GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY IN THE FORESTRY SECTOR

Forestry and land use change are important sources/sinks of greenhouse gases. When trees are growing, CO 2from the atmosphere is absorbed by the plants through the process of photosynthesis, When forests are cleared, the carbon content of the biomass is released to the atmosphere instantaneously by burning, or slowly through decay. When the land is abandoned for twenty years or more, substantial sequestration can be realized due to regrowth. The need to include the historical perspective of this sector makes the estimation of greenhouse gas emission/sinks quite complex. Furthermore, there are many uncertainties concerning the factors used in the methodology. Although the methodology may not be the most accurate, it was agreed upon by consensus among experts in the field. In 1981, the forest covered more than 12 million hectares of the country. The forested area was reduced by half to about 6 million hectares in 1990. From the rate of clearing alone, the enormous amount of CO 2 released to the atmosphere can be deduced since half of the dry biomass is carbon. Land use change is a very important source of CO 2 among developing countries. Forested areas are converted to agricultural lands by burning and/or cutting trees. Unburnt biomass are left to rot. In addition, carbon is released when soils are disturbed. From tropical deforestation, the Intergovernmenta