Variations in temperature and precipitation will have increasingly serious impacts across the globe, predicts the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC<\/a>). Too much rain means flooding, loss of human life, damage to infrastructure, property and crops. Too little may escalate the risk of forest fires and the loss of ecosystems, biodiversity and crops. Both flood and drought displaces people and leads to food insecurity and poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The human and economic costs are significant. Since 1980, more than 2.4 million people and US$3.7 trillion have been lost to natural disasters, estimates the World Bank<\/a>. Of the deaths, 91% have occurred in developing countries. The annual economic losses have soared globally from $18 billion in the 1980s to $167 billion in the last decade \u2013 an increase of 800%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the global effort to deal with the climate crisis, nature itself can be a crucial ally against floods and droughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nature-based solutions are cost-effective ways of working with nature to mitigate and adapt to climate change<\/a>. Forests and rainforests, in particular, can help avoid the high human and economic costs caused by too much or too little water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Forests play a critical role<\/a> in the water cycle, regulating rainfall, evaporation and water and sediment flows. They help climate change mitigation \u2013 as \u201ccarbon sinks\u201d \u2013 and adaptation \u2013 through the alleviation of floods and droughts. Forests can retain excess rainwater, prevent run-off, and act like a filter during floods, preventing debris and pollutants from reaching water sources. The volume of water a forest retains depends on several factors, but unsurprisingly research shows<\/a> that water basins with more forest cover retain more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In dry seasons, forests can release water into the atmosphere, acting like pumps to generate rain as they \u201csweat\u201d moisture into the atmosphere. In this way, a tropical forest can produce water for essential economic activity and human consumption in places thousands of kilometres away. The Amazon rainforest, which spans eight of South America\u2019s 12 countries, as well as the overseas territory of French Guyana, is critical for maintaining the water cycle in those countries and beyond. It creates a \u201cflying river<\/a>\u201d, pumping around 20 billion<\/a> metric tonnes of water into the air every day, according to Carlos Nobre, a senior scientist at the Brazilian National Institute of Space Research. This airborne river produces rain for much of South America, all the way south to Argentina, and is critical for human consumption, agriculture and industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, awareness increased among governments of the importance of forests in addressing climate change, and the challenges posed by floods and droughts. At the UN climate change conference in Glasgow, 144 countries endorsed<\/a> the Glasgow Leaders\u2019 Declaration on Forests and Land Use. According to WWF<\/a>, of the 114 enhanced national plans to cutting emissions \u2013 known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs \u2013 submitted at the conference, 105 included nature-based solutions; 96 NDCs mentioned nature in the context of mitigation plans, and 91 in adaptation measures. Will governments follow up on their commitments?<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Figure-3.3-1-e1550133089254-1.jpg\")
<\/div>Forests as allies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The clich\u00e9 of thinking globally and acting locally isn\u2019t enough<\/blockquote><\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Walking the talk?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![IPCC<\/a>)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe human and economic costs are significant. Since 1980, more than 2.4 million people and US$3.7 trillion have been lost to natural disasters, estimates the World Bank<\/a>. Of the deaths, 91% have occurred in developing countries. The annual economic losses have soared globally from $18 billion in the 1980s to $167 billion in the last decade \u2013 an increase of 800%.<\/p>\n\n\n\nForests as allies<\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn the global effort to deal with the climate crisis, nature itself can be a crucial ally against floods and droughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNature-based solutions are cost-effective ways of working with nature to mitigate and adapt to climate change<\/a>. Forests and rainforests, in particular, can help avoid the high human and economic costs caused by too much or too little water.<\/p>\n\n\n\nForests play a critical role<\/a> in the water cycle, regulating rainfall, evaporation and water and sediment flows. They help climate change mitigation \u2013 as \u201ccarbon sinks\u201d \u2013 and adaptation \u2013 through the alleviation of floods and droughts. Forests can retain excess rainwater, prevent run-off, and act like a filter during floods, preventing debris and pollutants from reaching water sources. The volume of water a forest retains depends on several factors, but unsurprisingly research shows<\/a> that water basins with more forest cover retain more.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe clich\u00e9 of thinking globally and acting locally isn\u2019t enough<\/blockquote><\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nIn dry seasons, forests can release water into the atmosphere, acting like pumps to generate rain as they \u201csweat\u201d moisture into the atmosphere. In this way, a tropical forest can produce water for essential economic activity and human consumption in places thousands of kilometres away. The Amazon rainforest, which spans eight of South America\u2019s 12 countries, as well as the overseas territory of French Guyana, is critical for maintaining the water cycle in those countries and beyond. It creates a \u201cflying river<\/a>\u201d, pumping around 20 billion<\/a> metric tonnes of water into the air every day, according to Carlos Nobre, a senior scientist at the Brazilian National Institute of Space Research. This airborne river produces rain for much of South America, all the way south to Argentina, and is critical for human consumption, agriculture and industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWalking the talk?<\/h2>\n\n\n\nLast year, awareness increased among governments of the importance of forests in addressing climate change, and the challenges posed by floods and droughts. At the UN climate change conference in Glasgow, 144 countries endorsed<\/a> the Glasgow Leaders\u2019 Declaration on Forests and Land Use. According to WWF<\/a>, of the 114 enhanced national plans to cutting emissions \u2013 known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs \u2013 submitted at the conference, 105 included nature-based solutions; 96 NDCs mentioned nature in the context of mitigation plans, and 91 in adaptation measures. Will governments follow up on their commitments?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\nGiven the suffering and costs involved, one would expect climate change and extreme weather events to be at the top of everyone\u2019s agenda, yet there remains a gulf between commitments and reality. A report<\/a> released by the UN in 2021, for example, describes how major fossil fuel producing countries are planning new investments in mining despite pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAs with fossil fuel production, implementing global commitments to protect forests is far from even. Take Brazil and China, two of the largest economies in the global south. Brazil had already recognised the role of forests in its original NDC in 2015. Between 2004 and 2012 it had showed remarkable progress in decreasing deforestation, but the past 10 years have seen a reversal of these positive trends. In 2021, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon was approximately twice the size of the municipality of Shanghai, and the trend continues. In the first half of 2022, Brazil broke its deforestation record, losing 4,000 square kilometres<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n](\"https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/site\/assets\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/11\/Figure-3.3-1-e1550133089254.jpg%5d\"){kind=link}