image: Distribution of aboveground carbon stock (ca. 2016) across the Amazon Basin. Cartography by Seth Gorelik. view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Woods Hole Research Center/Seth R. Gorelik.
Using 2003-2016 data on carbon density change and forest cover loss across the nine-nation region of the Amazon forests, researchers found that while indigenous territories (ITs) and protected natural areas (PNAs) stored 58% of the region's carbon, they were responsible for only 10% of the net change; nevertheless, ITs and PNAs lost almost a half billion tons of carbon, with forest degradation and disturbance accounting for more than 75% of losses in seven of the nine countries and for 47% of region-wide emissions, according to a study.
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Article #19-13321: "The role of forest conversion, degradation, and disturbance in the carbon dynamics of Amazon indigenous territories and protected areas," by Wayne S. Walker et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Wayne S. Walker, Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA; email: csirica@burness.com
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences