Deforestation: ‘Forests crucial for maintaining climate’

Forests remove carbon from atmosphere as they grow while storing carbon in leaves

ISLAMABAD: Forests play a critical role in regulating earth’s climate through carbon cycle, removing carbon from the atmosphere as they grow while storing carbon in leaves, woody tissue, roots and organic matter in soil. This was said by environmental expert Kashif Salik, who is working at the Sustainable Policy Development Institute (SDPI). Salik said that after seas, forests were the second largest storehouse of carbon. “World’s forests absorb 2.4 billion tonnes of CO2 each year, or about one-third of the carbon dioxide released through the burning of fossil fuels,” he said. “Deforestation is the second leading contributor of carbon emissions worldwide after burning of fossil fuels,” Salik.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2014.