Addressing the Biophysical Effects of Forests in National Climate Policies: Opportunities in Chile

This case study by the World Resources Institute examines how Chile can integrate the non-carbon biophysical effects of forests—such as albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—into its national climate policies. The document argues that while Chile has ambitious climate goals, its current frameworks primarily focus on carbon, overlooking the significant local cooling and rainfall regulation provided by forests. It suggests specific improvements for Chile's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Long-Term Climate Strategy, and REDD+ programs to better account for these biophysical benefits.

• Forests influence climate through four primary non-carbon biophysical processes: albedo (solar energy reflection), evapranspiration (moisture release providing a cooling effect), surface roughness (canopy unevenness affecting wind and heat lift), and aerosols (particles like pollen that interact with the atmosphere).
• Deforestation has severe local and regional climate impacts: globally, tropical deforestation contributes 50% more to warming than carbon alone; regionally, it can disrupt "precipitationsheds" and decrease downwind rainfall; locally, it can cause extreme temperatures to rise significantly, with some local communities experiencing heat increases of more than 7.6C.
• Chile has lost over 40% of its forest cover over several centuries, with a 12% decrease in tree cover since 2000. The sclerophyllous forest and shrubland (matorral) in the central region has been most affected, losing over 80% of its original extent. Conversion of the matorral has led to an average surface temperature increase of 1.4C during the dry season, reaching up to 4C in areas replaced by crops and grassland.
• Chile's NDC targets could be improved by prioritizing native species over exotic plantations. While Chile pledged to plant 200,000 ha of new forests by 2030, only 70,000 ha are designated for native species. Exotic pine plantations, which already cover 1.3 million ha in Chile, offer limited climate benefits due to lower albedo compared to native forests.
• The Long-Term Climate Strategy and other frameworks provide opportunities to scale up biophysical benefits, such as the pledge to expand protected areas by 1 million ha and restore ecosystem services across 2.5 million ha by 2050. The ARClim digital platform, which tracks climate impacts at a 5-kilometer resolution, could be expanded to include deforestation-induced temperature increases to prioritize adaptation measures.
• Chile's REDD+ strategy (ENCCRV) and the +Bosques project (investing US$63 million to implement activities on 25,000 ha) currently rely on carbon-based indicators. Incorporating biophysical climate benefits as performance indicators could improve the execution of conservation and make nature-based solutions more attractive to markets and decision-makers.

APA

Haller, V., & Seymour, F. (n.d.). Addressing the Biophysical Effects of Forests in National Climate Policies: Opportunities in Chile. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-11/addressing-biophysical-effects-of-forests-national-climate-policies-chile.pdf

Chicago

Haller, Vincent, and Frances Seymour. Addressing the Biophysical Effects of Forests in National Climate Policies: Opportunities in Chile. World Resources Institute, n.d. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-11/addressing-biophysical-effects-of-forests-national-climate-policies-chile.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Haller |first1=Vincent |last2=Seymour |first2=Frances |title=Addressing the Biophysical Effects of Forests in National Climate Policies: Opportunities in Chile |publisher=World Resources Institute |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-11/addressing-biophysical-effects-of-forests-national-climate-policies-chile.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hallerndaddressing, author = {Haller, Vincent and Seymour, Frances}, title = {{Addressing the Biophysical Effects of Forests in National Climate Policies: Opportunities in Chile}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-11/addressing-biophysical-effects-of-forests-national-climate-policies-chile.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }