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.
Why mountains matter for North AmericapublicationPolicy brief presented at Rio+20
North America’s mountains are a primary source of fresh water. Other natural resources, such as coal and natural gas, are pillars of North American energy economies. The recreation and tourism industry – the lifeblood of many mountain communities – contributes significant revenues... Download » |
Why the Andes matterpublicationPolicy brief presented at Rio+20
The Andes, covering 33% of the area of the Andean countries, are vital for the livelihoods of the majority of the region’s population and the countries’ economies. However, increasing pressure, fuelled by growing population numbers, changes in land use, unsustainable exploitation of... Download » |
Why mountains matter for Meso AmericapublicationPolicy brief presented at Rio+20
Mountains in Meso America cover 25.2% of the region and hold a remarkable 12% of the world’s biodiversity on only about 2% of the earth’s land surface. A total of 86 indigenous ethnic groups occupy 54.2% of the mountain territories. The greatest... Download » |
Why mountains matter for Central, Eastern and South-Eastern EuropepublicationPolicy brief presented at Rio+20
The mountains of Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe have played a key social, economic and environmental role in the development of the nations and peoples that have resided there since time immemorial. Being both natural barriers and safe havens not only... Download » |
ICIMOD Annual Report 2011 now releasedpublicationThe Annual Report 2011 gives a brief overview of ICIMOD’s activities over the past year including advocating mountain issues in global forums, an international conference on green economy and sustainable mountain development, and important contributions to knowledge of snow and glacier cover and climate change impacts in the... Download » |
Reflections to Review: Climate Adaptation in HimalayanewsRecognizing the climatic changes and their impacts in Himalayan Mountains, Prakriti, a mountain environment group (and Mountain Partnership member) based in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India founded a Pan-Himalayan initiative called ‘Climate Himalaya’ to divest its efforts in Climate Adaptation and Sustainable Mountain Development. The initiative was launched formally on...
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