TOKYO>> The Japanese government plans to expand its own approach to measuring the country’s plant resources, with the aim of calculating their carbon dioxide absorption levels.
Since July, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Ministry of the Environment and the Forestry Agency have been recruiting private companies, universities and research institutes to participate in the project.
The new approach is expected to use satellite and ground data, as well as data collected through aircraft radars.
The assigned team will spend several years examining the optimal mix of landform measurement knowledge, adding mountains, forests, and rice paddies.
Japan has about 25 million hectares of forests, about two-thirds of the country’s total land area.
According to a government estimate, the country currently has around 10 million tonnes of plant resources, but this estimate would only cover around 70% of the country’s forest resources because it does not take into account topography and tree species.
Japan’s figures have not been recognized around the world. Countries draw on knowledge gained through NASA and other independent organizations to calculate their forest cover.
Countries with few forest resources have lower CO2 removal estimates, meaning that the foreign network would possibly ask Japan to reduce its CO2 emissions more than it deems necessary.
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