Southern U.S. Forests At Risk of Disappearing

Jessica Forres
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The forests of the Southern United States are a vast local and national treasure. They provide hundreds of thousands of jobs, hunting and hiking opportunities and are part of the climate change solution. But according to new research by the World Resources Institute (WRI), these treasured woodlands are at risk of disappearing and their fate rests in the hands of private woodland owners.

Find out more by watching my first video. I still have a lot to learn, but you gotta start somewhere.




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The online tool featured in the video is the first step in a multiyear WRI project, Southern Forests for the Future, aimed at helping landowners, conservation organizations, and others to learn and appreciate the range of benefits, or ecosystem services, these forest provide.

“At a time when the world is concerned about climate change, freshwater availability, the economy and jobs, southern forests are part of the answer,” said Jonathan Lash, president of WRI. “The pattern of forest cover loss in this region has been acres here and acres there. Continuous but dispersed change often goes unnoticed. This new online system addresses that.”

Stretching from Texas to Virginia and from Kentucky to Florida, the southern U.S. forests are among the world’s most biologically diverse temperate forests. Though they comprise just two percent of the planet’s forest cover, they underpin hundreds of thousands of jobs and produce more pulp for paper by volume than any single nation – other than the entire United States. In addition, they supply other ecosystem services, such as watershed protection, recreation, and carbon storage.

“A lot of focus in global climate change discussions to date has been on tropical rainforests,” said Susan Minnemeyer, a WRI senior associate. “But U.S. forests are important too. When domestic forest acreage declines, the nation’s carbon sink shrinks.”

The future of these forests mostly rests in the hands of private landowners. Approximately 27 percent of southern forest acreage is held by companies and financial institutions while another 60 percent is owned by individuals and families. But three-quarters of these family forests are owned by people 55 years of age and older. A generational transfer is on the horizon.

“In many ways, the next 20 years will shape the fate of southern forests,” said Todd Gartner, manager of Conservation Incentives at the American Forest Foundation. “Surveys indicate that most families want to pass their forests on to the next generation. However, with increasing development pressure, market-based incentives are needed to ensure that private forests remain as forests.”

WRI’s new online mapping system can help forest landowners in the South see the history of their forests through satellite images and better understand the forces of change affecting their properties. It also showcases examples of successful approaches for owners who want to retain their forests.

“SeeSouthernForests.org will be really helpful when engaging a community and working with local landowners regarding forest conservation and sustainable management,” said Tom Bancroft, chief scientist at the Audubon Society. “If a picture is worth a thousand words, satellite images and a good map are worth 10,000.”

“We hope the site will raise awareness about the economic and environmental benefits of southern forests and put important information at people’s fingertips,” said Patricia Pineda of Toyota, which is sponsoring WRI’s work as part of the company’s commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative.

“We were thrilled that Toyota and WRI committed to launch SeeSouthernForests.org at the Clinton Global Initiative’s Annual Meeting last year,” said Robert S. Harrison, CEO of the Clinton Global Initiative. “We hope this site will empower more and more people to appreciate southern forests and the benefits they provide to people in the region and beyond.”

Check out the blog post on WRI...

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China on Track to Meet Climate Goals, New Research Reveals

Jessica Forres
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China is making progress toward controlling greenhouse gas emissions, according to new research by the Word Resources Institute (WRI).

“In the last five years, Chinese leaders have embarked on policies to increase energy efficiency, using targets, quotas and a few taxes,” said Deborah Seligsohn and lead author of China, the United States, and the Climate Challenge. “While these policies may not provide the environmental certainty of a cap-and-trade system, our analysis shows they can control emissions and may be more suited to the current state of development of China’s financial markets and regulatory structure.”

China’s approach is founded on two main targets: reducing national energy intensity by 20 percent by the end of 2010 and to increasing renewable energy’s share of the national energy mix to 15 percent by 2020.

WRI’s analysis finds that China is on track to meet these two ambitious goals by enacting a broad range of measures. Chinese leaders have recognized that reducing energy intensity-the amount of energy used per unit of GDP-and expanding its energy portfolio improves energy security and air quality, as well as limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

“In 1979, China’s reform and opening policy began with a saying by Deng Xiaoping, ‘It doesn’t matter whether the cat is white or black as long as it eats mice.’ That also holds true for world efforts to control dangerous climate gases,” said Seligsohn. "Countries will use different approaches suitable to their particular circumstances.”

One key program, for instance, requires 1,000 of China’s largest state-owned enterprises to implement comprehensive reductions in energy intensity, and monitors their progress. This “Top 1,000 Enterprises Program” met its goals in the first year and exceeded its targets in 2007.

Another policy is to shut down small-scale inefficient facilities. In 2007, China closed 1,000 cement plants with a combined capacity of 50 million tons, 14.4 GW worth of small power plants, and plants producing 35 million metric tons of steel.In the electricity sector, China has steadily improved the efficiency of its power plants, and the government now requires all new coal-fired power plants to be state-of-the-art commercially available technology.

WRI’s analysis shows that the average efficiency of coal-fired plants is now higher in China than in the United States. China is also on pace to meet very ambitious renewable-energy goals. Installation of new wind power capacity since 2006 has consistently exceeded targets. By 2010, China will have at least 10GW of installed wind power capacity, rising to an expected 150 GW in 2020 - five times the current U.S. level. China’s solar reliance is also growing rapidly: ten percent of Chinese homes have solar water heaters and the number is growing at 20 percent per year.

“WRI’s research shows that China is making substantial progress in controlling its emissions of climate gases, and in monitoring emissions by major companies,” said Seligsohn. “The challenge for U.S.-China collaboration in climate change mitigation is for each country to understand the other’s approaches, and to find creative solutions when those approaches don’t align.”

The report suggests the U.S. could selectively issue free carbon allocations to protect some firms from overseas competitors that enjoy a lower carbon price. Carefully targeted measures can address differences in carbon policies without threatening global trade.

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Top Companies in Brazil Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions for the First Time

Jessica Forres
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Petrobras, Ford Brasil, Wal-Mart Brasil, and Whirlpool are some of the first companies to voluntarily measure and publicly report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using the Brazil GHG Protocol Program, a project of the World Resources Institute (WRI).

Findings suggest nearly 30 companies that took part in the program are responsible for approximately 20 percent of Brazil’s energy and industry sector emissions, or 8.5 percent of Brazil’s total emissions excluding changes in land use and deforestation.

“The ability of developing countries to measure and verify GHG information is a major concern in international climate change talks and on Capitol Hill,” said Taryn Fransen, a senior associate with WRI’s GHG Protocol Initiative. “While Brazil’s inventory program is voluntary, it shows the industrialized world that companies in developing countries, such as Brazil, are serious about measuring and reporting their emissions, and our GHG Protocol programs are helping to build this capacity.”

Fransen added, “Voluntary reporting programs can pave the way for mandatory requirements in the future, as was the case in the United States, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently finalized a mandatory GHG reporting rule for U.S. companies.”

For instance, Rodrigo Rollemberg, senator of Brasilia, recently reintroduced a bill that would require all large public organizations and private companies to report their GHG inventories every two years. The bill would mandate use of the Brazil GHG Protocol Program’s methodologies.

Interest in voluntary GHG management among companies in Brazil continues to skyrocket and by early next year more than a hundred companies are expected to receive training in GHG accounting through WRI’s program.

“Brazilian companies recognize that climate change is a serious issue and are very aware of the need to transition to low-carbon growth to meet the demand of consumers. Based on the number of requests from new companies to join, we expect the program to expand significantly next year.” said Juarez Campos, program coordinator at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, which implements the GHG Protocol’s work in Brazil. A list of all program members can be found on the GHG Protocol website.

Brazil, China and India have developed GHG inventory programs based on the GHG Protocol— an international accounting tool developed by WRI and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) that’s used by corporations and governments to understand, quantify and manage emissions.

[The picture was taken at the GHG Brazil Protocol Program commemorative event in Sao Paulo on October 8, 2009 when 27 companies released their GHG inventories to the public for the first time.]

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Maps Link Clean Water, Sanitation, and Poverty for Uganda’s Development

Jessica Forres
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A new set of maps illustrating levels of clean drinking water, sanitation facilities, and poverty in Uganda will help guide national development planning.

"Limited access to clean water and sanitation threatens not only the health of Ugandans but also their education opportunities,” said Disan Ssozi, assistant commissioner at Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment, co-author of Mapping a Healthier Future: How Spatial Analysis Can Guide Pro-Poor Water and Sanitation Planning in Uganda - a new report released today in Kampala. “The maps and data in this report will help inform Uganda’s water infrastructure planners and protect the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.”

In 2004, Uganda’s central government set national targets to increase access to clean water and sanitation to 100 percent in urban areas and 77 percent in rural districts by 2015. So far, Uganda’s investment plans, which are expected to cost approximately US $1.4 billion, have helped improve drinking water coverage in rural sub-counties, from 25 percent in the early 1990s to 65 percent in 2009. However, work remains to be done to ensure that all areas meet national targets.

Mapping a Healthier Future finds that more than 14 million people live in 506 subcounties that are ahead of the interim target set by Uganda’s planners while approximately 11 million people live in 323 rural subcounties that have not kept pace with national progress on safe drinking water rates. These areas will require special attention and additional investments to keep pace with population growth.

“This report demonstrates that the supply of high quality data combined with analytical capacity can provide new information,” added John B. Male-Mukasa, executive director of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, which supplied detailed, localized maps on poverty levels and sanitation.

“Increased use of and support for map-based analysis will strengthen policy planning and will help the government prioritize water, sanitation, and poverty reduction efforts and allocate resources more efficiently.”

Findings from the report also suggest that there is no clear spatial pattern between poverty rates and safe drinking water coverage rates, with past government investments targeting both poor and less poor areas.

There are, however, strong geographic patterns in improved sanitation coverage rates, with lower coverage in northern and eastern Uganda, and higher coverage in central and southwestern parts of the country. Data behind the maps show a direct correlation in Uganda between high poverty rates and low access to improved sanitation.

“Improved access to clean water is essential for Uganda’s continued development” said Francis Runumi Mwesigye, health planning commissioner at the Uganda Ministry of Health and co-author of the report. “Water- related illness reduces family members’ ability to work and earn a living, exacerbating the threat of poverty.”

Water-related diseases, such as hepatitis, typhoid, and cholera, caused eight percent of all deaths in Uganda in 2002. Young children are particularly susceptible. Water-borne diarrheal diseases account for 17 percent of the deaths of children under the age of five annually.

Runumi added, “Clean drinking water, sanitation facilities, and improved hygiene are proven weapons against such illnesses.”

“This report is the result of successful collaboration between national ministries in Uganda and international organizations,” said co-author Florence Landsberg, an associate at the World Resources Institute (WRI). “The maps and analysis presented show areas with similar poverty, water, and sanitation characteristics and will help national and local leaders coordinate their interventions to meet 2015 targets.”

The report is the result of collaborative efforts between the Uganda Ministry of Health, the Uganda Ministry of Water and Environment, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the International Livestock Research Institute, and the World Resources Institute.

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Developed Country GHG Reduction Pledges Fall Short, New Analysis Reveals

Jessica Forres
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Commitments made by developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, when added together, fall short of stabilizing global temperatures at a level that averts dangerous climate change.

Comparability of Annex I Emission Reduction Pledges, a new analysis by the World Resources Institute (WRI), examines the pledges made by the European Union, Japan, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Belarus, Ukraine and Canada as negotiations on a new global climate agreement near their climax in Copenhagen this December. Also included is the United States’s emission reductions based on the American Clean Energy and Security Act passed by the House of Representatives in June.

WRI’s analysis reveals that commitments by these industrialized country parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) would result in a 10 to 24 percent reduction of global emissions below 1990 levels by 2020. This is less than the 25 to 40 percent range of emission reductions that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states would be necessary for stabilizing concentrations of carbon dioxide at 450ppm, a level associated with a 52 percent risk of overshooting a two degrees Celsius goal. Both the G8 and the Major Economies Forum - representing the world’s 17 leading economies - recently agreed to a goal of limiting average global temperature rise to two degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.

“Our analysis provides a preliminary picture of where the world is headed in the run-up to Copenhagen,” said Jennifer Morgan, director of WRI’s climate and energy program. “While emission reduction commitments by these countries could have an important and potentially substantial impact, they will not be enough to meet recommendations of IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report. WRI therefore urges industrialized countries to bring forward more ambitious pledges to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.”

The report, which covers pledges by countries responsible for 98% of all developed country emissions, uses three metrics to compare country commitments - per capita reductions, emission intensity reductions, and absolute reductions.

The 10 to 24 percent reduction is based on the inclusion or omission of factors, such as changes in land use, forestry data and low vs. high pledges. Other key findings include:

- The choice of metrics used by countries (such as whether to include offsets, land-use change or forestry emissions) can alter their emission reduction calculations significantly.

- High regulatory standards and robust accounting rules will be critical to ensure that international emission reductions are real and additional.

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Indicators Needed to Illustrate Benefits from Ecosystems

Jessica Forres
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Existing data and indicators inadequately measure the important benefits people derive from the services nature provides, according to a working paper released today by the World Resources Institute (WRI).

“Indicators, such as unemployment and poverty rates, are used in nearly every sector of the economy to simplify data, identify problem areas, and inform corrective action,” said Christian Layke, an associate at WRI and author of Measuring Nature’s Benefits: A Preliminary Roadmap for Improving Ecosystem Service Indicators. “At present, ecosystem service indicators are based on those originally developed for narrower environmental and economic fields - such as climatology or forestry - leading to conspicuous knowledge and data gaps.”

The world’s ecosystems provide an array of services to people, ranging from basic needs like food and water to less tangible benefits such as pollination and erosion control. According to the working paper, most ecosystem services, especially regulating and cultural services, are being degraded at an alarming rate.

For instance, the Chesapeake Bay’s water quality and ecosystem habitats have been drastically reduced in recent years, resulting in historically low levels of the bay’s oyster and blue crab populations. This degradation has not only threatened the livelihoods of regional fisherman, but has also jeopardized the recreational services that the Bay provides to millions of Americans.

WRI’s paper highlights the knowledge gaps that exist on the contributions ecosystems make to human economic and social well-being. Without this information, policy makers are limited in their ability to integrate ecosystem services into mainstream economic planning and development policy.

The paper also finds that indictors for regulatory and cultural services, such as crop pollination or recreation, lag far behind those for “provisioning services” like crops, livestock, and freshwater. The latter are more tangible and easily perceived by the general public; some are already tracked in many countries’ national economic accounts.

The research builds on the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), which found that an estimated 60% of the planet’s ecosystem services have been degraded. The MA highlighted the need for a robust set of ecosystem service indicators to inform decisions made in the public and private sectors. The WRI working paper represents an important step toward meeting that need.

“The next step is to develop consistent, effective indicators to help policy makers better understand the implications of their decisions on ecosystem services,” said Craig Hanson, Director of WRI’s People and Ecosystems Program. “In turn, this will inform and support policy changes to ensure that ecosystems continue to provide numerous benefits to people.”

Recommendations from WRI’s research suggest the need for a collaborative approach to developing and strengthening ecosystem service indicators, gathering data, and supporting their use by policy makers at the national level.

WRI, the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature are co-hosting an international experts meeting in Cambridge, UK September 22-23, 2009 to reflect upon current indicators and develop a collaborative framework from which to test and apply ecosystem service indicators on a global scale. The meeting will build on WRI’s research and momentum generated from other follow-up work to MA.

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Residents of Maryland's Anne Arundel County Respond to Rising Teen Suicides

Jessica Forres
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The number of teen suicides in Anne Arundel County, Maryland is rising…

And as Jessica Forres reports…local residents are responding to what they are calling a crisis.



On the lawn of St. Paul’s church in Annapolis, Marsha Tonarelli
is taking part in the city’s first ever Out of the Darkness Community Walk…. She points to her t-shirt. It's a photo of her seventeen-year old son...

HE PASSED AWAY APRIL 15, 2009 FROM SUICIDE SO WE ARE GOING TO WALK FOR HIM TODAY….WE MISS YOU DEN..AND YOU SHOULD BE HERE...

Nancy Reynolds is with a local group called, Guiding Coaltion to Prevent Teen Sucide. She says the walk is meant to raise awareness and prevent teen suicide in the county. Since May 2008 thru April 2009, she claims there have been six deaths…putting Anne Arundel county on the high end nationally of teen suicides...

WHAT WE’RE FINDING IS THAT MANY OF THESE KIDS ARE NOT NECESSARILY DEPRESSED, THEY’RE NOT ON DRUGS OR ALCOHOL. THEY’VE JUST MADE THAT DETERMINATION. THEY’VE JUST MADE THAT DETERMINATION THAT THEY DON’T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE AND THAT’S WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO SHIFT

Reynolds says suicide is the number three killer of fifteen to twenty-four olds in America today.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News

Residents of Anne Arundel County, Maryland are responding to a growing number of teen suicides in their community.

Jessica Forres reports…



More than a hundred men, women and teenagers gather on the grounds of St. Paul’s church in Annapolis. They are taking part in the city’s first Out of the Darkness Community Walk…Nancy Reynolds…with the Guiding Coalition to Prevent Teen Suicide… says Anne Arundel county is on the high end nationally of teen suicides...

THIS WALK AND THIS COALITION IS TO KIND OF DO A CULTURE SHIFT IN SOME WAYS IN THAT WE’RE REALLY ABOUT BUILDING LIFE, NOT TAKING IT AND THERE ARE LOTS OF REASONS TO KEEP ON GOING.

Pointing to her shirt, Marsha Tonarelli says she’s there for her son...

THIS IS MY SON DENNIS SMITH AND HE PASSED AWAY APRIL 15, 2009 FROM SUICIDE SO WE ARE GOING TO WALK FOR HIM TODAY.

The Coalition offcials say, suicide is the third leading cause of death among teens and young adults.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News

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