Southeast US: World Resources Institute & Toyota’s new plan to save forests

The World Resources Institute (WRI) and Toyota today launched Southern Forests for the Future, a WRI project designed to raise awareness of the threats facing southern U.S. forests and increase the amount of forest conserved or managed in a sustainable manner. “The forests of the southern United States are being whittled away acre by acre,” said Jonathan Lash, president of WRI.

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“We plan to raise awareness about trends in southern forests and
develop innovative approaches for conserving this national treasure.
WRI is grateful to Toyota for making this effort possible.” Toyota is
funding the project with a $1.49 million grant over three years.

The project includes three components: 1) Increase awareness about the threats facing southern forests and the value they provide; 2) Identify and develop a portfolio of options that align economic incentives with forest stewardship; and; 3) Pilot test and implement these options.

“WRI has a long and successful history of transforming information and
analysis into practical solutions for sustaining our natural
ecosystems,” said Patricia Salas Pineda, group vice president of
Toyota Motor North America. “Toyota is proud to support this
initiative.” The forests of the southern United States stretch from
east Texas to Virginia and from Kentucky to Florida.

Covering more than 200 million acres, they are among the most biologically diverse temperate forests in the world and provide a wide range of ecosystem services including timber, paper, watershed protection, carbon storage, and recreation.

However, approximately one million acres are lost each year to urban development and unsustainable forest management practices. Through this project, WRI will develop online time-series maps showing changes in southern U.S. forest cover over recent decades.

In early 2010, WRI will launch a Web site called See My Forest, which will allow environmental organizations, governments, universities, and schoolchildren to scroll over these maps, zoom in on areas of interest, and view a range of supporting information about forest conditions and trends.

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