Interactions of mitigation options with vulnerability and adaptation

Mitigation activities for forestry can be designed to be compatible with adapting to climate change, maintaining bio-diversity and promoting sustainable development. Comparing environmental and social co-benefits and costs with the carbon benefit will highlight trade-offs and synergies and help promote sustainable development.

The literature on the interaction between forestry mitigation and climate change is in its infancy. Forests are likely to be impacted by climate change, which could reduce their mitigation potential. A primary management adaptation option is to reduce as many ancillary stresses on the forest as possible. Maintaining widely dispersed and viable populations of individual species minimizes the probability of localized catastrophic events causing species extinction. Formation of protected areas or nature reserves is an example of mitigation as well as adaptation. Protecting areas (with corridors) also leads to conservation of biodiversity, in turn reducing vulnerability to climate change.

Forestry-mitigation projects provide adaptation co-benefits for other sectors. Examples include agro-forestry reducing the vulnerability to drought of rain-fed crop income, mangroves reducing the vulnerability of coastal settlements, and shelter belts slowing desertification (medium agreement, medium evidence) [9.5].