External links
SDG indicators 15.1.1 and 15.2.1 - Forest area and sustainable forest management
This course has been developed to guide countries in reporting on Indicators 15.1.1 and 15.2.1. It illustrates the rationale of the indicators, the definitions and methodologies on which monitoring activities are based, and explains the process and the tools available for compiling data related to the two indicators through the Global Forest Resources Assessment Programme (available in English, French and Spanish).
SDG 15 - Indicators of sustainable forests and mountains
Mountain forests
Mountains cover around 27 percent of the earth’s land surface, and forests cover more than 40 percent of the global mountain area.
Healthy mountain forests are crucial to the ecological health of the world. They protect watersheds that supply freshwater to more than half of humankind. They also harbour wildlife, provide food and fodder for mountain peoples and are important sources of timber and non-wood products. Moreover, they protect the earth and contribute to shielding the atmosphere from CO2 emissions.
Protecting these forests and making sure they are carefully managed is an important step towards sustainable mountain development. In the last decades, tropical mountain forests have been disappearing at an astounding rate. Deforestation is generally driven by population growth, the expansion of intensive agriculture, uncertain land tenure, inequitable land distribution and the absence of strong and stable institutions.
Crucially, mountain forests perform a protective function against natural hazards, so that when forest cover is lost and the land is left unprotected, runoff and soil erosion increase, provoking landslides, avalanches and floods, to the detriment of villages, transport systems, human infrastructure and of the food security of vulnerable populations.
Putting power back into the hands of mountain people is one important step towards alleviating their poverty and, in turn, protecting mountain forests. Measures that could accomplish these aims include providing incentives for biodiversity and agro-biodiversity conservation as well as the inclusion sustainable forest management plans into national policies.
Call for applications: IPROMO 2023, "Youth and the future of mountain forests"newsThe Mountain Partnership Secretariat is pleased to announce the call for applications for the sixteenth IPROMO Summer School. This annual training programme on sustainable mountain development is jointly organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the University of Turin,...
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"From the mountains of Kyrgyzstan to the catwalks of Milan" - Unasylva 253publicationTo coincide with the 50th anniversary of FAO's Committee on Forestry, this edition of Unasylva showcases ways in which forests are delivering the "four betters" and underscores how forests are crucial for resilient and sustainable agrifood systems in a changing climate. As FAO's longest running periodical, Unasylva focuses on issues... Download » |
Ecosystem restoration in the mountains - policy briefpublicationMountains play a crucial role for both the highlands and lowlands, but are particularly vulnerable to climate change and human interventions. This policy brief focuses on ecosystem restoration in the mountains. It highlights the role of healthy mountain ecosystems and their services and provides a set of recommendations to help... Download » |
United Nations General Assembly Report: Sustainable mountain development (2022)publicationReport of the Secretary-General on Sustainable Mountain Development Download » |
Residents participate in workshop, plant 300 trees in mountainous Kukhi village, TajikistannewsOn 22-23 April 2022, the team of Little Earth – a Mountain Partnership member organization – implemented two events within the framework of the project “Renewable energy and remote mountain communities” project. They hosted a workshop on planting and caring for seedlings and furthermore planted 300 trees in the...
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Protective functions of forests in a changing climate: 70 years of European experience – World Forestry Congress side eventeventThe European Forestry Commission (EFC) Working Party on the Management of Mountain Watersheds (WPMMW) was established in 1950 to promote sustainable development in mountain areas. Currently, Austria chairs the group and has put an emphasis on the protective functions of mountain forests in a changing climate. Forests fulfil many crucial protective...
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