Every year, the International Day of Forests provides a valuable platform for celebrating and promoting the importance of forests. This year, the theme ‘Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World,’ emphasizes the transformative role of innovation and technology within the forestry sector. 

Innovation and technology have revolutionized countries’ ability to monitor and report on their forests. Aim4Forests, a five-year programme jointly launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland, epitomizes such innovation, leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to reduce deforestation and facilitate forest restoration.  

Moreover, innovation and technology are shaping the future of work on the forest-water nexus. In Zambia, cutting-edge technologies like SEPAL Resilient Rivers and CAFE have played an important role in increasing our understanding of the relationship between forests, water and climate in the headwaters of the Zambezi River.  

Amidst this dynamic landscape of innovation and technology, however, it is important to recognize that local knowledge forms the foundation for these advancements, ensuring their effective application and contextual accuracy. This raises the following question: how can we navigate the balance between innovation and tradition?  

Historically, it is Indigenous communities who have spearheaded forest monitoring and management practices, with their traditional knowledge and experience earning them recognition as “the best guardians of forests” in a recent UN report. This has also been the case for the forest-water nexus, with Indigenous Peoples’ guardianship of forests being strongly linked to the protection of water resources. Maintaining these invaluable traditions while taking advantage of modern advancements is therefore imperative for achieving sustainable progress. 

There are several compelling examples of how this balance can be achieved. For example, a 2021 trial conducted by New York University and Johns Hopkins University illustrated that satellite data can support forest management by Indigenous communities, resulting in significant decreases in deforestation.  

This balance can also be reached by fostering forms of innovation that extend beyond the realm of technology. Social innovation, for instance, can lead to participatory, inclusive, and cross-sectoral decision-making where the tradeoffs and synergies of managing natural resources are accounted for. Similarly, financial innovation can result in the creation of new financial mechanisms like Payment for Ecosystem Services schemes, which can incentivize sustainable forestry practices. 

On this International Day of Forests, let us join efforts to promote multidisciplinary approaches to innovation to improve the management of forest and water resources.