Objective
The project aims to create a tool capable of identifying forest areas, monitoring changes over time, and calculating the impact of deforestation and forest degradation in terms of CO2 variation, as well as providing predictive analysis of what will happen in the long term in the absence of action against deforestation and forest degradation. The ultimate goal is to provide companies with a supporting tool for adopting and launching “green processes” to combat deforestation and forest degradation.
The initial challenge
Climate change is one of the most serious problems to have affected humanity in recent centuries. Deforestation has been shown to have a negative impact on climate change, global biogeochemical cycles, and biodiversity loss. According to estimates from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), forests, along with related degradation and deforestation processes, are responsible for 20% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Slowing or stopping deforestation is an economical, short-term option for significantly reducing global emissions, with extraordinary additional benefits for biodiversity and the sustainable development of tropical countries.
Industrialized countries and companies have also become increasingly interested in playing an active role in protecting and expanding forests — an interest also linked to the creation of the carbon market and carbon credits, introduced by the Kyoto (1997) and Paris (2020) agreements and reaffirmed this year at COP26 in Glasgow.
Although most industrialized countries have introduced incentive measures such as the Carbon Tax, to date most corporate investment takes place on a voluntary basis, within a context of growing awareness of corporate social responsibility. As an incentive, virtuous companies that decide to launch “green processes” are awarded carbon credits. Companies that do not have enough credits to be “carbon neutral” — for example, because they are unable to further optimize emission reductions in their production processes — can adopt offsetting measures: purchasing credits from companies with a surplus, or funding a project aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Private companies determine the level of funding based on a project’s carbon emission reduction targets. This makes it necessary to measure the deforestation or degradation process, identifying the extent of the affected area and calculating how many tonnes of carbon a given forest will no longer be able to absorb in the future. Based on this measurement, the delta of a potential reforestation project is calculated — that is, how much CO2, conversely, can be reduced thanks to reforestation — and, on this basis, the corresponding number of carbon credits to be allocated to that particular project.
The solution
“Forestry Analyzer” aims to contain or eliminate deforestation processes (the systematic cutting down of trees to make way for farmland, livestock grazing, or timber use) and forest degradation (a human-induced or natural process that leads to forest deterioration), first and foremost by providing a tool for monitoring and precisely measuring deforestation emissions. Indeed, being able to measure these processes is a prerequisite for managing and monitoring funding projects in the reforestation sector.
The “Forestry Analyzer” algorithms are based on the “Copernicus Land Monitoring Services,” synthetic indicators that the European Union makes available to the scientific community, providing information on the health of the planet based on satellite observations and other data from primary sources.
Benefits
By identifying the extent of the affected area and calculating how many tonnes of carbon a given forest will no longer be able to absorb in the future, it is possible to calculate the delta of a potential reforestation project. Thanks to the application of predictive models, “Forestry Analyzer” is also able to forecast what will happen, for example, over the next ten years if no action is taken, making it a crucial support tool for policymakers in planning projects to combat deforestation and forest degradation.
IFAB’s role
IFAB took part in the project as a funding body, selecting it as part of its investment lines in research, innovation, and technology transfer. IFAB’s contribution consisted of recognizing the project’s scientific and practical value and providing financial support, making it possible to carry out the research activities conducted by the technical partners. This involvement confirms IFAB’s mission as an accelerator of high-impact initiatives for the local area and productive system.
Research partners
For more information, contact: projects@ifabfoundation.org
