MIDDLE : DR MORLEY READ / SHUTTERSTOCK ; RIGHT : ECUADORPOSTALES / SHUTTERSTOCK
water are particularly efficient sequesterers because the water blocks the oxygen required for decomposition . These “ super-sequesterers ” include the flooded forests of the Amazon , swamp forests of the Congo , peat forests of Borneo , and mangroves which fringe many of the world ’ s tropical coastlines .
CARBON VAULTS
The third type of projects lock up carbon in large , tall , intact hardwood forests in perpetuity for a reasonable cost . Such protected forests store vast amounts of carbon in
HIGH INTEGRITY FORESTS are large tracts of intact , healthy forest with minimal human impact that store millions of tons of carbon in trees and soil .
CO 2
CO 2 their wood , roots and soil , locking up much of that carbon in perpetuity . Even if these forests are not slated for immediate destruction , they will , if unprotected , eventually be degraded and destroyed , so the long-term impact on global carbon budgets , and the planet , is huge .
It all starts , however , with creating protected areas , and that is where charitable giving can have such a huge impact . Most experts agree that a third of
PEAT SWAMPS only cover about 3 % of Ea�h ’ s land su�ace , but are the most effective terrestrial carbon store , safeguarding twice as much carbon as all the world ’ s forests .
CO 2
CO 2
2 X 4 XCO 2
the global effort on climate change should be on nature-based solutions : halting deforestation , building back soils and planting trees . Moreover , our track record of preventing deforestation long-term has been great . Of the protected areas we have helped create since 1988 , 92 % have seen less than 5 % total deforestation .
“ We are now actively seeking some projects that have a disproportionate impact on climate ,” said Rainforest Trust CEO Dr . James Deutsch , “ and this Earth Day we launch our Rainforest Climate Action Fund to enable our donors and partners to maximize the impact of their support on climate change .”
MANGROVES are one of the most impo�ant “ blue carbon ” ecosystems in mitigating the climate crisis , storing four times as much carbon as tropical forests in their soil .