[IYRPsupportgroup] Request for information on tree plantations in grasslands/rangelands

[Maryam Niamir-Fuller]

Dear IYRP friends and Supporters
As you may recall, we have a Working Group that is developing a strategy
paper on the issue of trees in rangelands, and the possible impacts on
rangelands of Trillian Tree Campaigns and other similar efforts to meet
climate change targets. As part of this process, I would like to introduce
you to the Journalist Jacob Kushner, who would like to write up an article,
and has some specific questions below. Please respond directly to him, *with
copy to Susi Vetter and myself*.

*FROM Jacob Kushner*
*Hello,*

*My name is Jacob Kushner, I'm a Nairobi-based freelance journalist and
a contributor
<https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/author/jacob-kushner> to National
Geographic. *

*When I learned from Susanne Vetter's research
<https://theconversation.com/the-long-shadow-of-colonial-forestry-is-a-threat-to-savannas-and-grasslands-151700>
about
how forestry is threatening grasslands, I spoke with an editor of mine at
NatGeo who was interested in the idea. National Geographic recently
published an issue devoted to forests.
<https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/issue/may-2022> And given all
the recent coverage of CO2 capture in swamps such as in DRC, Iit got me
thinking: What about grasslands and savannahs? Considering AFR100 and the
trillion tree project and all the rest, what if the carbon capture or
potential of grasslands and savannahs is being overlooked for the sake of
planting trees--to the point of detriment? What if these grasslands are
already storing a good deal of carbon, and what if the planned forests that
replace them are liable to dry and die, or burn, or simply not be
sustainable or not capture as much carbon as their implementors hope? *

*Therefore, I'm looking to see whether there are any examples of sizeable,
current or upcoming FLR initiatives on grasslands or savannas that are
ill-advised or unlikely to succeed--tree planting projects in grasslands or
similar places where in fact, we might be better off leaving these lands
alone or else doing different sorts of restoration
altogether. If grasslands or savannas are being replanted with trees in a
major project anywhere in Africa (or even better, in East Africa), I'd love
to look into it to figure out if 1) it's being done in a sustainable way
and 2) whether the entity responsible has tried to account for all the
carbon that's already being stored in those grasslands, and factoring that
in. I'm especially interested in projects where it seems the
implementers haven't or aren't given/giving due consideration to the carbon
already in the ground there. *

*Thank you very much in advance if you or your colleagues can think of any
specific projects/examples worth looking into. I'm also on the hunt for any
studies that estimate how much carbon particular grasslands or savannahs
already hold. *

*All the best,*

*Jacob Kushner*
*jacobkushner.com/about <http://jacobkushner.com/about/>*




Thank you!
*...*...*...*
Dr. Maryam Niamir-Fuller
Co-Chair of International Support Group for the IYRP

*Support the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists
2026  https://www.iyrp.info <https://www.iyrp.info>*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://list.cals.arizona.edu/pipermail/iyrpsupportgroup/attachments/20220819/0f16a9be/attachment.htm>