The Sun sets in Arkadelphia

Deforestation is the second leading cause of climate change after burning fossil fuels, corporate responsibility for zero deforestation is key. – United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

The United Nations FAO warned last Friday in the State of the World’s Forests 2018 report, “Forests are crucial to human livelihoods, but time is running out to halt the damaging effects of deforestation, to manage forests sustainably and plant new trees.” Zero-deforestation should be added to the UN Climate Agreement goals.

Time is running out and the world’s attention is on trade and tariffs, while Japan deals with a tragedy. “Unprecedented flooding in Japan has killed more than 100 people,” says one of the reports. It may be unprecedented in the Western region of Japan, but it seems similar to what Puerto Rico suffered last year, due to climate change. “Super Typhoon Maria is now headed towards northern Taiwan, where it is expected to hit on Tuesday,” says the report. Ay Maria!

Systems thinkers see connections and feedbacks between world events. When the US decided to pull out of the UN Climate Agreement, it turned its back on vulnerable poor nations. Ignoring physical laws and deciding to abandon the international community of nations is an immoral strategy.

Forest Resiliency

Droughts, floods, windstorms, and heat waves are stressing the forests. Forests need water, a scarce resource polluted by the fossil fuel industry. Biodiversity is nature’s secret for resiliency. Think of a football team. You don’t want to have 11 300-lb. players in the field, and you don’t want to have prima donnas deciding what to do. Communication, sharing resources, blocking, and tackling are part of the game. Forests are the result of many years of natural selection, with a carbon rich forest soil and a fungal network connecting the trees, creating a symbiotic relationship to share nutrients and communicate. Look at a mushroom, a common type of fungus, most of their bodies are made up of a mass of thin threads, known as a mycelium. These threads act as a network of fiber-optics transmitting chemicals instead of light. Forests are high-tech!

Arkansas’ bright future

Decisions today determine the future. Stephen Bell and the Arkadelphia Economic Development Alliance have been working for years to create new jobs with the Sun Paper mill. But regional economic development is not about signing deals, it is about choosing the best deal at the time. The world has changed in the last eight years, and the choices made today will impact Arkansas’ future for more than 50 years.

On a planet getting hotter every year, our remaining forests are our best hope for survival. Paying forest carbon offsets to private forest owners is a superior economic development strategy. Good for the economy, good for the people, and good for the planet. Selling our forests at low stumpage prices to replace the cellulose China used to import as waste is beyond comprehension. No more trash, China wants our trees!

Forest carbon offsets

Arkansas has been blessed with 11 million acres of private forests with more seven billion trees. Standing forests are the new gold mines, measured by the many types of plants and animals in the forests. Ecological restoration and new forest and soil approaches are needed to make forests more resilient, improving soil carbon sequestration. Many quality jobs would be created, from research centers at Arkansas universities to people on the ground caring and protecting every tree in the forest.

Money grows on water

Arkansas wetlands are undervalued. On a hot planet, wetlands are priceless. Their economic value is measured in billions of dollars per year, increasing every day. Caring and protecting wetlands creates quality jobs. Like Forest Carbon Offsets paid to forest owners for the carbon capture and storage provided by undisturbed forests, wetlands attract funding from international donors for conservation and community based natural resource management projects.

The Seven Devil’s Swamp near Monticello is the gem of all the wetlands, with an economic value of $38 billion per year, according to the Dogwood Alliance. Arkansas has great potential as the Sustainable State.

Dr. Luis Contreras