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

"Raising cattle is far from lucrative, even in wealthy economies where demand for beef is high. The agriculture department confirmed this month that US beef farmers and ranchers are in dire economic straits. For all their hard, dangerous work, 70% lose money and, excluding government support, their average net income per acre was less than 50 cents."

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

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

"He warns that sometimes #CarbonStorage is prioritised at the expense of biodiversity.

"If you're trying to optimise carbon you may not plant that structural and diverse mix of species … that supports a much more complex, dynamic ecosystem," he says.

“In the big picture I see an Australian landscape where high-quality #VegetationCorridors have been re-established allowing #wildlife to migrate as they have done for millions of years." "

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-23/revegetating-land-by-protecting-paddock-trees/104135760
#rewilding

"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