Forestry takes spotlight at UN biodiversity talks

Delegates at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Nagoya, Japan, have put sustainable forestry management at the forefront of their negotiations, as these habitats are home to thousands of the world's plant and animal species, and can also help slow global warming. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that the world is currently losing some 13 million hectares (32 million acres) of forest cover per year, mostly in tropical countries. That is down from 16 million hectares per year in the 1990s, but activists say it is still too much. As well as hosting habitats for animals, forests help regulate climate and rainfall and also prevent soil erosion, flooding and landslides. On Tuesday, talks focused specifically on the UN-backed scheme called REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). Under REDD, wealthier nations pledge funds to protect forests in poorer countries, which agree to forego their right to exploit these areas for timber or development...more

REDD looks like Obamanomics on a world wide scale.