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Contents:

1 - Forests, carbon and global climate; 2 - Changes in the use and management of forests for abating carbon emissions: issues and challenges under the Kyoto protocol; 3 - An overview of the free-market approach to climate change and conservation; 4 - Potential carbon mitigation and income in developing countries from changes in use and management of agricultural and forest lands; 5 - The role of multilateral institutions; 6 - electricity generation: options for reduction in carbon emissions; 7 - Measuring, monitoring and verification of carbon benefits for forest-based projects; 8 - Understanding and managing leakages in forest-based greenhouse-gas-emission projects; 9 - The influence of land-use change and landscape dynamics in the climate system: to climate-change policy beyond the radiative effect of greenhouse gases; 10 - Economic, biological and policy constraints on the adoption of carbon farming in temperate regions; 11 - The role of sustainable agriculture and renewable-resource management in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and increasing sinks in India and China; 12 - Social capital from carbon property: creating equity for indigenous people; 13 - Species survival and carbon retention in commercially exploited tropical rainforest; 14- Animal conservation, carbon and sustainability; 15 - Collateral biodiversity benefits associated with 'free-market' approaches to sustainable land use and forestry activities; 16 - Developing markets for forest environmental services: an opportunity for promoting equity while securing efficiency?; 17 - Carbon sinks and emissions trading under the Kyoto Protocol: a legal analysis; 18 - Protecting terrestrial ecosystems and the climate through a global carbon market; 19 - Designing a carbon market that protects forests in developing countries; 20 - Greenhouse-gas-trading markets.

Review:

Although the Kyoto Protocol itself might be moribund there is ample evidence to suggest that the ideas generated through this and other agreements and meetings are continuing to gain momentum. One of the first radical ideas was the creation of a market for carbon. Since greenhouse gas (GHG) production was specific to certain areas it also follows that there must be areas acting as sinks. Conventional wisdom notes that temperatures have risen because we produce more greenhouse gases than we remove: all that is needed is for someone to buy 'pollution capacity' from those with spare to make up for the surplus pollution produced elsewhere. Nothing would need to be transported in the usual sense because the atmosphere is truly global. All that would be needed is some form of trading or barter system to link GHG producers with GHG 'sinks' to balance out. Simple, isn't it? At this basic level there is much that makes sense. Once this scheme is fleshed out however, the difficulties become apparent. Put this scheme into operation and it seems all but impossible. Early literature on the carbon market tended towards the notion of a simple environmental system that could be easily manipulated to help reduce GHGs. Now that this topic has matured (and this has only taken a few years!) it's possible to examine the fine detail which tells us (as if we would be surprised as ecologists) that the system is quite complex and that ecosystems do not behave like simple models. Recent research shows this rarely to be the case with numbers of feedback loops creating non-linear responses to changes in carbon levels. Further, it is now desirable to gauge the effects of GHGs in a range of other settings of which this text explores one avenue: biodiversity.

The immediate thought would be to see the link between species survival and global warming. Whilst there's no obvious connection its soon clear that by keeping species (biodiversity) we are also locking up carbon (reducing GHGs and thus global warming). To examine the link further, this wide-ranging book is divided into three parts. The first 8 chapters are brought together in part one - carbon and climate change. The focus is very much on setting the scene. Some chapters provide an overview such as chapter one (carbon cycle and links to global warming) whilst others discuss the role of institutions in dealing with the problem (chapters two, three and five which examine the Kyoto Protocol, free-market systems and multilateral organisations respectively). The remaining four chapters divide fairly easily into two areas - potential for carbon reduction (either through agriculture - chapter four or electricity generation - chapter 6). Chapter seven and eight are concerned with measurement and errors respectively. Part two looks at the environmental services that dealing with the carbon market could provide. Although the cases are all different they do share a number of common features. Firstly, there is the explicit assumption that the free-market approach is the best (and only) way of solving the problem of carbon sequestration. Given the range of nations/political systems that currently are looking at this problem such an assumption might seem rash but there is evidence given which suggests this is the right way. Certainly, the use of the environment as a free good has not created perfect conditions - payment does at least focus attention on the subject. Secondly, there is an explicit understanding of the complexity of the situation and the need to widen our knowledge base so we don't exclude people or base our understanding on limited options. Chapter 9 opens the account with an investigation of the impact land use change can have on the situation (with a similar perspective taken in chapter 11 which examines the role of sustainable agriculture). As chapters 10 and 12 demonstrate there's more to carbon reduction than ecology. Each ecosystem has constraints whether they be economic, biological or political - chapter 10, or indigenous people - chapter 12. If we are going to link carbon and biodiversity we need to ensure that conservation is tied into the system - chapter 13. Animals are rarely mentioned in terms of carbon removal probably because their individual contribution is small compared to trees but there is value in looking at this issue - chapters 13 and 14. The final two chapters in this part highlight the economic side with chapter 15 dealing with the merits of the free market approach and chapter 16 looking at how markets can be developed to encourage trade. The final four chapters, forming part three - the future model - bring together the work carried out by this vast team and how it can be applied. Chapter 17 considers the impact of the Kyoto Protocol from a legal perspective whilst chapter 18 provides an overview of the carbon market. The final two chapters show how a carbon trading system could be used to protect rain forests in developing nations as well as boost local stock markets.

The shear complexity of the carbon cycle is such that complete understanding of how it works is certainly beyond us at this moment. What we can have however are a range of studies which examine small parts of the system and then try to link them together. This text takes a broad issue - keeping biodiversity and reducing pollution - and demonstrates what needs to be comprehended if we are to make headway with key environmental problems. Even with the range we are given here there is still the thought that there's more to be worked out. The value of this text lies in the range of ideas shown and the data produced in evidence. It's probably too technical for all but a few senior school students but it would make a great introduction to the subject for geographers, environmentalists and scientists in teaching. There are many cases introduced to illustrate key ideas which means that there is a wealth of data that can be used creatively to tackle this issue.