Address by FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf to the opening session of the Eleventh World Forestry Congress, 13 October 1997, Antalya, Turkey
Mr Chairman,
Mr President of the Republic of Turkey,
Your Excellency, Ersin Taranoglu, Minister for Forestry,
Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is indeed a pleasure for me to be with you here in Antalya today. It is not hard to understand why, in the first century BC, the Pergamum King Attalus who founded this city, chose a name which means "heaven" on earth.
In the more than 2 000 years since then, the Turkish Government and its people have never forgotten the crucial role of forests in maintaining both the beauty and the productivity of their country's natural resources.
Mr President,
Allow me to pay special homage to the evident love of this country for forests, both its own and those of all humankind. I would be remiss if I did not also add special thanks for your personal commitment to and involvement in the organization of this Congress and particularly the preparation of these extraordinary facilities.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I extend my warmest greetings to you, the more than 3 000 participants at this Congress. It is a privilege to speak before you, who bring expertise, experience and devotion to the cause of the world's forests.
This will be the last of these important gatherings in this century. It gives me great pleasure to note the congress theme - Forestry for sustainable development: towards the 21st century - for it reflects the outward-looking perspective that must be adopted by the forestry community if we are to ensure that the world's forests survive and, more importantly, deliver their full potential in overall socioeconomic development.
Ladies and gentlemen,
You, the stewards of the world's forests, are gathered here to discuss and debate progress towards the achievement of sustainable forest management - and to help define and shape your work for the future. As you take up your complex yet essential task, I would challenge you to remember the more than 800 million people in the world today who still do not have access to adequate food and nutrition, and to consider how forests and forestry can contribute to the alleviation of this unacceptable and unnecessary suffering.
Just 11 months ago, world leaders gathered in another ancient city - Rome - for the World Food Summit. At the Summit, which FAO was privileged to host, a renewed high-level commitment was made to the eradication of hunger and to the achievement of lasting food security for all people.
The Summit participants adopted a Rome Declaration and Plan of Action for achieving food security. These two documents set forth a seven-point plan stipulating concrete, practical actions. Throughout the documents, the important role of forests and forestry in achieving world food security emerges clearly.
There is an ancient Kashmiri saying which, loosely translated, reads "Food will last as long as forests do". This is not to say that forests and foresters can single-handedly resolve the food security problem. But trees, forests and forestry do have a fundamental contribution to make towards the achievement of world food security. Although this audience may understand it well, I believe that the role of forestry in food security bears underlining, especially in the context of its contribution to sustainable development.
THE ROLE OF FORESTRY IN FOOD SECURITY
Direct access
First, trees and forests produce food directly. In some areas they are a primary source of food; almost everywhere they provide a regular supplement to the diet. Foods from the forest are consumed when cultivated supplies are in short supply, such as between harvest seasons, or during emergencies, such as famines and wars.
Sustaining agricultural production
Beyond the direct contribution of food, trees and forests play a critical role in ensuring sustained agricultural production, including animal husbandry and, in some cases, fisheries.
Trees and forests help maintain the soil and water resource base and the ecological balance essential to food and agricultural production. They are incorporated into or shelter farming systems and shelter their borders. They support livestock raising by providing fodder, especially during seasonal shortages in arid and semi-arid areas. Under special circumstances, for example in coastal mangrove ecosystems, trees have a role in supporting fisheries, thus ensuring a major food source.
In this regard, it is curious and disturbing to note how agriculture and forestry have often been, and sometimes still are, viewed as being in opposition. This false dichotomy is perhaps based on the outdated view that forestry is concerned only with managing forests for wood production, and that agriculture only involves growing crops in open fields. Indeed, forestry and agriculture are often mutually beneficial and even interdependent.
On the other hand, it is an acknowledged fact that most deforestation is caused by conversion of forest land to agricultural production. A reduction in the destruction of forests as a source of physical access to land can only be achieved by an increase in the sustainable and economically viable use of forest resources, intensified agricultural production on already cleared lands and a closer harmony between forestry and other forms of land use, particularly agriculture.
Forests and energy
Having food, though, is not enough. Many of the foods that form the staple diet are unpalatable or indigestible unless they are cooked. And in most of the developing world, boiling water is virtually the only method to render it safe for drinking. Wood is still by far the main source of household energy for some 40 percent of the worldÕs population. And for most of these people, the prospect of switching to fossil fuels, is both unsustainable and economically out of reach.
Biological diversity
I would also note that forests are the most important terrestrial genebanks on earth. Many of the foods we consume today, particularly basic staples such as rice, originated as wild crops in the forests. And forests continue to serve as a gene pool repository for present and future food crops.
Economic access to food
Beyond their contribution to ensuring physical access to food supplies, forest-based activities also provide substantial employment and cash income. This is true both for large-scale industrial activities as well as for individual or community-based activities. FAO estimates the annual value of fuelwood and wood-based forest products to global economy at more than US$400 billion, or about 2 percent of gross domestic product. If the value of non-wood forest products were to be added, this figure would be swelled considerably.
Thus, trees and forests play an unequivocal role in supporting food security. And if they are to continue to serve this and their many other functions, the trees and forests of the world must be managed and managed sustainably.
The complexity of the issue of sustainable forest management is clearly evidenced by the intense and articulated agenda that you have before you. I am not a forester and it would not be appropriate for me to enter into the technical merits of your discussions. However, there is one discussion topic that I would highlight as of particular importance - that dealing with resource mobilization for sustainable forestry. Without sufficient investment in forestry there simply is no way that the world's forests and trees can make their just contribution to sustainable development. And despite the good words spoken at the Earth Summit, the paper you have before you on the topic of resource mobilization indicates that Official Development Assistance to forestry today is only 27 percent of the amount suggested in UNCED's Agenda 21.
WORLD FOOD DAY - "INVESTING IN FOOD SECURITY"
Ladies and Gentlemen,
World Food Day, marking the 52nd anniversary of the founding of FAO, will be celebrated on Thursday, October 16. The theme of World Food Day this year - "Investing in Food Security" - is linked directly to one of the seven commitments made by global leaders at the World Food Summit in November 1996. That commitment states:
"We will provide optimal allocation and use of public and private investments to foster human resources, sustainable food, agricultural, fisheries and forestry systems and rural development, in high and low potential areas."
In an effort to raise awareness and to mobilize resources, on the occasion of this year's World Food Day, FAO has launched TeleFood - the first global television programme which inter alia appeals to the general public to donate funds for food security projects and activities. The potential role of forestry emerges clearly in the TeleFood campaign.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This occasion represents an unusual opportunity in that I have the chance to address the experts and decision makers of a relatively homogenous community. With your indulgence, I would like to spend a few minutes on the work of FAO in helping countries to achieve sustainable forestry development.
THE ROLE OF FAO
Since its establishment in 1945, FAO has evolved into the world's leading international agriculture and forestry organization. Today FAO has 174 member governments, a comprehensive regional structure, a physical presence in more than 100 countries, and an experienced cadre of specialists in agriculture, fisheries, forestry and related disciplines. FAO is in a unique position with respect to the pursuit of sustainable development, particularly given the important need for cross-sectoral linkages.
The FAO Forestry Department is the largest and oldest international forestry unit of its kind with a broad and comprehensive charter that addresses all forests. One message that rang loud and clear from the Earth Summit, and which was repeated at the World Food Summit, is that North and South must come together to address world problems, and this must be done in an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral manner which recognizes that environmental protection and economic development are mutually dependent. In forestry, I think that no organization is better equipped than FAO to do this.
As in all aspects of its work, the primary roles of FAO in forestry are to serve as:
- a neutral policy forum;
- a source of information and advice; and
- a provider of technical assistance.
Each of these offers ample opportunity to advance sustainable forest management.
A neutral policy forum
Policy dialogue is a major role of FAO. Foremost among the means FAO places at the disposal of its member countries is the Committee on Forestry. Heads of forest services and other senior government officials meet at FAO headquarters every two years (along with representatives of other international and nongovernmental organizations) to identify emerging policy and technical issues, to seek solutions and to advise on appropriate action. Six regional forestry commissions complement the work of the Committee on Forestry.
Another example of FAO's work in facilitating policy dialogue and decision making relates to national forestry programmes - efforts by countries to plan the sustainable development of the forestry sector and to co-ordinate implementation locally and with the support of the donor community.
A particularly good example of the work of FAO in support of dialogue at the international level is the role it plays in the organization of these World Forestry Congresses. Although the World Forestry Congresses pre-date FAO, the first having been held in 1926, since its creation FAO has always provided pivotal support to the host country.
A source of information and advice
Sound forestry decision-making requires accurate, up-to-date information and statistics and FAO is a world leader in their collection, dissemination and analysis.
The State of the World's Forests is FAO's biennial policy-relevant summary of data and issues related to the status and trends of forest resources, production and trade, and industrial development.
According to the State of the World's Forests 1997, between 1990 and 1995 there was a net loss of 56.3 million hectares of forests (natural forests plus plantations) worldwide, representing a decrease of 65.1 million hectares in developing countries, partly offset by an increase of 8.8 million hectares in developed countries. While the loss of natural forests in developing countries remains at a high level, there are signs that the rate of loss may be slowing. Natural forests in developing countries decreased by 13.7 million hectares annually over the 1990-95 period, compared with 15.5 million hectares per year over the 1980-90 period.
Technical cooperation
FAO places its technical expertise in forestry directly at the disposal of member countries through its Field Programme, supported by a combination of extrabudgetary resources. In 1996, the Forestry Field Programme comprised a total of 179 projects with an annual expenditure of US$ 60 million. A key feature of the Field Programme is its interrelationship with the normative work undertaken by FAO staff at headquarters and increasingly through our network of regional and subregional offices, thus ensuring two-way exchanges of expertise and experience.
Another important aspect of our work in technical cooperation involves assisting countries in mobilizing investment in forest development and in increasing investment performance.
Thus, by serving as a vibrant policy forum, a source of technical information and by assisting countries in capacity building though technical co-operation, FAO helps countries protect and develop forests while deriving sustainable economic benefits from them.
Although most of you no doubt are aware of the serious financial difficulties facing the UN System, including FAO, I want you to know that I am committed to maintain in FAO the strongest and the most dynamic forestry programme that our member countries can afford.
PARTNERSHIPS
In stressing the commitment of FAO to sustainable forestry as an integral part of overall socioeconomic development, I would not, however, wish to leave you with the impression that FAO can do everything. At FAO we recognize that the challenges which face forestry are more than any Organization can single-handedly address in an adequate manner. We therefore deem it essential to pro-actively seek partners in all our work.
The surge in world interest in forestry in recent years has been paralleled by the interest and involvement of many international organizations in this sector both within and outside the United Nations system. These organizations need to complement rather than compete with each other. Otherwise, we risk simply spreading already scarce resources even thinner. It would be appropriate for this Congress to reaffirm the commitment of the forestry community to a partnership approach to the challenges of sustainable forestry development.
CONCLUSION
Mr Chairman,
I am convinced that the deliberations of this Congress, as its predecessors, can be of major importance in shaping the future of world forestry, spurring policy commitments and practical initiatives that will allow forestry to make its maximum contribution to sustainable development.
I wish you success in your discussions and thank you for your attention.
