Afforestation, reforestation and new challenges from COVID-19: Thirty-three recommendations to support civil society organizations (CSOs)

Midhun Mohan; Hayden A Rue; Shaurya Bajaj; G A Pabodha Galgamuwa; Esmaeel Adrah; Matthew Mehdi Aghai; Eben North Broadbent; Omkar Khadamkar; Sigit D Sasmito; Joseph Roise; Willie Doaemo; Adrian Cardil

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112277

Afforestation, reforestation and new challenges from COVID-19: Thirty-three recommendations to support civil society organizations (CSOs)

J Environ Manage. 2021 Jun 1:287:112277. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112277. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Geography, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94709, USA; United Nations Volunteering Program, Morobe Development Foundation, Lae, 00411, Papua New Guinea. Electronic address: [email protected].
² United Nations Volunteering Program, Morobe Development Foundation, Lae, 00411, Papua New Guinea; Grow Non-profit, Kathmandu, Nepal. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ United Nations Volunteering Program, Morobe Development Foundation, Lae, 00411, Papua New Guinea. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ United Nations Volunteering Program, Morobe Development Foundation, Lae, 00411, Papua New Guinea; The Nature Conservancy, Maryland/DC Chapter, Cumberland, MD, 21502, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ United Nations Volunteering Program, Morobe Development Foundation, Lae, 00411, Papua New Guinea. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ DroneSeed Co., 1123, NW 51st Street., Seattle, WA, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁷ Spatial Ecology and Conservation Lab, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁸ United Nations Volunteering Program, Morobe Development Foundation, Lae, 00411, Papua New Guinea. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁹ NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI), National University of Singapore, 21 Lower Kent Ridge Road, 19 Singapore, 119077, Singapore; Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 1 Arts Link, Singapore, 117570, Singapore. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁰ Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, 2820 Faucette Dr., Campus Box 8001, 27695, Raleigh, NC, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹¹ United Nations Volunteering Program, Morobe Development Foundation, Lae, 00411, Papua New Guinea; Morobe Development Foundation, Doyle Street, Trish Avenue-Eriku, Lae, 00411, Papua New Guinea; Department of Civil Engineering, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, 00411, Papua New Guinea. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹² Tecnosylva, Parque Tecnológico de León, 24009, León, Spain; Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Ctra. Sant Llorenç de Morunys, Km 2, 25280, Solsona, Lleida, Spain; School of Agrifood and Forestry Science and Engineering, University of Lleida, Av. de l'Alcalde Rovira Roure, 191, 25198, Solsona, Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

Afforestation/reforestation (A/R) programs spearheaded by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) play a significant role in reaching global climate policy targets and helping low-income nations meet the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, these organizations face unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, these challenges affect their ability to address issues associated with deforestation and forest degradation in a timely manner. We discuss the influence COVID-19 can have on previous, present and future A/R initiatives, in particular, the ones led by International Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs). We provide thirty-three recommendations for exploring underlying deforestation patterns and optimizing forest policy reforms to support forest cover expansion during the pandemic. The recommendations are classified into four groups - i) curbing deforestation and improving A/R, ii) protecting the environment and mitigating climate change, iii) enhancing socio-economic conditions, and iv) amending policy and law enforcement practices.

Keywords: Deforestation and forest degradation; Impacts of COVID-19 on forests; International non-governmental organizations (INGOs); Planting trees with drones; Real-time forest monitoring and management; Sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Conservation of Natural Resources*
Forests
Humans
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2