Eric Walberg, Senior Program Leader, of Manomet’s Climate Services Program, engages with land owners
 

Managed forests have a major role to play in creating a planet that is resilient to a changing climate. Forests absorb about one-third of the world’s annual carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, accounting for as much as 45% of the carbon stored on land, and providing the principal means for mitigating the effect of greenhouse gases. 

 

Manomet’s Climate Services program was recently awarded a grant from The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) to support development of the Resiliency Assessment Framework. This Framework is a scalable approach for assessing forest resilience to climate change, demonstrating the adaptation and mitigation value of forestlands certified to SFI, and incorporating climate opportunities and risks in planning and management.

 

The Climate Smart Land Network (CSLN) is an alliance of forest landowners and managers who are working together to respond to the challenges posed by climate change. CSLN bridges the gap between climate science and on-the-ground application and has enrolled over six million acres of managed forest. “The SFI grant provides a great opportunity for Manomet to work with our Climate Smart Land Network members to improve understanding of regional and local climate/forest interactions and to incorporate that information in planning and management,” said Eric Walberg, Senior Program Leader, of Manomet’s Climate Services Program. Project partners will include four members of Manomet’s Climate Smart Land Network ‒ Lyme Timber, LandVest, Hancock Natural Resources Group, and Resource Management Service, LLC ‒ all of which are SFI program participants.

 

This year’s SFI conservation grants feature the collaboration of 37 groups focusing on a broad range of issues including climate change, carbon storage, and wildlife habitat. The grants were awarded through SFI’s Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program, which is dedicated to improving conservation of forests and strengthening the communities that depend on them. These projects provide the science-based information needed by resource professionals to improve forest management. The projects also inform the larger discussion around the positive conservation impact of responsible forest management and its importance in supply chain sustainability.

 

“I’m thrilled to see the breadth of collaboration of so many groups,” said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc. “Critical issues like biodiversity and carbon storage are best tackled when we pool our collective knowledge and resources. These grants are an example ofhow the SFI community is growing and collaborating to quantify the conservation impact of certified forests.”