The high-resolution map details Peru’s ecological diversity and deforestation.
Greg Asner, a researcher for CAO, said, ‘the international community wants to combine carbon sequestration and emissions reductions to combat climate change. Some 15 per cent of global carbon emissions result from deforestation and forest degradation, which releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as trees are destroyed.’
Laser mapping technology allowed the team to detail Peru to the hectare-level, a step towards carbon sequestration that few countries have been able to achieve. As a result, the country’s above-ground carbon stocks are now estimated at 6.9 billion metric tonnes. The country’s largest stocks are located near the Brazil-Peru border.
Both the government and the researchers hope this accurate survey of Peru’s carbon resources will not only allow the country to join carbon sequestration agreements, but also be a boon to conservation efforts.
