This article assesses the quantitative and qualitative benefits of protecting forests as an important solution to climate change.
This resource includes an overview of forest protection measures and the importance and feasibility of using them to maintain their carbon-storing services and prevent further greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and damage to ecosystem services.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The brief article explains how the authors came to their conclusions by presenting their methodology and sources.
This resource is great practice for reading technical texts and research papers.
The article also provides ways individuals can engage in the solution.
Additional Prerequisites
Before reading the article, students should understand the basics of nature-based carbon sequestration and storage and read the methodology section to fully understand the information presented.
Students should know terms like anthropogenic, deforestation, and degradation.
This interactive table of solutions can be used to show students the rankings of solutions by scenario on the Drawdown website and may make it easier to understand the relative impact of forest protection.
Differentiation
This resource can be used in economics classes during lessons about market solutions and ecosystem valuation methods.
Have social studies students consider how to engage different stakeholders (e.g., governments, businesses, local and marginalized communities, etc.) in forest protection.
The related articles on bamboo production and abandoned farmland restoration can be used to compare the impact of other similar solutions to protecting forestland. Have students add up the many nature-based resources together from the interactive table of solutions to quantify the total benefit of protecting and enhancing nature as a solution to climate change.
Scientist Notes
This is a brief overview of how forestland protection, restoration, and retention can sequester carbon and slow the effects of climate change. A solution to restoring and maintaining forestland is presented along with a methodology, results, and discussion. This proposal is a great way to get students thinking about what else can be done to combat climate change, and how thinking outside of the box by restoring the land can lead to great changes. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS2: Earth's Systems
HS-ESS2-6 Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-6 Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 4: Taking Informed Action
D4.7.9-12 Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.8 Evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis, and conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the data when possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other sources of information.
