Hanoi - Forest conservation in Asia and the Pacific cannot succeed without the direct involvement of local people, a gathering of the region’s forest managers concluded today in Hanoi.

Throughout the region, there are millions of indigenous and rural people dependent on forests for their basic daily needs.

"The remaining pockets of intact tropical forests in Asia and the Pacific overlap almost perfectly with the geographical distribution of poverty," said Sunita Narain, well-known social activist and director of the India-based Center for Science and Environment. "The conservation agenda has to be the forest agenda and the forest agenda has to be the 'people' agenda."

Appanah Simmathiri, forestry officer with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, concurred, "Unless forests and poverty are dealt with jointly, both the forests and the poor are further threatened."

Neglecting the basic needs of rural poor, including food security, puts at risk global common goods such as the environment.

Yam Malla, Director of the Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC), organizer of the day’s session asserted, "The price of rice is on the rise, as are prices for most commodities. This has not only triggered riots in several countries, it may also shape the future of our forests."

Along with food prices hikes, competing demands on land are escalating. Biofuel crop production and changing dietary trends in rapidly developing Asian countries are among the factors leading to increased pressures on forests.

Asia-Pacific Forestry Week, organized by the Vietnamese Government and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is being held over 21-26 April in Hanoi. It addresses a wide range of forestry issues, including forests and human livelihoods. Decision-makers, practitioners, the private sector and civil society from more than 50 countries have come together to develop strategies for addressing the vulnerability of the region’s forests and people.

More information at:
http://www.fao.org/forestry/site/44755/en/