Africa: Vital in the fight against global warming!

A new study has found that undisturbed tropical forests are absorbing nearly one-fifth of the carbon dioxide created as a result of burning fossil fuels. The scientific report published in Nature magazine suggest that the world's remaining tropical forests remove 4.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere each year.

The study was based on data from research involving African tropical forests over the past 40 years and has shown that for at least the past few decades, each hectare of intact African forest has trapped an extra 0.6 tons of carbon per year. Dr. Simon Lewis from the University of Leeds, in England, offered a press statement: “Tropical forest trees are absorbing about 18 percent of the CO2 added to the atmosphere each year from burning fossil fuels, substantially buffering the rate of climate change.”

The study also found that trees of comparable age are growing substantially larger, though the reasons are unclear. A 20-year-old tree, for example, is on average bigger than a 20-year-old tree measured a decade ago. A leading suspect is the extra carbon dioxide the atmosphere, which may be acting as a fertilizer.

“To get an idea of the value of the forests,” one scientist explained, “the removal of nearly 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by intact tropical forests, based on realistic prices for a ton of carbon, should be valued at around $18.5 billion per year. This is a compelling argument for conserving tropical forests.”

Perhaps the U.S. and other large polluters should start paying African nations to preserve their forests. Imagine the possibilities!