Fires in Amazon cancel part of the Emission Reduction and Conservation Program

One of the key architectural components discussed in Copenhagen on December 2009 was the development of a framework for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and promoting conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) in developing countries.

The REDD Programme is the United Nations Collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) in developing countries.

Now, a new research, led by the University of Exeter and published on June 4, in Science, found that an increase in fires in the Brazilian Amazon, risks cancelling part of the carbon savings achieved by UN measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation.

Analysing satellite deforestation and fire data to understand the influence of REDD policy on fire patterns in Amazonia, the researchers found that fire occurrence rates in the Amazon have increased in 59% of areas that have reduced deforestation.

Fires in the Amazon are normally caused by humans. Brazilian farmers are using “slash and burn” methods to create new fields from forests or clear new growth from fields. The researchers say that the benefits of deforestation will be partially negated if a sustainable fire-free land-management of deforested areas is not adopted in the UN-REDD programme.