Carbon sequestration capacity of forest in protected areas

Themes

Terrestrial protected areas

PSBR model type

Benefits (B)

Corresponding targets

SDGs

15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.

Aichi Biodiversity Targets

Target 15: By 2020, ecosystem resilience and the contribution of biodiversity to carbon stocks has been enhanced, through conservation and restoration, including restoration of at least 15 per cent of degraded ecosystems, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to combating desertification.

Biodiversity Action Plan

D00008 Establishment of forest cover data (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI) and assessment and monitoring on forest health. Key performance indicator of the action plan:

• Estimation of the area of forest cover in Taiwan
• The area ratio of forest cover whose health is under the assessment and monitoring to national forest cover.

Background

In 1997, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations included land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) into the Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Carbon emissions and carbon removals caused by changes in land use and forest and other woody biomass accumulations after 1990 were estimated in the guideline. The Spatial Planning Act and Forest Act in Taiwan have stipulated regulations for changes in forestry land and forest harvesting, and the ban on logging of natural forests has been implemented since 1992. As a result, there have been very few cases where forest land is changed to other uses. Therefore, we can use the forest area obtained in the Third National Forest Resources Survey (conducted by Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture), as well as the forestry data on annual new planting, harvesting, fuelwood harvesting, and disturbances, etc., to estimate the annual changes in carbon sequestration by Taiwan’s forest resources, and further understand the health of forest ecosystem.

Definition and Calculation

Forest carbon sequestration in the protected areas. Estimate the total carbon dioxide removals by forest resources in the protected areas.

The data and temporal range

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Trends

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Data Management Authorities

Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan 

References

• The key performance indicators of the Sustainable Development Action Plan, National Council for Sustainable Development, Executive Yuan.
• "2016 National Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory Report of the Republic of China (Taiwan)", Environmental Protection Agency, Executive Yuan (2016)
• "2017 National Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory Report of the Republic of China (Taiwan)", Environmental Protection Agency, Executive Yuan (2017).