Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Cross-Chapter-Paper-7 (section)

== Executive Summary ==

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'''Over 420 million ha of forest were lost to deforestation from 1990 to 2020; more than 90% of that loss took place in tropical areas (''' '''''high confidence''''' '''), threatening biodiversity, environmental services, livelihoods of forest communities and resilience to climate shocks (''' '''''high confidence''''' [[#footnote-001|1]] ''').''' Forty-five percent of the world’s forested areas are in the tropics, and they are among the most important regulators of regional and global climate, natural carbon sinks and the most significant repositories of terrestrial biomass. They are of immeasurable value to biodiversity, ecosystem services, social and cultural identities, livelihoods, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. {CCP7.2.1; CCP7.2.2; Box CCP7.2; Table CCP7.2 }

'''Climate change affects tropical forests through warming and increased occurrence of extreme events such as droughts and heatwaves, as well as more frequent fires, which increase tree mortality and reduce tree growth, limiting the ability of forests to regenerate (''' '''''high confidence''''' ''').''' Climate change is altering the structure and species composition of tropical tree communities ( ''high confidence'' ), including transitions from moist to drier forest in regions such as the Amazon ( ''high confidence'' ), and movement of species from lower to higher elevations ( ''high confidence'' ). Despite CO 2 fertilisation, ongoing climate change has weakened the carbon sink potential of tropical forests in Amazonia and, to a lesser extent, in Africa and Asia ( ''medium confidence'' ). {CCP7.2.3; CCP7.3 }

'''Large-scale tropical deforestation affects regional to continental scale climates with significant impacts on forest resilience (''' '''''high confidence''''' ''').''' Deforestation generally reduces rainfall and enhances temperatures, with effects depending on scales ( ''high confidence'' ), while often increasing surface runoff ( ''medium confidence'' ). Continued deforestation-driven landscape drying and fragmentation will aggravate fire risk and reduce forest resilience, leading to degradation or savannisation of the tropical forest biomes, in particular in combination with climate change ( ''high confidence'' ). {CCP7.3.6}

'''Implementing sustainable management strategies can improve the ability of tropical forest ecosystems to adapt to climate change (''' '''''high confidence)''''' ''', and the benefits of adaptation interventions often outweigh the costs (''' '''''medium confidence''''' ''').''' Adaptation of tropical forests to climate change provides an opportunity for tropical countries to develop forest policies that create incentives for environmental services such as carbon storage and biodiversity refugia. Forest restoration using a diverse mix of native species can help rebuild the climate resilience of tropical forests, but is best implemented alongside other sustainable forest management strategies and adaptation interventions ( ''high confidenc'' e). {CCP7.5; Box CCP7.1 }

'''Community-based adaptation, built on Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge (IK and LK) over centuries or millennia, is often identified as an effective adaptation strategy to climate change (''' '''''high confidence''''' ''').''' For successful adaptation of tropical forest communities, it is vital to consider IK and LK in addition to modern scientific approaches, together with consideration of non-climatic vulnerabilities (e.g., poverty, gender inequality and power asymmetries) ( ''high confidence'' ). Climate change vulnerability and adaptive capacity have a historical and geopolitical context, conditioned by value systems and development models. Transformative and sustainable practices are required for effective management of tropical forests ( ''high confidence'' ). {CCP7.4; Box CCP7.1 }

'''Building resilience of tropical forests to climate change relies on adaptation in combination with reduction of direct and underlying drivers of deforestation and forest degradation (''' '''''high confidence''''' ''').''' Tropical deforestation is largely driven by agriculture, both from subsistence farming and industrial agriculture (e.g., oil palm, timber plantations, soybeans, livestock) ( ''high confidence'' ). While poverty and population growth combined with poor governance often fuel subsistence agriculture ( ''high confidence'' ), industrial agriculture is often driven by international market forces for commodities and large-scale land acquisitions ( ''high confidence'' ). {CCP7.2.3}

'''Governance responses to addressing the direct and underlying drivers of deforestation have been inadequate to reduce pressures, yet the urgency of tackling drivers of forest loss and degradation is increasing as climate impacts on forests and ecosystems increase (''' '''''high confidence''''' ''').''' Transformative levers towards improving environmental governance and resilience of tropical forests include: incentivising and building capacity for environmental responsibility and discontinuing harmful subsidies and disincentives; reforming segmented decision-making to promote integration across sectors and jurisdictions; pursuing pre-emptive and precautionary actions; managing for resilient social and ecological systems in the face of uncertainty and complexity; strengthening environmental laws and policies and their implementation; acknowledging land tenure and rights; and inclusive stakeholder participation (medium confidence). {CCP7.6}

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