We know that reducing carbon emissions is the primary way to slow climate change, but preserving forests is a key component as well. Forests are carbon sinks; that is, they absorb and store carbon.

When trees are cut down, that carbon is released into the atmosphere, thus speeding up global warming. In fact, scientists estimate about 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation.

Some economists, including former World Bank chief economist Sir Nicholas Stern, have concluded that preventing deforestation is the most cost-effective method of keeping carbon out of the atmosphere.

But how do we go about it? One idea is referred to as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, or REDD.

Two main strategies are being considered under REDD, both of which involve carbon credits and carbon trading. One would allow industrialized nations to meet Kyoto emissions-reduction targets by providing grants to developing countries if they reduce rates of deforestation. The other would allow countries that avoid deforestation to earn carbon credits that they could sell on the global carbon market.

The issue is complicated and the potential pitfalls are many. For example, the market-driven system of selling carbon credits may not benefit those people who live in the forests and make their living off the products of the intact ecosystem because it would only pay those who are currently logging to stop. We also have to face up to the fact that when providing grants to countries that reduce deforestation, it can be difficult to ensure the money benefits the people and not corrupt governments.

In some areas, indigenous people have already lost land and rights because governments have turned over forest “reserves” to companies charged with protecting them.

Let’s hope the UN discussions lead to some viable solutions — solutions that preserve biodiversity and include all the inhabitants of the rainforest. It’s unlikely that money will solve everything, but it may be a start to addressing the problems of poverty, economic change, and global warming.

Take David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge and learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org.

– Dr. David T. Suzuki is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. He is the co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation in Vancouver where he lives with his wife and two daughters.