How We Work With Forests
We use science to protect, better manage and restore forests to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, store carbon and benefit people and wildlife.
Forests are one of the most important ecoystems on Earth. They provide habitat to 80% of the world’s land-dwelling species. They help keep our water clean by naturally filtering out pollution. They provide sustenance, support jobs and offer refuge and recreation to billions of people around the planet. And they are one of our most critical natural pathways for absorbing and storing excess carbon to fight climate change. For millennia, trees have pulled carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and turned it into their bark, wood and leaves through the oldest carbon-capture technology on Earth: photosynthesis.
What are Natural Climate Solutions?
Natural climate solutions are actions to protect, better manage and restore nature to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and store carbon. Forests provide much of that carbon-storage opportunity. The latest estimates can be found at naturebase.org.
The Relationship Between Forests and Climate Change
Research about natural climate solutions shows that by avoiding deforestation, restoring forest ecosystems and better managing existing forests, we can contribute significantly to our climate goals.
The Nature Conservancy works with governments, corporations, Indigenous Peoples and thousands of partners around the world to protect, sustainably manage and restore our life-giving forests.
Quote: Ronnie Drever
Protection
When we protect existing forests, we avoid and reduce deforestation that contributes to climate change and biodiversity loss.
Approximately 41 million trees are cut down every day—far faster than we are currently replanting them. The consequences of deforestation and other types of land degradation are severe, exacerbating climate change, biodiversity loss and declines in ecosystem services that hundreds of millions of people depend on.
In particular, the way we produce common commodities—like beef, soy and palm oil—leads to massive deforestation. This causes habitat and biodiversity loss and contributes about an eighth of global climate emissions, with enormous impacts on the many local and Indigenous communities who rely on these forests.
TNC’s decades of research, partnerships and on-the-ground projects have pointed us to a new path that gets to the root of the issue. By changing the underlying incentives and market models that promote agricultural expansion into existing forests, we can help producers transition to more sustainable practices at a large scale, ultimately eliminating deforestation from commodity production.
Ways We Address Deforestation
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Corporate Engagement
We engage directly with companies and industry groups on how and why to make smarter decisions in their sourcing, constructively challenging them to improve their monitoring, traceability and transparency to become fully deforestation-free. Learn more about how we work with companies.
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International Policy
We work to inform public policy in both key consumer countries like China and the UK, and in important producer and export countries in South America to change the structures that currently favor agricultural expansion over forest protection. Learn more about our global work.
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Innovative Finance
We have partnered with the UN Environment Programme and the Tropical Forest Alliance on an initiative called IFACC - Innovative Finance for the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco—that helps financial institutions and companies structure and deploy over US$4 billion in commercial capital commitments for conversion-free beef and soy production. Learn more about our impact investing work.
Better Management
When we protect existing forests, we avoid and reduce deforestation that contributes to climate change and biodiversity loss.
TNC supports forest protection, restoration, and sustainable forest management practices, based on sound science and traditional knowledge. Many of the world’s natural forests provide wood and fiber products—like lumber, furniture and paper—critical to people’s lives and livelihoods. While some logging practices harm forests and the people that depend on them, improved and sustainable forest management makes it possible for nature, communities and economies to thrive.
What is Biomass?
Biomass is organic material that comes from plants and animals. It can come from waste or by-products (e.g. municipal waste, agricultural residue, sawdust, small-diameter timber cut to reduce wildfire risk) or dedicated sources (energy crops, timber). Biomass (directly or when processed into wood pellets) can be combusted to make electricity or turned into biofuels (e.g. ethanol, biodiesel, aviation fuel).
In many places protection is our primary strategy. But pushing for an end to all logging is impractical, unnecessary and ultimately ineffective. Improved and sustainable management practices allow forests to stay forests, while storing more carbon and maintaining wood and fiber production over the long term.
Wood can also be used for energy. Producing energy from woody biomass poses some risks. Demand for wood pellets, one form of wood used for energy production, can lead to degradation and loss of valuable healthy forests. In addition, the facilities that produce wood pellets can also impact air quality and cause disproportionate harm to Black, Brown and other overburdened communities.
We do not support timber harvest or bioenergy production that leads to environmental degradation, injustice, or otherwise harms communities. We believe the carbon impacts of forest products and bioenergy should be accurately calculated. We are against treating all bioenergy as carbon neutral or all forest products as climate solutions.
What do we mean by Improved Forest Management?
Improved forest management refers to caring for a forest in a way that improves climate change resilience and reduces or removes carbon dioxide emissions. Here are some examples:
Restoration
Planting trees is a tried-and-true way to fight climate change.
Reforestation—or the practice of restoring tree cover to an area that was once forested, either by planting trees or allowing trees to regrow—is a tried-and-true natural climate solution.
Research led by The Nature Conservancy has shown that in the United States, planting trees on frequently flooded lands, open urban spaces, degraded pastures and other formerly forested, under-utilized areas has the potential to capture up to 535 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
Quote: Susan Cook-Patton
Reforestation Hub
Reforestation Hub is a web-based tool produced by TNC and American Forests.
Visit ReforestationHub.orgBut there is more to reforestation than planting millions of trees. We need the right trees and the right places. The Reforestation Hub, a free, online tool developed by TNC and American Forests, is a starting point for understanding this opportunity. Tools like this will help ensure reforestation is as effective as possible.
The Science of Restoring Forests
Tree planting is a promising natural solution to climate change and comes with enormous benefits beyond climate mitigation, such as biodiversity, habitat connectivity, improved community livelihoods, and improved freshwater and air quality. TNC and partners advance important science to help ensure efforts to restore forests are effective and equitable.
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Urban Tree Cover and Health
An ambitious, nationwide program of urban tree-planting could reduce health imbalances between neighborhoods and help communities adapt to a changing climate. See how trees can reduce heat-related health risks in cities.
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Accounting for albedo
Provides a global analysis of where restoration of tree cover is most effective at cooling the global climate system—considering not just the cooling from carbon storage but also the warming from decreased albedo. See how albedo impacts tree planting.
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Tree Diversity
Planting forests with diverse species can help ensure their success. Learn why diversity matters in forests.
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Natural Forest Regrowth
Letting forests regrow naturally has the potential to absorb up to 8.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year through 2050, while still maintaining native grasslands and current levels of food production. Learn how forest regrowth can contribute to climate goals.
TNC works with governments, corporations, Indigenous Peoples and thousands of partners around the world to protect, restore and sustainably manage forests.
How You Can Help
You play an important role in improving the health of forests, in your own neighborhood and across the globe. Here's how you can help.
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Plant a Billion Trees
Donate to help us plant and care for trees in critical forests around the world in Brazil, China, Colombia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mexico and the United States. Plant your tree now.
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Family Forest Carbon Program
Owners of small forests in the U.S. can leverage the carbon-storing power of their trees in the fight against climate change and earn revenue by enrolling in this program. Learn how to get your family forest involved.
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Don't Move Firewood
Moving firewood across long distances can potentially transport invasive species that cause damage to forests. You can make a difference by using local or heat-treated firewood whenever you need wood for your campsite, cabin or home heating. Learn how you can stop the spread of forest pests and pathogens.
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