Botswana's offer still stands: Germany can have 20,000 elephants.
Botswana's president renews his offer: 20,000 elephants for Germany. The debate over hunting trophies nearly caused diplomatic tensions in 2024. Here's what's behind it.
Our forests are CO2 storage and climate saviors. However, no one knows exactly how much biomass they contain. A new satellite is set to provide data for the first time. How healthy are the forests on Earth? Do they produce enough fresh air for our ecosystem as the "green lungs"? In search of answers, European aerospace centers launched the "Mission Biomass". With the goal of capturing global forest biomass, the European Space Agency ESA will launch a satellite into space on April 29, 2025. Why Biomass data is so important for climate protection The data is expected to be of central importance for climate models, CO2 balances, and international protection agreements, according to Dr. Walther Pelzer from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in a press release. "Forests are the green lungs of our planet. So far, there have only been estimates of how much forest biomass is present worldwide. The European Mission Biomass will determine the volume of this important carbon storage very accurately for the first time, and thus also provide a detailed picture of the health of our forests," said Pelzer. The data can also help to better understand regional changes in forest structure. Radar illuminates the forest down to the ground Instead of using camera eyes, the satellite named Biomass uses radar waves to look deep into the forest: The so-called P-band radar developed in Germany can see through clouds and treetops - down to the forest floor. This creates a three-dimensional image of the forest. In a video clip, the DLR illustrates numbers and facts about the state of the forests and climate change. Video from the German Space Agency https://youtu.be/-T7P_7ApZfs?si=Gj6iKqlbdnRFGy5e A basis for climate policy In the next five years, Biomass is expected to create six datasets. The results will be incorporated into international climate agreements such as the Green Deal or the Paris Agreement. And in Germany, the data could provide impulses - for example in planning climate-resilient mixed forests or in rewarding carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems.