Africa’s vast miombo woodlands not only house over half of the world’s elephant population but also play a critical role in carbon storage. As carbon markets grow, so does the potential to fund conservation efforts that benefit both climate and wildlife. This intersection of finance, ecology, and preservation reveals a promising pathway for protecting vital habitats and curbing climate change.
What do elephants and carbon markets have in common? The pachyderms and carbon markets may seem like an unlikely pair, but they share a surprising connection: their enthusiasm for Africa’s majestic miombo woodlands. For carbon markets, bigger trees (trees with greater aboveground biomass) represent bigger carbon reserves, which means more carbon credits. Why is this important to elephants? Because carbon credits could finance the conservation and reforestation of the miombo woodlands of southern Africa, which are home to over 50% of the world’s elephant population. (Incidentally, did you know that elephant dung contributes to soil carbon?)
Miombo woodlands are a vast region of tropical grasslands, savannahs and shrublands. Covering much of central and southern Africa, the Miombo woodlands are also home to rhinos, giraffes and other diverse wildlife, and are a reservoir of biodiversity. They are also a source of firewood – and in many rural areas, the only source of available energy. Sadly, the woodlands have been reduced by nearly 30% since 1980 due to factors like charcoal harvesting and conversion to agriculture.
What’s the big deal with miombo woodlands and carbon?
Some say carbon credits are the biggest craze since sliced bread. The world is on a mission to reduce anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, which drive climate change. Industries with high carbon emissions are now in the spotlight, and there is increasing regulatory pressure on these companies to reduce their carbon footprint. One of the ways companies are addressing this challenge is by using carbon credits to offset their carbon emissions. In the compliance carbon market, governments set emissions limits on certain industries and carbon credits work like permission slips for emissions. When a company buys a carbon credit from the government, it gains permission to emit up to a specific set amount of CO₂e (the equivalent of one ton of carbon emissions) that year. The compliance market generally requires industries to reduce their emissions through technological processes. If they are unable to do so, they can buy credits from other companies that have done so, or from purveyors of activities that produce carbon credits, e.g. small-scale agro-forestry.
The voluntary carbon market works differently. In a nutshell, this market is supported by individuals and companies that fall outside of the compliance market and allows them to purchase offsets as part of their commitment to limit climate change impacts. Reforestation, forest conservation, rangeland restoration, renewable energy, wetland rewetting and methane flaring are just many of the mitigation activities that can be registered for carbon credits in the voluntary market. These can then be purchased by companies who want to offset their emissions. Carbon credits are a means of financing reforestation and protecting forests.
Miombo woodlands are of interest to carbon markets because forests provide one of nature’s ways of storing carbon. Forests absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. They store the carbon in trees and soils; therefore, protecting these forests is equivalent to protecting a carbon sink. Reforesting means more trees and more carbon stored. However, one needs to know how much carbon the miombo woodlands (typically Brachystegia, Julbernardia and Isoberlinia species) store.
Previously, scientists estimated forest biomass using aerial or satellite observations to measure the extent of the forest, measuring individual tree stem diameter and species and extrapolating across the forest area. However, these approaches are indirect and thus come with a certain degree of uncertainty, so a group of scientists decided to use a new way to measure the size and structure of forests – by using LiDAR (Light detection and ranging) technology. With LiDAR, a high-powered laser shoots precise pulses at a target, and measures the pulse that bounces back to collect data about the target in three dimensions, in conjunction with GPS (Global Positioning System) data and INS (Inertial Navigation System) data. This generates a detailed, comprehensive 3D image of the target. The scientists used this method, which involved shooting billions of laser pulses from the ground and air (using drones and helicopters) at the forest to produce a 3D image of the forest. They then used this detailed image to determine the actual volume of wood within a 50,000ha section of miombo forest in Mozambique’s Gilé National Park.
As they knew from previous research on how much wood weighs per cubic metre and how much of that is carbon, they could easily extrapolate the amount of carbon. They found that these forests may store nearly twice as much carbon in tree trunks and branches (also known as “aboveground biomass”) than previously thought. The 50,000 hectares of forest may store 1.71 million tonnes of carbon in its tree trunks and branches, but 50% of the aboveground biomass, and therefore carbon, was actually stored in the largest 11% of the trees.
This research is essential as it highlights the significance of the miombo woodlands as a potential resource in the climate change mitigation pathway, and their ability to safeguard elephant habitat and harness a crucial carbon sink that can contribute to global emissions reduction.
However, as always, there is no silver bullet. Carbon credits have met with fierce resistance in some cases, partly due to the difficulty in standardising measurements and the commodification of nature, amongst other concerns. It is a complicated process and often takes years to design a carbon project – involving ongoing engagement and contractual agreements to protect or restore specific areas. However, through carbon credits, there is an opportunity to channel financial support into preserving vital woodlands. As our understanding and implementation of carbon markets advance, such initiatives are a testament to how finance and conservation can work hand-in-hand.
Reference
Demol, M., Aguilar-Amuchastegui, N., Bernotaite, G. et al. Multi-scale lidar measurements suggest miombo woodlands contain substantially more carbon than thought. Commun Earth Environ 5, 366 (2024).
Further reading
- Can carbon measuring save Tanzania’s forests? We explore the greater Mahale ecosystem and an important project site for Carbon Tanzania.
- Grasslands sequester carbon faster than trees, & are crucial in combatting climate change. Is an obsession with trees harming our grasslands?
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