Letter to the Editor
By Belinda Lip, Forest and Landscape Specialist, WWF-Malaysia, Sarawak Conservation Programme
(Part 1 of a two-part series. Part 2 can be read here.)
In the world of environmental conservation, the many international collaborations, jargon and abbreviations are often lost for the person on the street, shutting down interest rather than opening them up. This two-part article is intended to provide a layman’s perspective of what is going on globally, in terms of directions and collaborative commitment of countries towards climate change mitigation and protecting biodiversity; and Sarawak’s position in this whole scenario and the changing roles of her forests as the state moves towards its net zero and green economy aspirations.
Part 1
1. Why Earth Hour?
Every year people across the globe celebrate Earth Hour in many interesting and increasingly creative ways. However, how many of us actually truly understand what this movement is about? Earth Hour was initiated in 2007 by WWF-Australia to highlight the plight of the Earth’s health, and the need for action to reduce human activities and actions that are causing the Earth’s increasing temperatures and declining health.
In simple words—our Earth is having a fever, and it is leading towards a high fever if all of us do not take action to cool it down now.
So what if the Earth is having a fever? In a human body, temperature controls many biological processes within it. A high fever occurs when the body reaches a temperature of or above 38 degrees Celsius. It is a dangerous level because proteins in our body start to break down.
The Earth’s temperature controls critical processes that support life. In an hour, we could lose one species and forests larger than six square kilometres. So let’s give Earth an hour’s break, not just during Earth Hour which falls on every last Saturday of March, but every day in our daily lives through simple actions of switching off non-essential lights, or electrical appliances that are not in use at our homes or offices.
2. Attempts to keep Earth’s fever down through global collaborations
The Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 is to manage Earth’s temperature rise below 2.0 degrees Celsius. Ideally, the temperature increase should be kept well below 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times. The benchmark of pre-industrial times is used because a major contributor to the increase in temperature is greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from industrial processes, especially those that rely on fossil fuels such as coal.
How does GHG cause temperature rise? It forms a cover like a blanket around Earth, that allows for the sun’s heat rays to come in but allows only limited heat to go back out. Over time, as the blanket gets thicker, and human activities on Earth continue to generate heat which cannot easily be dissipated in space, the Earth turns into a slow cooker.
Increased temperatures on Earth causes a major concern because it changes natural weather processes such as evaporation which forms clouds and rain. About 71 per cent of Earth’s surface is covered in water. The more heat there is, the more water evaporates. Imagine a pan of water heating on the stove. As the heat increases, more steam rises. Water that evaporates forms into clouds and eventually turns into rain. Rain falls where the heavy clouds are and these sometimes move very far away depending on the winds and pressure patterns in the atmosphere. In some parts of the world, it is already very dry.
Increase in evaporation means the little water that they already have is lost even more. Crops that need water to grow food will face challenges. Agriculture is said to need up to 70 per cent of the world’s water to feed a growing population. Water shortages for crops could lead to a food crisis. In other areas, where rain may fall more heavily, floods and losses of lives and properties disrupts daily lives and economic activities. This is disastrous for economic prosperity and human wellbeing. This is just a glimpse of the issues that arise when the Earth’s temperature rises.
As every human being lives and depends on our one and only Earth as home, leaders from all over the world have created a pact to work together to reduce the climate issue. The problem is not new. It has been highlighted since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997. The Kyoto Protocol is an agreed commitment by countries that signed on to it, to reduce GHG through prescribed country limits that are internationally negotiated. It has been 26 years since then, but Earth’s temperature continues to rise.
This brings us back to the Paris Agreement. It has the same intention of reducing GHG but countries that sign on, commit to reduce GHG emissions through their own nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The NDCs are not legally binding but serve as targets to be achieved—which is an approach that is less top down and gives countries the authority to set their targets according to their contexts. Although the Kyoto Protocol is still officially in effect, the Paris Agreement has superseded the Kyoto Protocol in terms of implementation.
3. Forests regulate the climate
Forests provide a crucial function in regulating temperatures on Earth. This happens by firstly, absorbing and balancing out some of the GHG in the atmosphere that human activities release. Trees absorb the gases and turn it into carbon which builds the biomass for the trees, and returns oxygen to the atmosphere. Sarawak’s forests fall within the tropical belt. Research has indicated that forestation and conservation of tropical forests can achieve the highest climate benefit, where it can absorb up to 732 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare. The cooling effect from tropical forests is 3.6 to 3.7 times higher than what temperate and boreal forests of the same area can do (Windisch, et.al. 2021).
Malaysia committed to set aside 50 per cent of its land to be kept as forests as part of its effort to contribute towards terrestrial biodiversity conservation. Currently, Malaysia has about 18 million hectares of forests, out of which 41 per cent (7.5 million hectares) are in Sarawak. Sarawak’s forests therefore play a very significant role in the country’s international climate commitments.
Established in 1972, WWF-Malaysia is part of WWF, the international conservation organisation. Working to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and wildlife, WWF-Malaysia’s efforts to conserve nature focus on six major goals—forests, oceans, wildlife, food, climate and energy, as well as freshwater—and three key drivers of environmental problems—markets, finance and governance. Our mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. Find our latest news here: https://www.wwf.org.my/media_and_information/media_centre_and_updates/
This is the personal opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of DayakDaily. Letters to the Editor may be edited for brevity and clarity.
