacts. However, there is still disagreement, particularly at the international level, about where the balance should lie.
Adaptation and mitigation
In the United Kingdom, measures to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts are high priorities for the UK government and for the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Adaptation can mean any action, either intentional or accidental, taken to minimse the adverse effects of climate change. In relation to biological systems like forests, there are natural adaptive processes that we have to understand and, if possible, assist.
Mitigation means intervention or policies to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases or to enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases (such as forests) so that they are ‘locked up’ and no longer available. This is often referred to as sequestration.