Page 35 - Turning digital technology innovation into climate action

Turning digital technology innovation into climate action

3.3 Using ICTs to monitor deforestation and forest degradation

Each year, land use and tropical deforestation release 1.5 billion Chapter 3

tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, which represents
more than 17 per cent of total GHG emissions. Studies have
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estimated that a temperature rise of 4°C by 2100 would destroy
up to 85 per cent of the rainforest. 13
Tropical forests reduce carbon dioxide flux by acting as large
stores of carbon – containing more carbon per unit area than
any other land cover. Deforestation releases this carbon into the
atmosphere and inadvertently contributes to global emission
and climate change. It is estimated that reducing tropical deforestation by 50 per cent over the next
century could help prevent 500 billion tonnes of carbon from being released into the atmosphere
annually. This reduction in emissions would account for 12 per cent of the total reductions targeted
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by the IPCC.
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ICTs can contribute to reaching this target by monitoring and collecting data on the condition of
forests. Satellites that are now able to take images through clouds (and at night) and remote sensing
applications are critical for monitoring the health of the world’s tropical forests.

An example of the much-needed use of ICTs to monitor deforestation can be seen in the monitoring
of the loss of the Amazonian rainforest in Bolivia. 16

12 Dickerson, Keith, et al. ‘Using ICTS to Tackle Climate Change.’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Nov. 2010,
www .itu .int/ dms _pub/ itu -t/ oth/ 4B/ 01/ T4B010000010001PDFE .pdf.
13 Dickerson, Keith, et al. ‘Using ICTS to Tackle Climate Change.’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Nov. 2010,
www .itu .int/ dms _pub/ itu -t/ oth/ 4B/ 01/ T4B010000010001PDFE .pdf.
14 Dickerson, Keith, et al. ‘Using ICTS to Tackle Climate Change.’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Nov. 2010,
www .itu .int/ dms _pub/ itu -t/ oth/ 4B/ 01/ T4B010000010001PDFE .pdf.
15 Dickerson, Keith, et al. ‘Using ICTS to Tackle Climate Change.’ International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Nov. 2010,
www .itu .int/ dms _pub/ itu -t/ oth/ 4B/ 01/ T4B010000010001PDFE .pdf.
16 European Space Agency (ESA). ‘Giving up Forests’. 21 Mar. 2018, www .esa .int/ spaceinimages/ Images/ 2018/ 03/ Giving
_up _forests.

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