Saving Global Forests from the Changing Climate
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Published
Nov 24, 2025
Abstract
The world’s forests stand at the frontlines of climate change—both as victims and as vital allies. These ancient ecosystems absorb carbon dioxide, shelter millions of species, and sustain countless human communities. Yet, they are now burning, drying, and disappearing faster than ever under rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, and unrelenting deforestation. Saving global forests requires more than conservation slogans; it demands urgent global cooperation, equitable funding for forest nations, and recognition that forests are not just resources but living systems critical for human survival. Nations must reimagine their economies to value standing trees as much as extracted minerals, and consumers must recognize the true cost of every product that fuels deforestation. The fate of forests is intertwined with our own. To save them from the changing climate is to save the balance of life itself—because without forests, the Earth cannot breathe, and neither can we.
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Keywords
Forests, Climate Change, Deforestation, Conservation, Sustainability
Supporting Agencies
No funding source declared.
References
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Bhushan, S., Dincă, I., & Shikha, S. (2024). Evaluating local livelihoods, sustainable forest management, and the potential for ecotourism development in Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary, India. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 7, 1491917. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1491917
Bolte, A., Mansourian, S., Madsen, P., Derkyi, M., Kleine, M., & Stanturf, J. A. (2023). Forest adaptation and restoration under global change. Annals of Forest Science, 80(1), 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13595-022-01172-6
Brouwer, R., Bongers, F., Peña-Claros, M., Zuidema, P. A., Brancalion, P. H. S., Lohbeck, M., Guzmán, A. H., Heinze, A., Guillemot, J., Krämer, K., & Sheil, D. (2024). Forest restoration, biodiversity, and ecosystem services (p. 160). Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/9780197683958.003.0007
Bussotti, F., & Pollastrini, M. (2025). Planting trees as a nature-based solution to mitigate climate change: Opportunities, limits, and trade-offs. Forests, 16(5), 810. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f16050810
Fang, W., Hassan, A., & LePage, B. A. (2022). The living environmental education. In Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer International Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4234-1
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Forzieri, G., Dakos, V., McDowell, N. G., Alkama, R., & Cescatti, A. (2022). Emerging signals of declining forest resilience under climate change. Nature, 608(7923), 534–541. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04959-9
González, P., Neilson, R. P., Lenihan, J. M., & Drapek, R. J. (2010). Global patterns in the vulnerability of ecosystems to vegetation shifts due to climate change. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 19(6), 755–768. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00558.x
Malhi, Y., Aragão, L. E. O. C., Galbraith, D., Huntingford, C., Fisher, R. A., Zelazowski, P., Sitch, S., McSweeney, C., & Meir, P. (2009). Exploring the likelihood and mechanism of a climate-change-induced dieback of the Amazon rainforest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(49), 20610–20615. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0804619106
Messier, C., Potvin, C., Muys, B., Brancalion, P. H. S., Chazdon, R. L., Seidl, R., & Bauhus, J. (2022). Warning: Natural and managed forests are losing their capacity to mitigate climate change. The Forestry Chronicle, 98(1), 2–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2022-007
Mo, L., Zohner, C. M., Reich, P. B., Liang, J., de-Miguel, S., Nabuurs, G. J., Renner, S. S., van den Hoogen, J., Araza, A., Herold, M., Mirzagholi, L., Ma, H., Averill, C., Phillips, O. L., Gamarra, J. G. P., Hordijk, I., Routh, D., Abegg, M., Yao, Y. C. A., … Jagodziński, A. M. (2023). Integrated global assessment of the natural forest carbon potential. Nature, 624(7990), 92–100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06723-z
Nitzke, S., & Braunbeck, H. G. (2021). Arboreal imaginaries: An introduction to the shared cultures of trees and humans. Green Letters, 25(4), 341–348. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14688417.2021.2072633
Nóbrega, R., Alencar, P. H. L., Baniwa, B., Buell, M., Chaffe, P. L. B., Correa, D. M. P., Correa, D. M. do S., Domingues, T. F., Fleischmann, A. S., Furgal, C., Giatti, L. L., Kui, S. O. da S. H., Kui, N. I. P. N. H., Jenipapo-Kaninde, J. A., Li, H., Mamede, A. F. M., Moura, J. F., Nehemy, M. F., Pinheiro, R. L. G., … Stein, S. (2023). Co-developing pathways to protect nature, land, territory, and well-being in Amazonia. Communications Earth & Environment, 4(1), 1026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01026-7
Obura, D., DeClerck, F., Verburg, P. H., Gupta, J., Abrams, J. F., Bai, X., Bunn, S. E., Ebi, K. L., Gifford, L., Gordon, C., Jacobson, L., Lenton, T. M., Liverman, D., Mohamed, A., Prodani, K., Rocha, J., Rockström, J., Sakschewski, B., Stewart-Koster, B., … Zimm, C. (2022). Achieving a nature- and people-positive future. One Earth, 6(2), 105–118. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.11.013
Osborne, T., Cifuentes, S., Dev, L., Howard, S., Marchi, E., Withey, L., & da Silva, M. S. R. (2024). Climate justice, forests, and Indigenous Peoples: Toward an alternative to REDD+ for the Amazon. Climatic Change, 177(8), 96. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-024-03774-7
Pan, Y., Birdsey, R. A., Phillips, O. L., Houghton, R. A., Fang, J., Kauppi, P. E., Keith, H., Kurz, W. A., Ito, A., Lewis, S. L., Nabuurs, G. J., Shvidenko, A., Hashimoto, S., Lerink, B., Schepaschenko, D., Castanho, A., & Murdiyarso, D. (2024). The enduring world forest carbon sink. Nature, 631(8021), 563–570. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07602-x
Reed, G., Alook, A., & McGregor, D. (2024). Decolonizing climate agreements strengthens policy and research for all future generations. Nature Communications, 15(1), 4810. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49143-x
Scheller, R. M., Kretchun, A. M., Tuyl, S. V., Clark, K. L., Lucash, M. S., & Hom, J. (2012). Divergent carbon dynamics under climate change in forests with diverse soils, tree species, and land use histories. Ecosphere, 3(11), 1–21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1890/ES12-00241.1
Tabriz, S., Trærup, S. L. M., & Minjauw, F. M. E. (2021). Indigenous Peoples and climate technologies (p. 42). Technical University of Denmark. Available at: https://local.forskningsportal.dk/local/dki-cgi/ws/cris-link?src=dtu&id=dtu-c82e8e2c-cab3-4e84-a80a-bf3b893ef0ff&ti=Indigenous%20Peoples%20and%20Climate%20Technologies
How to Cite
Pinto, F. A. N. (2025). Saving Global Forests from the Changing Climate. Science Insights, 47(5), 2025–2029. https://doi.org/10.15354/si.25.op343
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