Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
TABLE 11.1 (continued)
Role of Natural Ecosystems in Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
Role in Climate Response
Strategies
Ecosystem
Examples and Notes
Protecting.health
Intact.forests.are.correlated.with.
reduced.infection.from.malaria,.
leishmaniasis,.yellow.fever,.etc..
Protected.areas.are.genetic.sources.
for.herbal.medicines.and.
pharmaceuticals.to.help.society.
cope.with.new.disease.outbreaks.
(Stolton.and.Dudley.2010).
Researchers.in.Ruteng.Park.on.Flores,.
Indonesia,.found.signiicant.
correlation.between.forest.protection.
and.a.fall.in.childhood.malaria.
(Pattanayak.et.al..2003)..Similarly,.in.
the.Peruvian.Amazon.the.primary.
malaria.mosquito
had.a.biting.rate.
278.times.higher.in.deforested.than.
in.forested.areas.(Vittor.et.al..2006).
found.that,.overall,.forest.cover.was.often.“strikingly.higher”.in.protected.areas.
than.in.surrounding.areas.(Joppa.et.al..2008)..A.recent.global.review.by.the.World.
Bank.also.shows.that.tropical.protected.areas.lose.less.forest.than.other.manage-
ment. systems,. especially. those. conserved. by. indigenous. peoples. (Nelson. and.
Chomitz.2009)..This.is.conirmed.by.the.United.Nations.Environmental.Program.
(UNEP).World.Conservation.Monitoring.Center,.with.analysis.that.shows.forests.
in. protected. areas. accounted. for. just. 3%. of. tropical. forest. losses. from. 2000. to.
2005.in.countries.studied,.which.is.far.better.than.average.(Campbell.et.al..2008)..
Finally,.Stanford.University.and.partners.have.also.shown.that.protected.areas,.
indigenous.reserves,.and.national.forests.in.the.Amazon.generally,.but.not.invari-
ably,.afforded.protection.against.logging.(Asner.et.al..2005).
Country. studies. conirm. this. trend.. For. example,. research. has. estimated. the.
amount. of. carbon. stored. in. Canada's. 39. national. parks,. which. currently. occupy.
about.2.25%.of.its.land.mass..In.total,.these.parks.store.approximately.4,362.million.
tons.(t),.of.which.about.47%.is.in.the.soils,.another.8%.in.the.plant.biomass,.and.the.
remaining.45%.in.peat..Overall,.boreal.areas.in.Canada.store.the.largest.amount.of.
carbon..The.study.looked.at.the.costs.of.replacing.this.carbon,.using.two.scenarios..
The.costs.of.replacing.carbon.through.reforestation.of.protected.areas.and.afforest-
ing.marginal.agricultural.lands.were.estimated.to.be.US$15.7.and.US$16.9.per.ton,.
respectively,.at.2000.prices..Using.these.prices.as.proxy.values,.the.value.of.national.
parks.for.carbon.sequestration.was.estimated.at.between.US$70.0.and.US$75.4.bil-
lion.(Kulshreshtha.et.al..2000).
Consolidating,.expanding,.and.improving.the.protected.area.system.is.a.logical.
response.to.climate.change.that.meets.many.aims.of.proposed.mitigation.strategies,.
particularly.those.to.reduce.deforestation.and.the.loss.of.other.ecosystems.with.large.
carbon.reservoirs.(World.Bank.2009)..There.are.existing.legal.and.policy.initiatives.
and.tools.to.accelerate.this.process,.so.that.many.of.the.initial.steps.needed.to.imple-
ment.these.responses.have.already.been.taken.
