The case for paying #ranchers to raise trees instead of #cattle

"A global annual investment of just 1% of the world’s GDP – around $1tn – to pay farmers who choose to transition from cattle husbandry to #restoration and management of native #forests and #grasslands would significantly raise the income of cattle farmers and stimulate rural communities, while rapidly reducing global warming and reversing the global collapse of biodiversity. And that would be a bargain."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/02/cattle-trees-climate-change-solution

"We use around 16 million square kilometers of land – comparable to South America – to grow crops. And we use roughly 34 million square kilometers of land – about the size of Africa – to graze animals, primarily cattle.

The #rewilding of agricultural lands could be a big win for #climate and nature. But it first requires shrinking the overall footprint of the #food system by cutting food waste, shifting away from wasteful diets, and phasing out crop-based biofuels."

https://drawdown.org/news/insights/fixing-foods-big-climate-problem

"Successfully applying for more than $100,000 in grants from local environment groups and government agencies has allowed Mr Kadwell to plant tens of thousands of #trees.

It has resulted in an increase in production levels across his 4,000 ewes, and potato beds, and cut costs on chemical use by promoting insects."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-20/farmers-reducing-emissions-and-boosting-finances/104326946
#rewilding

"The Rewilding Nation Pathway aims to restore nature across 30% of Scottish lands and seas in one of the most nature-depleted countries on earth.

#Rewilding would help #Scotland tackle the climate emergency and create opportunities for local communities for health, jobs, food production and repeopling."

https://www.thenational.scot/news/24778057.rewilding-nation-pathway-can-help-repeopling-highlands/

#Rewilding worked like magic on this glen:

"On 1 January 2000, the first trees were planted, and a boundary fence was erected to stop deer from grazing on the saplings.

Fast forward 22 years and the impact is enormous. What was once a denuded landscape barren of almost all life is now a thriving ecosystem replanted with native species of trees."

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/rewilding-scotland-carrifren-biodiversity-woodland-b2133144.html

The research "found that #reforestation will benefit many species both locally, by increasing habitat, and globally, by mitigating climate change. These include many iconic forest species from spotted salamanders and red-bellied woodpeckers to jaguars."

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-reforestation-based-climate-mitigation-strategies.html
#Rewilding

"The bison themselves aren’t a significant carbon sink. It is their influence on the wider environment – compacting soil, dispersing seeds and creating varied habitats through their browsing – that has turbocharged its ability to absorb carbon. The area in which they roam is now soaking up 10 times the amount that it was before the bison were reintroduced."

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26535360-800-how-a-surprising-twist-on-rewilding-could-help-settle-our-carbon-debt/
#rewilding