Thesis statement: Although some people might argue that reforestation is not enough to reverse the damages caused by deforestation, especially on biodiversity loss, reforestation as a measure for conserving life on land is sustainable in reversing the effects of climate change through carbon sequestration, sustaining natural ecosystems through providing food and water resources by reestablishing the important role of trees.
Ogunbode, Timothy O., and Janet T. Asifat. “Sustainability and Challenges of Climate Change Mitigation through Urban Reforestation-A Review.” Journal of Forest and Environmental Science 37.1 2021: 1–13. https://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO202112054771683.pdf
Ogunbode & Asifat (2) establishes that climatological, hydrological, and meteorological hazards between 2002-2011 can be estimated at $163 billion and $52 billion. Therefore, to reverse and reduce such costs, reforestation has been recommended as the appropriate climate action where in this case, it does not only work as a climate action but also sustains life on land. Urban reforestation is identified as involving urban communities in tree plantation to increase tree cover necessary to address the heat waves in cities as a consequence of climate change. In this case, this source contributes to the argument of reestablishing the importance of the role of trees, especially in cooling. This source is also essential as it recognizes the argument against reforestation, especially its sustainability in urban areas. However, the step-by-step process includes ensuring that the right tree is planted depending on the soil and available space (Ogunbode and Asifat 5). In this case, one of the challenges of reforestation as a sustainable measure is the irreversible development of urban areas after the clearing of forests where the land can no longer be reclaimed from its current commercial and residential use.
Kim, Gaeun, et al. “How Do Nature-Based Solutions Improve Environmental and Socioeconomic Resilience to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals? Reforestation and Afforestation Cases from the Republic of Korea.” Sustainability 13.21 2021: 12171. https://www.mdpi.com/1343982
Sustainability is also measured by the resiliency of the suggested action, where in this case, Kim et al. (paragraph 2) establishes that reforestation promotes resiliency. Resiliency is recognized as the ability of any system to maintain functionality even in the face of external misfortunes like climatological hazards. This source establishes that reforestation promotes environmental resiliency through increasing forest cover and socioeconomic resiliency through sustaining livelihoods supporting the argument of sustaining natural ecosystems by providing food and water. The presence of trees boosts the availability of water and food, hence the source’s argument that reforestation, especially its approach of Nature-Based Solutions, is sustainable in sustaining life on land by ensuring the environment’s resiliency.
Sayer, Jefrey, et al. “SDG 15 Life on land–the central role of forests in sustainable development.” Sustainable development goals: their impacts on forest and people. Cambridge University Press, 2019. 482–509. https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/fulltext/514255
Though the main focus of this research is forests and reforestation to reverse the adverse effects of deforestation, Sayer et al. (487) establish that some biological species may only be restored after the increased planting of more trees. This is because when a “species is lost from a forest, the ecological processes that depend upon that species are lost, reducing community resilience and further provoking species loses” (487). This source establishes how forests would not have been destroyed in the first place because reforestation may not be enough to restore some of the biodiversity lost. This is evidenced by how animal sustainability especially the endangered species is guaranteed by relocating the animals from their natural habitat to man-made forests that may not offer the natural comforts to sustain these animals. Therefore, this source is a counterargument in the sustainability of reforestation as some diversity, once lost, cannot be recovered.
Gramling Carolyn. “Why planting tons of trees isn’t enough to solve climate change,” Science News, 2021. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/planting-trees-climate-change-carbon-capture-deforestation
In this news article, Gramling (paragraph 7) establishes that the increased focus on reforestation can be more harmful than intended to be helpful. This is also a counterargument that reforestation lacking sustainability will not serve the intended purpose. This is because there has been an increased focus on planting trees and little effort dedicated to sustaining the trees within the local community. The article further establishes that the need for more consensus in the calculation of carbon absorption creates conflicts on the role of trees in carbon sequestration. However, paragraph (15) supports this research by establishing that in 2019, “7.6 billion tons of CO2 were absorbed by trees which were approximately one-fifth of the total carbon emitted by humans”. Therefore, this source supports the argument that reforestation is a sustainable way of supporting life on land by sustainably absorbing the harmful carbon from the air.
Safdie, S. “Reforestation: Our Guide to Sustainable Companies” Greely. Resources. 2022. https://greenly.earth/en-us/blog/company-guide/reforestation-our-guide-to-sustainable-companies
This source introduces the whole idea of reforestation to the current business environment. Safdie (para, 28) establishes that companies that are involved in corporate sustainability through activities like reforestation attract more investors and consumers. This supports the argument that reforestation is recognized as a sustainable measure for corporate sustainability. It is a significant source to this research as it provides the definition of reforestation to be used in the research as the “planting of trees in places where forests have been cleared for industrialization and agricultural needs in an attempt to reverse the negative effects of deforestation” (Safdie para, 3). It also recognizes Gambling’s (7) argument that one of the downsides of reforestation is the adverse effects of the practice if it is not done in a mindful manner (Safdie paragraph 31). The source well explains the benefits of reforestation as a sustainable action towards sustainable development goal 15, conserving life on land through restoration and maintenance of habitats.
Zhang, Junze, et al. “Improve forest restoration initiatives to meet Sustainable Development Goal 15.” Nature Ecology & Evolution 5.1 2021: 10–13. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Junze-Zhang/publication/344437437_Improve_forest_restoration_initiatives_to_meet_Sustainable_Development_Goal_15/links/5fc07385299bf104cf8247e6/Improve-forest-restoration-initiatives-to-meet-Sustainable-Development-Goal-15.pdf
This source establishes the sustainability of forest restoration projects as the best way to sustain life on land. It explains how this goal made it to the list of necessary actions to be taken globally as forests are being lost due to various anthropogenic and natural causes (Zhang et al. 10). It contributes to the argument for the sustainability of forest restoration as a sustainable way of sustaining ecosystems. However, having it in this study is purposeful to provide information on how to sustainably restore and maintain the forest to counter the argument against reforestation and establish its role in sustainability. Zhang (13) provides the necessary steps to ensure forest restoration is possible and sustainable, including improving biodiversity monitoring. This will endure that the forest restoration initiatives intentionally sustain natural ecosystems because such ecosystems can bounce back to their full functionality when supported correctly and on time. The second step involves incorporating the locals who better understand the types of trees that can survive in that area and those that cannot. Having evidence-based research is essential in providing literature and encouragement on the sustainability of forest restoration.
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