International Forests and Climate Programme

International treaties, policies and like-minded activist networks have the potential to determine the future of the world’s forests and so the fate of the majority of Earth’s biodiversity. For that reason ARCS, for many years, has been active at a global level.

Virginia Young is the Director of our International Forests and Climate Programme. She represents ARCS at major international forums and is already having a major impact.

One of the key themes of the WILD 10 Conference held in Salamanca Spain in October 2013 was the carbon and biodiversity imperative to protect what’s left of Earth’s intact natural forests. Virginia Young, representing ARCS, helped organise an all day workshop and session streams addressing this global imperative. The sessions were well attended by the conservation and scientific community. Key results included consensus that the science is clear that it is not possible to log primary forests commercially and at the same time protect biodiversity or carbon stocks; that less than 15% of Earth’s remaining forests are undisturbed; and that there are strong climate and biodiversity arguments to ensure international policies and rules on climate change (developed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and on biodiversity (developed under the Convention on Biodiversity) urgently prioritise the protection of primary or intact natural forests.

Participants also concluded that restoration activities were essential to both improve connectivity and viability of many areas of primary forest and that improved management of plantations and industrial second growth natural forests would form part of a global solution to protect biodiversity and improve forest carbon stocks.

A strategic planning group was formed comprised of Virginia Young, representing ARCS, Professor Brendan Mackey from Griffith University, Cyril Kormos from the Wild Foundation (USA), Noelle Kumpell (Zoological Society of London (ZSL)), Sean Foley (Samdhana Institute), Dominick DellaSalla (Geos Institute) and Barbara Zimmerman (International Conservation Fund of Canada and Environmental Defense Fund (USA)).

The group will meet in the first quarter of 2014 to develop a strategic plan through to the middle of 2015.