Seven Latin American countries this month committed to a plan aimed at restoring 20 million hectares (49 million acres) of cleared and depleted land by 2020 as a way of reducing carbon emissions from deforestation. Under the so-called Initiative 20x20, launched Dec. 7 in Lima, Peru, at the United Nations climate summit, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru will reforest degraded areas and establish compatible agriculture featuring mosaics of trees, crops and livestock. This approach could bring greater productivity and income to farmers, possibly making them less likely to seek such gains by clearing forests and grasslands in order to expand their farm acreage. Nearly half of greenhouse-gas emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2012—or 2 gigatons... [Log in to read more]
