Trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem benefits from forest restoration in India

Gopalakrishna, T. (2021). Trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem benefits from forest restoration in India. IIASA YSSP Report. Laxenburg, Austria: IIASA

Preview

Text Gopalakrishna_YSSP2021_Report.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Forest restoration pledges and targets are often one dimensional focusing on land area to be restored and the resulting climate change mitigation benefits. However, forest restoration can lead to contrasting outcomes between ecosystem services. Here, we used two spatial prioritization techniques to estimate the trade-offs and synergies between climate change mitigation and biodiversity, across 7.6 Mha of additional land area suitable for natural regeneration of forests, in all Indian states. In the first technique, we developed a Forest Restoration Opportunity score indicating combination of benefits, feasibility and success of forest restoration, resulting in 38.5% of the additional land area being prioritized for synergies of benefits. In the second technique, we used a spatial conservation planning framework, optimized for a sole target of India’s biodiversity pledge and minimization of the population density affected. We estimated that 13.5% of the additional land area could deliver an optimum combination of benefits considering feasibility and success. In the UN Decade of Restoration, we recommend forest restoration policies to include the nuances of multiple ecosystem benefit leading to more impactful, wholistic on-the-ground forest restoration strategies.

Actions (login required)

View Item