Forest accords not saving trees – experts

International accords on saving vulnerable forests are having little impact because they do not attack the core causes such as growing demand for biofuels and food crops, according to a new report.

With Africa and South America alone losing 7.4 million hectares of forest a year, the International Union of Forest Research Organisations said a drastic change of policy is needed by the UN and governments.

Sixty international experts said in the report, to be presented at a UN forum this week, that too much attention is being put on forests as a store of carbon dioxide, the main gas blamed for global warming.

Deforestation accounts for about a quarter of the global greenhouse gas emissions each year which are blamed for rising temperatures. Live trees act as a sponge for carbon but give it off when they decay or are burned.

“Our findings suggest that disregarding the impact on forests of sectors such as agriculture and energy will doom any new international efforts whose goal is to conserve forests and slow climate change,” said Jeremy Rayner of the University of Saskatchewan and chairman of the IUFRO report panel.

Even the most recent UN backed initiative, Reducing Deforestation in Developing countries is criticised because the panel said it seeks a single global solution.

The experts said that REDD and other international accords should focus more on supporting regional and national efforts to save the forests at risk.

The report is to be presented to the UN Forum on Forests this week as part of the launch of the International Year of Forests.