Courses objectives
Land use change is responsible for about 10% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Tropical forest ecosystems can contribute to both pillars of addressing global warming, namely mitigation and adaptation:
- Tropical forests and plantations are important potential carbon sinks, their biomass can provide energy as a substitute for fossil fuels, while reducing deforestation and forest degradation and improving forest management (REDD+) can significantly reduce anthropogenic GHG emissions
- The ability of human societies, which are still essentially rural, to adapt to climate change depends in part on the state of available natural resources, while the necessary adaptation of tropical ecosystems to climate change can be facilitated by human interventions.
In the context of the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, mechanisms such as the Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM) and REDD+, and voluntary markets, as well as ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change, provide a new opportunity for tropical forestry, as well as a potential lever for tropical forest protection or restoration.
Course contents
This module provides basic knowledge on topics such as the carbon cycle, mechanisms and consequences of climate change, and technical and policy responses to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The potential of tropical agro-ecosystems is assessed based on existing scientific studies and operational projects.
Teaching and learning methods
- Lectures (18 hours)
- Practical training (3 hours)
Course evaluation
Individual written exam.
Target skills
Students acquire an understanding of the biophysical and anthropogenic factors controlling the interactions between tropical forest ecosystems and climate change and of the institutional mechanisms developed in climate change mitigation and involving land use.
