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The UN Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) programme offers developing countries incentives to reduce carbon emissions from forested lands. Work on carbon storage and sequestration led by researchers in the Department of Zoology has had demonstrable impacts on international development, via the REDD+ programme and two associated UN Conventions; Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Biodiversity (UN CBD), and on national level policy development in Tanzania and Brazil. It has improved the quality of data collection and monitoring necessary for successful implementation of REDD+, and has led to international investment. The work has also had direct impacts in a number of developing countries, through capacity building, employment generation, and enabling local communities to better adapt to climate change.
Impacts: I) Development of carbon credit certification schemes, including the expansion by the Gold Standard Foundation into land-use and forestry and the creation of the Natural Forest Standard by Ecometrica Ltd (both in 2012). II) Enhanced cross-sector collaboration for the quantification of forest-loss risks and implications for financing risks, through the 2011 creation of a Forest Finance Risk Network (FFRN).
Significance and reach: The Gold Standard Foundation represents nine forestry projects worldwide (benefiting >8,500 people) and over 1.8million ha. of Brazilian land is managed through two Natural Forest Standard projects. The FFRN connects 80 member organizations globally.
Underpinned by: Research into carbon emissions associated with forest-loss, undertaken at the University of Edinburgh (2005 onwards).
Research led by the School of Geography at the University of Leeds has enabled, for the first time, the use of on-the-ground observations to evaluate directly the role of tropical forests in the global carbon cycle and to assess their sensitivity to change. Findings from the research have had a significant impact on international debates on the future trajectory of climate change and appropriate policy responses, and are influencing national-scale efforts across the tropics to manage forests in the face of climate change and to reduce carbon emissions resulting from deforestation [D, E, G, H, J]. The success of this Leeds-led initiative has been achieved through the extensive network of scientists involved in this global forest observatory: more than 250 scientists from over 50 institutions across more than 30 countries are now involved.
Impacts: I) Economic benefits derived from carbon credit and land-use schemes in sub-Saharan Africa. II) Multi-national developments in public-policy related to Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). III) Recommendation for launch by the European Space Agency (March 2013) of the first ever forest-specific monitoring mission.
Significance and reach: Public policy developments have occurred over the period 2011 - June 2013 in Malawi, Mozambique and Gabon. Increases of more than 20% in the level of rural employment pre and post 2008 have been documented for one project in Mozambique.
Underpinned by: Research into quantifying tropical forest biomass stocks and their degradation, undertaken at the University of Edinburgh (2004 onwards).
Research undertaken at the University of Manchester (UoM) has described peatland erosion and its impacts on hydrology and carbon balance; demonstrating the value of large scale peatland restoration via the re-vegetation of bare peat and erosion gully blocking. The primary impact can be seen within the Peak District National Park, where findings have formed the scientific underpinning for extensive investment in landscape-scale peatland restoration (totalling > £13m) by restoration practitioners such as the Moors for the Future Partnership (MFFP), which is significantly transforming degraded but iconic peatland landscapes. The MFFP mode is viewed as a national exemplar, with UoM research continuing to impact on upland policy, land use and restoration planning by regional, national and international bodies (National Trust, Moors for the Future, Natural England, DEFRA and the International Union for Conservation of Nature).
The Plymouth University marine carbon team was the first to investigate ecological consequences of ocean acidification, and carbon capture and storage leakage. The findings have impacted on US legislation and are key to the UK ocean acidification research programme. The research is highlighted in the European Science Foundations' Science Policy Briefing on Impacts of Ocean Acidification (2009), the United Nations' Emerging Issues Bulletin on `Environmental consequence of ocean acidification: a threat to food security' (2010), the US `National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean' (2010) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change `Ocean Acidification Report' (2011).
In the REF impact period, our research on carbon-rich tropical peat swamp forests in Indonesia has been used to:
This case study shows how research on ecosystem service governance is directly supporting the Government's promotion of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes. These aim to pay for nature's services through the involvement of business and the wider public. Specifically, research has informed the development of a pilot UK Peatland Code to stimulate private investment in peatland restoration. The pilot Code, which was published for public feedback in June (and launched in September 2013 by the Environment Minister), sets out guidance and quality standards for sustainable business investment in peatlands. It has implications for chartered surveyors, planners and others advising clients on future land use and income generating opportunities. According to Defra's Deputy Director of Sustainable Land and Rural Evidence and Analysis, lessons from this research have "made a significant contribution" towards Defra's PES agenda, "provid[ing] us with valuable lessons for the development of PES schemes in the UK" (Testimonial 1).
Research at the University of Exeter on the links between the Amazon rainforest and climate change has influenced international climate policy, has directly assisted Brazilian environmental policymakers, and has received international media coverage. The underpinning research spans the vulnerability of the rainforest to anthropogenic climate change and the mechanisms behind the Amazonian droughts of 2005 and 2010. Impact has been achieved by stimulating public debate through the media, by contribution to science-into-policy documents produced by the World Bank and for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and by direct face-to-face interaction with UK and Brazilian policymakers.
Research in the UoA developed a methodology for Carbon Calculations over the Life Cycle of Industrial Activities (CCaLC), providing `cradle to grave' carbon footprint estimates for commercial products. The methodology was embedded in a set of software tools designed to be used by non- experts, allowing companies to perform carbon footprinting in-house. The software is free to download, currently with 3300 users in more than 70 countries. The methodology and software tools have been endorsed by BERR (now BIS), DEFRA and the World Bank, and used widely by industry, across a range of sectors, to reduce carbon footprints of their products. This has resulted in significant environmental and socio-economic benefits, including estimated climate change mitigation gains in excess of £450m.