We are calling for policymakers worldwide to take in the scientific knowledge synthesized in the 10 Must Knows from Biodiversity Science 2022 to inform much needed policies. At the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in December 2022, your decisive action is needed to halt the man-made extinction of species and to strengthen biodiversity. The 10MustDos22 are intended to support you in taking such action by proposing solutions that can be implemented with immediate effect.

Find corresponding literature references at "Read more".

MustDo 5: Did you know that forests in the temperate and cold temperate (boreal) climate zone store 2/3 of the absorbed carbon in the long term [1]?

We call for the global protection of primary forests from overexploitation and for the development of degraded forests into natural, climate-resilient forests through targeted planting and natural regeneration. This maintains existing and creates new carbon sinks and strengthens forests’ as well as people’s health [2]. In spite of increasing demand for wood as a resource, this demand can be met if trade and environmental policy takes the interconnectedness of global wood production into account.

12/05/2022

[1] Harris et al. (2021). Global maps of twenty-first century forest carbon fluxes. Nature Climate Change. doi:10.1038/s41558-020-00976-6

[2] Walker et al. (2022). The global potential for increased storage of carbon on land.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(23), e2111312119. doi:10.1073/pnas.2111312119