FAO news > Forestry http://www.fao.org/news/newsroom-home/en/ News from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization en FAO Newsroom RSS Newsfeed Export http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 2009 FAO FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) Contribution of forests to food security and nutrition needs more attention Governments, civil society and the private sector should ensure and strengthen the contributions of forests, trees and agroforestry systems to food security and nutrition, said participants in the first-ever International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition (13-15 May), organized by FAO. 16 May 2013, Rome - Governments, civil society and the private sector should ensure and strengthen the contributions of forests, trees and agroforestry systems to food security and nutrition, said participants in the first-ever International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition (13-15 May), organized by FAO.

Globally, millions of people depend on forests for their livelihoods - directly through the consumption and sale of foods harvested in forests, and indirectly through forest-related employment and income generation, forest ecosystem services, and forest biodiversity.

Forest foods, such as leaves, seeds, nuts, honey, fruits, mushrooms, insects and other forest animals, have been important components of rural diets for millennia. An estimated 2.6 billion people rely on fuelwood, including charcoal, for cooking their food.

Incentives for small-scale forest producers

The conference participants agreed that small-scale forest producers should be encouraged to strengthen their involvement in agroforestry, tree‐growing, small‐scale wood processing and the provision of ecosystem services.

Microfinance loans to small and medium-sized forest enterprises in many cases have resulted in gains  in family incomes and better health, nutrition and quality of life in rural areas, especially when microloans are given to women.

Improved access to trees and land

The potential economic and environmental gains from secure land tenure are substantial, and tree tenure can also lead to fundamental improvements in land management. The conference stressed the need for improving access rights to trees and land to create significant incentives for farmers to engage in agroforestry, for example, by applying the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, which were recently adopted by the Committee on World Food Security.

Forest ecosystem services foster food production

The conference highlighted the essential role of ecosystem services provided by forests and trees to agricultural production, which include protecting water and soil resources, contributing to soil development processes, including increasing soil fertility, regulating climate and providing habitat for wild pollinators and predators of agricultural pests.

Forested wetlands and mangrove forests help protect coastal areas from flooding, thereby increasing the stability of food production in coastal lands. Forests also play vital roles in riverine and coastal fisheries, which are often particularly important to poor communities. Mountain forests provide vital ecosystem services, particularly "blue" fresh water for downstream forests and dependent communities.

Intersectoral cooperation

According to the conference recommendations, it is essential to ensure that relevant sector policies, including those on agriculture, forests and trees, as well as food security and nutrition, are coordinated across sectors, and that all stakeholders, from forest‐dependent communities to ministries, are actively involved in their development and implementation.

More than 400 participants attended the conference, including governments, civil-society organizations, local communities, donors and international agencies from more than 100 countries. 

Conference participants further encouraged FAO to promote the conference recommendations to the next sessions of the Committee on World Food Security and the Committee on Forestry, as well as to the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) to be held at FAO headquarters in Rome on 19-21 November 2014.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/176221/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/176221/icode/ Wed, 15 May 2013 22:00:00 GMT Forest products critical to fight hunger - including insects Forests, trees on farms and agroforestry are critical in the fight against hunger and should be better integrated into food security and land use policies, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today at the International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition in Rome (13-15 May). Rome, 13 May 2013 – Forests, trees on farms and agroforestry are critical in the fight against hunger and should be better integrated into food security and land use policies, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today at the International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition in Rome (13-15 May).

“Forests contribute to the livelihoods of more than a billion people, including many of the world’s neediest. Forests provide food, fuel for cooking, fodder for animals and income to buy food,” Graziano da Silva said.

“Wild animals and insects are often the main protein source for people in forest areas, while leaves, seeds, mushrooms, honey and fruits provide minerals and vitamins, thus ensuring a nutritious diet.”

“But forests and agroforestry systems are rarely considered in food security and land use policies. Often, rural people do not have secure access rights to forests and trees, putting their food security in danger. The important contributions forests can make to the food security and nutrition of rural people should be better recognized,” Graziano da Silva said.

Frittered critters – wild and farm-raised insects

One major and readily available source of nutritious and protein-rich food that comes from forests are insects, according to a new study FAO launched at the forests for food security and nutrition conference. It is estimated that insects form part of the traditional diets of at least 2 billion people. Insect gathering and farming can offer employment and cash income, for now mostly at the household level but also potentially in industrial operations.

An astounding array of creatures

With about 1 million known species, insects account for more than half of all living organisms classified so far on the planet.

According to FAO’s research, done in partnership with Wageningen University in the Netherlands, more than 1900 insect species are consumed by humans worldwide. Globally, the most consumed insects are: beetles (31 percent); caterpillars (18 percent); bees, wasps and ants (14 percent); and grasshoppers, locusts and crickets (13 percent). Many insects are rich in protein and good fats and high in calcium, iron and zinc. Beef has an iron content of 6 mg per 100 g of dry weight, while the iron content of locusts varies between 8 and 20 mg per 100 g of dry weight, depending on the species and the kind of food they themselves consume.

First steps for the squeamish

“We are not saying that people should be eating bugs,” said Eva Muller, Director of FAO’s Forest Economic Policy and Products Division, which co-authored “Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security”.

“We are saying that insects are just one resource provided by forests, and insects are pretty much untapped for their potential for food, and especially for feed,” Muller explained.

Farming insects sustainably could help avoid over-harvesting, which could affect more prized species. Some species, such as meal worms, are already produced at commercial levels, since they are used in niche markets such as pet food, for zoos and in recreational fishing.

If production were to be further automated, this would eventually bring costs down to a level where industry would profit from substituting fishmeal, for example, with insect meal in livestock feed. The advantage would be an increase in fish supplies available for human consumption.

Bugs get bigger on less

Because they are cold-blooded, insects don’t use energy from feed to maintain body temperature. On average, insects use just 2 kg of feed to produce 1 kilo of insect meat. Cattle, at the other end of the spectrum, require 8 kg of feed to produce 1 kg of beef.

In addition, insects produce a fraction of emissions such as methane, ammonia, climate-warming greenhouse gases and manure, all of which contaminate the environment. In fact, insects can be used to break down waste, assisting in the composting processes that deliver nutrients back to the soil while also diminishing foul odours.

Enabling policies lacking

However, legislation in most industrialized nations forbids the actual feeding of waste materials and slurry or swill to animals, even though this would be the material that insects normally feed on. Further research would be necessary, especially as regards the raising of insects on waste streams. But it is widely understood by scientists that insects are so biologically different from mammals that it is highly unlikely that insect diseases could be transmitted to humans.

Regulations often also bar using insects in food for human consumption, although with a growing number of novel food stores and restaurants cropping up in developed countries, it seems to be largely tolerated.

As with  other types of food, hygienic production, processing and food preparation will be important to avoid the growth of bacteria and other micro-organisms that could affect human health. Food safety standards can be expanded to include insects and insect-based products, and quality control standards along the production chain will be key to creating consumer confidence in feed and food containing insects or derived from insects.

“The private sector is ready to invest in insect farming. We have huge opportunities before us,” said Paul Vantomme, one of the authors of the report. “But until there is clarity in the legal sphere, no major business is going to take the risk to invest funds when the laws remains unclear or actually hinders development of this new sector,” he explained.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/175922/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/175922/icode/ Mon, 13 May 2013 09:00:00 GMT First Global Plan of Action for Forest Genetic Resources adopted by FAO members The first Global Plan for Action for the Conservation, Sustainable Use and Development of Forest Genetic Resources was adopted last week by FAO's Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The Commission has asked FAO to ensure mobilization of adequate financial resources for its implementation, particularly in support of developing countries. 22 April 2013, Rome - The first Global Plan for Action for the Conservation, Sustainable Use and Development of Forest Genetic Resources was adopted last week by FAO's Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

The Commission has asked FAO to develop an implementation strategy for the Plan of Action and to ensure mobilization of adequate financial resources for its implementation, particularly in support of developing countries.

Conserving forest genetic resources is vital for the future

Estimates of the number of tree species worldwide vary from 80 000 to 100 000. Forest ecosystems remain essential refuges for biodiversity, and 12 percent of the world's forests are designated primarily for the conservation of biological diversity.

The contribution of forests and trees to meeting the present and future challenges of food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable development depends on the availability of rich diversity between and within tree species. Genetic diversity is needed to ensure that forest trees can survive, adapt and evolve under changing environmental conditions. It also maintains the vitality of forests and provides resilience to stresses such as pests and disease.

Furthermore, genetic diversity is needed for artificial selection, breeding and domestication programmes for the development of adapted varieties or to strengthen useful traits. In many countries, the prospects for sustainable development in rural areas will be greatly influenced by the state of diversity in forest ecosystems and species.

Priority areas for action

The efforts to sustainably manage forest genetic resources at international and national levels need to rely on solid and coherent information. The country reports on the State of Forest Genetic Resources as developed following FAO guidelines are the main source of comparable information. It is also the basis for the identification of priority areas for action.

The key priority areas for action include improving the availability of and access to information on forest genetic resources; development of the worldwide conservation strategy; sustainable use, development and management of forest genetic resources; establishing and reviewing relevant policies and legal frameworks to integrate major issues related to sustainable management of forest genetic resources, and strengthening institutional and human capacity.

The proposed Global Plan of Action is now set for final approval by the FAO Conference, which will take place in Rome in June 2013.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/174909/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/174909/icode/ Sun, 21 Apr 2013 22:00:00 GMT New e-learning course for safer trade in forest commodities A new free online course is helping to ensure safe international trade by highlighting the important role of phytosanitary measures in cross-border trade of forest products. The course was developed by FAO, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat and other partners and launched during the 8th Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures. 9 April 2013, Rome - A new free online course is helping to ensure safe international trade by highlighting the important role of phytosanitary measures in cross-border trade of forest products.  The course was developed by FAO, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat and other partners.


"The course is a very practical tool for exporters and importers. It provides a checklist of the steps they need to take to comply with phytosanitary standards before entering foreign markets," said FAO Forestry Officer Gillian Allard. "It should also help strengthen communication between forestry officials, national plant protection organizations and the private sector."


The global production value for wood and furniture is worth $900 billion per year, with an export value of $200 billion, according to FAO. It is of global importance that internationally traded wood- and non-wood forest products are free from pests.  


The e-learning course, "Trade in forest commodities and the role of phytosanitary measures," provides information on the geographic distribution of important forest pests and outlines pest-related risks for every type of product, by country.


Pest threats exacerbated by international trade


Pests covered include ash dieback (Chalara fraxinea) which is currently causing massive tree deaths in the United Kingdom and much of Europe; the blue-gum chalcid (Leptocybe invasa), which for the past decade has been spreading throughout Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Near East; and the pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) which was introduced from North America into Asia and Europe.


Control costs for the pinewood nematode in Portugal alone were €24 million between 2001 and 2009. Japan annually spends around €10 million to control this pest, which is suspected to spread via wood packaging materials and untreated roundwood and sawnwood.


Easy to use


The course is presented in clear, simple language and is easy to navigate. It contains five modules covering everything from the possible threats to forest health associated with international trade to what information is needed to safely import/export forest products.


The course is based on the successful Guide to implementation of phytosanitary standards in forestry which was published by FAO's Forestry Department in 2011 with input from the IPPC Secretariat and a range of global experts on forestry and phytosanitary issues. Prior to release it was piloted in Zimbabwe.


The course was launched during the 8th Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), IPPC's governing body, which taking place at FAO headquarters in Rome (8-12 April).   

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/173888/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/173888/icode/ Sun, 07 Apr 2013 22:00:00 GMT FAO calls for ‘Zero Illegal Deforestation’ target On the first International Day of Forests, celebrated by the United Nations today, FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva proposed that countries support a Zero Illegal Deforestation target in the context of the post-2015 debate. 21 March, 2013, Rome - On the first International Day of Forests, celebrated by the United Nations today, FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva proposed that countries support a Zero Illegal Deforestation target in the context of the post-2015 debate.

"In many countries, illegal deforestation is degrading ecosystems, diminishing water availability and limiting the supply of fuelwood - all of which reduce food security, especially for the poor," Graziano da Silva said at a ceremony marking the International Day of Forests. "Stopping illegal deforestation and forest degradation would do much to end hunger, extreme poverty and bring about sustainability."

"This is why, I would like to encourage countries to promote tree planting and to consider a Zero Illegal Deforestation target in the context of the post-2015 debate. These two goals should be closely linked. We can achieve positive results if countries, the international financial institutions, the UN, civil society and the private sector join forces to tackle these issues."

Mediterranean countries respond to forest threats

In parallel, the countries of the Mediterranean are meeting today at the Third Mediterranean Forest Week, taking place in Tlemcen, Algeria (17-21 March), to discuss the state of Mediterranean forests and adopt a Strategic Framework on Mediterranean Forests.

The Mediterranean forests are expected to be hard hit by climate change and are under severe pressure from population growth, according to the first FAO report on The State of Mediterranean Forests, also published today. This results in ever-increasing competition for already scarce food and water resources in the region.

Climate change and population growth

Temperatures in the Mediterranean increased by one degree during the twentieth century while rainfall decreased by 20 percent in certain Mediterranean areas. By the end of this century, it is expected that temperatures will have risen by a further two degrees, which is likely to put some forest species at risk of extinction and result in loss of biodiversity. 

Population growth is expected to rise from around 500 million people currently living in the Mediterranean to 625 million by 2050.  This will put additional pressure on forests as sources of food and water. 

The situation differs across the region. In the northern Mediterranean countries an abandonment of forested lands has led to a dramatic increase in the incidence of forest fires. In the southern Mediterranean, population growth has led to forests being overgrazed or lost to agriculture and urban expansion. In both cases, the result is deforestation and forest degradation, exacerbated by the impact of climate change and economic crises. New collaborative strategies are urgently required to sustainably manage these fragile and vital ecosystems, the report said. In countries like Turkey or Tunisia, where the political will has been strong, forest area has recovered significantly in the past decades.

"The Mediterranean region is undergoing many changes in their societies, lifestyles and climate", said FAO Assistant Director-General for Forests Eduardo Rojas-Briales. "If unmanaged, such changes could lead to negative impacts on livelihoods, biodiversity, wildfire risks, watersheds or desertification. There is an urgent need to regularly assess the state of Mediterranean forests using objective and reliable data and to manage endangered forest resources more sustainably."

New strategies to ensure environmental services

Mediterranean forests are a significant carbon sink. In 2010 they stocked almost 5 billion tons of carbon, which represent 1.6 percent of the global forest carbon stock. They also provide valuable ecosystem services such as water and climate regulation, the provision of wood and non-wood products, and biodiversity conservation. The Mediterranean region is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. There are more than 25,000 plant species in the Mediterranean region, compared with about 6,000 in central and northern Europe.

The report stresses that the value of Mediterranean forests and their vital role in climate change adaptation and mitigation should be recognized at local, regional and national levels.  It calls upon governments and foresters to promote the use of wood and non-wood forest products such as cork for long-term carbon storage, and to reinforce the investment potential of smallholders working in wood and non-wood, forest-based industries (pine nuts, esparto grass, mushrooms, honey, etc.).

The report urges foresters to use the variety of forest genetic resources in their silvicultural practices and promote forest species best able to adapt to changing climate conditions.

On a local scale, foresters should also improve forest planning to manage forest ecosystems with the optimal density of trees and to deal with water scarcity, whereas the large scale activities should include systematic forest fire prevention.

Forest fire prevention

Climate change could  lead to more frequent and more severe fires, the report warned. Between 2006 and 2010, around two million hectares of forests were affected by fires in the Mediterranean region. Without adequate fire prevention measures, including fire hazard reduction and prescribed fires to burn biomass during the winter season to reduce fuel levels, extreme weather conditions could cause catastrophic forest fire events.

The report was developed by more than 20 scientific and technical institutions and non-governmental organizations and nearly 50 authors and other contributors coordinated by FAO and Plan Bleu, the main support centre of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development. FAO intends to publish The State of Mediterranean Forests every five years, providing further opportunities to unify and mobilize partners in the management of Mediterranean forests and other wooded lands.

Based on the key recommendations adopted in the Tlemcen Declaration during its high-level segment, the future implementation of the Strategic Framework on Mediterranean Forests could be a useful regional tool to adapt national forest policies in the face of ongoing global changes which are affecting  the Mediterranean region.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/172595/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/172595/icode/ Wed, 20 Mar 2013 23:00:00 GMT New policies needed to promote agroforestry Millions of people could escape poverty, hunger and environmental degradation if countries put more effort into promoting agroforestry, an integrated approach combining trees with crops or livestock production. A new guide published by FAO provides ten major tracks for policy action as well as examples of best practices and success stories. 5 February, 2013, Rome - Millions of people could escape poverty, hunger and environmental degradation if countries put more effort into promoting agroforestry, an integrated approach combining trees with crop or livestock production, FAO said today.

The agroforestry sector is a significant source both of local commodities such as fuelwood, timber, fruit and fodder for livestock as well as global ones such as coconut, coffee, tea, rubber and gum. Almost half the world's agricultural land has at least 10 percent tree cover, making agroforestry critical to the livelihoods of millions.

Advancing agroforestry

In a new guide published today and aimed at decision-makers, key policy advisors, NGOs and governmental institutions, FAO shows how agroforestry can be integrated into national strategies and how policies can be adjusted to specific conditions. The policy guide provides examples of best practices and success stories, as well as lessons learned from challenges and failures.

"In many countries the potential of agroforestry to enrich farmers, communities and industry has not been fully exploited," said Eduardo Mansur, Director of FAO's Forest Assessment, Management and Conservation Division. "Despite the numerous benefits of agroforestry, the sector is largely hampered by adverse policies, legal constraints and lack of coordination between the sectors to which it contributes, namely, agriculture, forestry, rural development, environment and trade."

New opportunities provided by agroforestry are emerging, for example, within the miombo woodlands of central, eastern and southern Africa, which cover three million square kilometers over 11 countries and  contribute significantly to the livelihoods of some 100 million low-income people. Among these new opportunities is the potential to curb greenhouse gas emissions by slowing forest conversion to farmland and to sequester carbon in trees on farms, as a result of the financial incentives offered by carbon trade and the REDD+ initiative.  Similarly, the expansion of natural regeneration of over five million hectares of dry degraded land in Niger will contribute to mitigating climate change and increase rural income.

Policy action

The guide provides ten major tracks for policy action, including: raising awareness of agroforestry systems to farmers and the global community; reforming unfavourable regulations in forestry, agricultural and rural codes; and clarifying land-use policy regulations.

The latter does not necessarily mean formal land titling. Research has found that some customary forms of tenure provide the security to plant trees, while reducing the formalities and costs of administration.

Providing environmental services

Farmers introducing trees on farms should be rewarded for the ecosystem services they provide to society through financial or other incentives in the form of grants, tax exemptions, cost sharing programmes, microcredits or delivery in kind, especially extension services and infrastructure development, according to the guide.

Long-term credit is also crucial, as benefits to farmers planting trees reach them only after some years. The value of carbon sequestered and other environmental services provided by the trees could even be applied to paying the interest.

In Costa Rica, a national forestry financing fund assigned in 1996 by law to subsidize forestry activities was extended in 2001 and 2005 to agroforestry systems combining crops, trees and cattle. Over the last eight years, more than 10,000 contracts have been signed for agroforestry, which resulted in planting of more than 3.5 million trees on farms.

The guide was developed by FAO in cooperation with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centre (CATIE) and the Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD).

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/169259/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/169259/icode/ Mon, 04 Feb 2013 23:00:00 GMT Forest products industry slowly recovers from recession The global forest products industry is slowly recovering from the economic crisis, with the Asia-Pacific region and particularly China taking the lead. New data published by FAO indicate that on average global production of the main forest products grew by 1 to 4 percent in 2011 compared to 2010. 18 December 2012, Rome - The global forest products industry is slowly recovering from the economic crisis, with the Asia-Pacific region and particularly China taking the lead.

New data published by FAO indicate that on average global production of the main forest products grew by 1 to 4 percent in 2011 compared to 2010 showing that countries are slowly coming out of recession.

Production of wood-based panels and paper in 2011, for example, was above the pre-crisis levels of 2007 and appears to be growing relatively strong in most regions, whereas global production of industrial roundwood despite an increase of 3 percent in 2011 over the figure for 2010 has not so far reached the pre-crisis levels.

In the markets for pulp and paper, overall growth was very modest over the period 2007-2011, with a growth trend of about one percent per year. However, this conceals major differences at the regional level, where pulp and paper production and consumption is increasing significantly in the Asia-Pacific region, but generally declining in Europe and North America.

China strengthens its position in forest products markets

China is increasing its importance as producer of forest products, becoming the world's second largest producer of sawnwood after USA and having overtaken Canada. China has also increased its lead over all other countries as a producer of wood-based panels, paper and paperboard. In 2011, China produced 11 percent of the world's sawnwood, 38 percent of its panels and 26 percent of its paper.

China is also playing a key role in international trade in forest products, being the largest importer of industrial roundwood, sawnwood, pulp and wastepaper and the largest exporter of wood-based panels. China is the fifth largest importer of paper and paperboard, despite a huge increase in domestic production since 2007. In 2011, China's imports of all forest products amounted to $43 billion and account now for 16 percent of the global total.

Changes in production structure in Russia

The structure of production and trade in the Russian Federation, the largest forest country in the world, has also changed in the last five years, with a decline in industrial roundwood exports by 29 million cubic metres or by nearly 60 percent and an increase in sawnwood production by 3 million cubic metres or by 8 percent. Over the same period of time Russia has increased its sawnwood exports by 13 percent.

A high proportion of Russian industrial roundwood exports previously went to China. However, the amount fell from 2007 to 2009 due to log export restrictions in Russia. Nevertheless, Chinese imports of industrial roundwood have recovered and some other major producing countries, including the United States of America, Canada and New Zealand, have expanded exports to China.

FAO online forest products database provides 50 years of data

At present, FAO's forest product statistics database contains 1.2 million entries, covering production and trade of 52 products, 21 product groups and 245 countries and territories. The free online database now contains statistics for the last 50 years. Statistics from Forest Products Yearbooks (from 1947 onwards) can also be downloaded from the site.

"The FAO database provides the world's most comprehensive and internationally comparable statistics for forest products, a crucial tool for making policy and investment decisions," said FAO Assistant Director-General for Forestry Eduardo Rojas-Briales. "FAO relies on data submitted by its member countries to obtain reliable information on major developments and trends in the sector."

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/166938/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/166938/icode/ Mon, 17 Dec 2012 23:00:00 GMT New international forestry award The first-ever Wangari Maathai Award has been given today to a forestry activist from Nepal to recognize his efforts to promote community forest management. The ceremony took place at the Committee on Forestry (COFO), at FAO headquarters in Rome. 27 September 2012, Rome - The first-ever Wangari Maathai Award has been given today to a forestry activist from Nepal to recognize his efforts to promote community forest management.  The ceremony took place at the Committee on Forestry (COFO), at FAO headquarters in Rome. 

The Wangari Maathai Awards were established by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), of which FAO is an active member, to recognize the efforts to improve and sustain forests and to honour the memory of Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist and the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.

The top prize was awarded to dedicated activist Narayan Kaji Shrestha from Nepal for his outstanding contribution in promoting community forest issues in Nepal for several decades at international forestry events.

"Narayan Kaji Shrestha's work captures the spirit of Wangari Maathai," said FAO Assistant Director-General for Forestry, Eduardo Rojas-Briales. "His vision, courage, commitment, intelligence and praxis is recognized though this award."

Narayan Kaji Shrestha guided early attempts to create a more participatory approach to community decision-making, reaching out to women and low-caste villagers and initiating the country's first community forestry group. More than one-quarter of Nepal's forests are now protected by community forestry groups. The prize includes a cash award of $20,000.

This year the jury has decided to give a special Honourable Mention prize of $2,000 to Kurshida Begum of Bangladesh for her exceptional efforts in helping women of her village form a community patrol group alongside forest department guards to protect the forests and biodiversity of the Tenkaf Wildlife Sanctuary from illegal logging and poaching.

The Awards ceremony was attended by Rosemary Wanjiru Maina, niece of Wangari Maathai, and Professor Stephen Kiama Gitahi of the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies.

The Collaborative Partnership on Forests is comprised of 14 international organizations working together to promote forest management, conservation and sustainable development.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/158734/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/158734/icode/ Thu, 27 Sep 2012 01:00:00 GMT Innovations and investments urged to modernize Russian forest sector The forest sector in the Russian Federation needs to be modernized using innovations and breakthrough technologies to maximize its potential as a global mitigator of climate change and an important source of timber, according to a new study presented today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of the Russian Federation. 25 September 2012, Rome - The forest sector in the Russian Federation needs to be modernized using innovations and breakthrough technologies to maximize its potential as a global mitigator of climate change and an important source of timber, according to a new study presented today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of the Russian Federation.

Sprawling from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, Russia has more than a fifth of the world's forests, which makes it the largest forest country in the world. However, the considerable potential of Russian forests is underutilized and Russia's share of the global trade in forest products is less than four percent. Lack of governance, outdated equipment and underfinancing are among major factors that impede the development of the Russian forest sector, according to the report.

The Russian Forest Sector Outlook Study to 2030 urges immediate action on modernizing the Russian forest sector, increasing its investment attractiveness, stimulating domestic demand for forest products such as wooden housing and furniture, addressing the illegal logging issues and reforming forest public institutions and legislation.

"The study broadens our knowledge about the huge opportunities and possible development potential of the Russian Federation's forest sector," said FAO Assistant Director-General for Forestry Eduardo Rojas-Briales. "Modernizing Russia's forests will have a positive impact on social, economic and environmental conditions in the Russian Federation and will contribute to the development of world forestry, forest industry, wood trade and the environment."

Increased investment required

According to the study, by 2030 the forest area in the Russian Federation will increase by almost 1.5 percent from 882 million hectares in 2010 to 895 million hectares, this is an annual increase of 660 000 hectares. This increase will occur mainly due to the artificial and natural reforestation of abandoned agricultural lands and as a result of forest expansion on non-forested lands and tundra.

The study estimates that if the investment flow in the forest sector increases by five times from its current level of approximately $2 billion to about $10 billion per year, roundwood production in the Russian Federation will double by 2030 from 143 million cubic metres in 2010 to over 300 million cubic metres. Under such favourable conditions, pulp and paper production should grow by 2030 from 7.7 million tonnes in 2010 to 25.5 million tonnes, the report says. Radical improvement in the investment climate in Russia would be necessary to achieve these goals.

Global focus on climate change impacts in Russia

Forests in the Russian Federation play a crucial role in  stabilizing the globe's climate. For example, the country provided more than 90 percent of the carbon sink of the world's boreal forests in 2000-2007. Estimates of the average carbon sink in Russian forests during the past 10 years are between 500 and 700 million tonnes per year.

There is a serious risk, however, that the carbon emissions from the permafrost lands of Russia are likely to exceed current emissions from tropical deforestation by several times, if global warming becomes a reality.

This is a problem of global concern, not yet recognized by the international community, the report said. It recommends further analysis of the problem of permafrost processes at the international level and its inclusion in the ongoing negotiation process on climate change.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/157942/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/157942/icode/ Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:00:00 GMT Forests vital resource in sustainable development FAO Director-General Jose'Graziano da Silva underlines the importance of forestry in overall sustainable at the opening of FAO's Committee on Forestry. The nexus between forestry and sustainable development was one of the cross-cutting issues considered at the Rio+20 Conference in June. 24 September 2012, Rome – FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva  today stressed the important role of forestry in sustainable development when he opened a five-day meeting of FAO’s Committee on Forestry (COFO).

He noted that the nexus between forestry and sustainable development was  one of the cross-cutting issues considered at the Rio+20 Conference in June.

The 2012 Edition of FAO’s flagship publication the State of the World’s Forests is accordingly devoted to the role of forests in sustainable development, Graziano da Silva said.

Forests, which cover at least 31 percent of the planet, play a fundamental role in  global and national economies, and in FAO’s mandate to reduce hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty, he said.

"The success of FAO’s work in improving lives will depend very much on how we balance the use and preservation of natural resources,” he stressed. “This includes forests, which play an important role in environmental factors like carbon sequestration, soil and water quality preservation and conserving biodiversity.”

Subsistence and survival cooperation

Some 350 million of the world’s poorest people , including 60 million indigenous people, depend on forests for their daily subsistence and long-term survival.

But in many countries “deforestation, forest degradation and inadequate agricultural practices are contributing to significant losses of soil each year”, he noted.

“Preserving our soil is necessary to sustain life on the planet and yet the slow process of desertification has not captured as much attention as it merits, ” he said.

Sustainable agriculture and forestry can reverse soil degradation and help to combat desertification. “We need to make sure that soil protection and the fight against desertification are placed high on the international agenda,” he declared.

“We will need to work together with governments, civil society and the private sector to maximize the role that forests and wooded land will play in food security in the future,” he added.  “It will take a collective effort, including of all our partners within and beyond the UN system, to manage the world’s forests in a sustainable way.”

In his statement, the Director-General also mentioned the possibility of ensuring a more regular monitoring of forest cover, an idea that was also discussed with ministers present at the opening ceremony.

Afforestation in Bangladesh

As one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, Bangladesh has launched a national plan to protect the country from the adverse effects of climate change and ensure its continued economic development, said Environment and Forests Minister Mohammed Hassan Mahmoud, the keynote  speaker at the meeting. The plan is to create 20 percent forest cover in the country by 2021 through afforestation in general and coastal afforestation in particular, he added.

Brazil’s Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said a well-developed forest-based economy must be a priority in Brazil, which has the world’s largest tropical forest covering over 60 percent of its territory. Efforts to combat deforestation in the country are starting to yield good results and activities on the ground have helped to reduce deforestation in the legally-defined Brazilian Amazon area by almost 77 percent between 2004 and 2011, she said.

“Public-private partnerships are at the core of a new policy for managing of Brazilian public forests representing more than 300 million hectares,” she noted.  At the Rio+20 Conference, the international community had agreed that the challenges of development should be addressed through the paradigm of sustainability in its economic, social and environmental, aspects, she added.

Alongside the Ministers of Brazil, Bangladesh and South Africa, other delegates present on the podium at COFO’s inaugural session included Sven Alkalaj, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

World Forestry Congress Agreement

Graziano da Silva and Pieter Willem Mulder, South African Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Water, later signed a Cooperation Agreement allowing FAO and South Africa to begin preparations for the 14th World Forestry Congress to be held in September 2015 in Durban.

"By 2015 we expect that the Congress will present an opportunity for the global forestry community to raise awareness and analysis of key issues that will face the sector then. We will be pleased if the outcome will include new ways to address technical, scientific and policy actions within the forestry sector, ” Mulder said. 

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/157889/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/157889/icode/ Sun, 23 Sep 2012 22:00:00 GMT Ten Central African countries agree to improve forest monitoring A new regional initiative will help ten Central African countries to set up advanced national forest monitoring systems, FAO announced today. The forestry project will be managed jointly by the Central Africa Forests Commission (COMIFAC) and FAO in close collaboration with the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE). 26 July 2012, Rome - A new regional initiative will help ten Central African countries to set up advanced national forest monitoring systems, FAO announced today. The ten countries are part of the Congo Basin and include Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda and São Tomé and Principe.

The forestry project will be managed jointly by the Central Africa Forests Commission (COMIFAC)  and FAO in close collaboration with the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research  (INPE). The Congo Basin Forests Fund, launched by the Governments of Norway and the United Kingdom through the African Development Bank is funding the initiative with €6.1 million.

The forests of Africa's Congo Basin,  approximately 200 million hectares, are one of the world's largest primary rainforests, second only to the Amazon. The region's forests support the livelihoods of some 60 million people.

According to data provided by COMIFAC, the gross deforestation annual rate in Congo Basin was 0.13 percent between 1990 and 2000 and it doubled in the period of 2000-2005.

Although this deforestation rate is relatively low, the main threats to these forests include land-use change, unsustainable logging and mining. The impact of the direct threats, the rates of forest cover change and the subsequent emissions from deforestation and forest degradation activities remain poorly understood partly due to the lack of up-to- date and accurate information on the current state of forests in the region.

"Learning from Brazil, the national forest monitoring system is the key element to pave the road for substantive international support to protect forests and promote sustainable forest management," said Eduardo Rojas, Assistant Director-General of the FAO Forestry Department.

"This project will reinforce regional capacity and allow COMIFAC countries to strengthen their cooperation in the forestry sector, in particular with regards to their capacities to provide transparent and reliable data and information on forests. All COMIFAC countries are currently implementing forest conservation policies, and the national forest monitoring systems that will be supported through this project will allow countries to report on their results," said Raymond Mbitikon, Executive Secretary of COMIFAC.

Improving national monitoring capacity

FAO will provide technical support to the countries enabling them to use remote sensing technologies to estimate forest cover and forest cover changes as well as to estimate the amount of carbon stocks contained in forests in the region. The project will assist countries in preparing funding proposals for creating reliable and sustainable forest monitoring systems for each country, as part of the REDD+ initiative (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries). It will also help strengthen regional cooperation and experience sharing.

REDD seeks to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/153735/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/153735/icode/ Wed, 25 Jul 2012 22:00:00 GMT Putting forests at the heart of a new, greener economy The world's forests have a major role to play in the transition to a new, greener economy, a theme being discussed at the Rio+20 Conference. But to spark that shift, governments must enact programs and policies aimed at both unlocking the potential of forests and ensuring that they are sustainably managed, according to a new FAO report presented in Rio. 18 June 2012, Rome/Rio de Janeiro - The world's forests have a major role to play in the transition to a new, greener economy, a theme being discussed at the Rio+20 Conference.  But to spark that shift, governments must enact programs and policies aimed at both unlocking the potential of forests and ensuring that they are sustainably managed, FAO said today.

In a new report, The State of the World's Forests 2012 (SOFO 2012), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization makes the case that better and more sustainable use of forestry resources can make a significant contribution to meeting many of the core challenges being discussed in Rio, including reducing poverty and hunger, minimizing the impacts of climate change, and creating alternative and more sustainable sources of bio-products and bio-energy for human use.

The report will be presented today during an event at the Rio+20 Conference organized by FAO and its partners, Brazilian Pulp and Paper Association (Bracelpa) and the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA).

"Forests and trees on farms are a direct source of food, energy, and cash income for more than a billion of the world's poorest people," said FAO Assistant Director-General for Forestry Eduardo Rojas-Briales. "At the same time, forests trap carbon and mitigate climate change, maintain water and soil health, and prevent desertification. The sustainable management of forests offers multiple benefits -- with the right programs and policies, the sector can lead the way towards more sustainable, greener economies."

"Brazil has successful examples of forest plantation management, and its good practices can be disseminated to other developing countries in order to promote the green economy and strengthen the synergies between sustainable development and climate change mitigation. The Rio+20 discussions must be the starting point to strengthen the balance of the triple bottom line. Brazil's pulp and paper industry is prepared to promote innovation in biotechnology and sequestration of forest carbon that can support a sustainable expansion of triple bottom line activities. This means social inclusion and protection of the environment", added Elizabeth de Carvalhaes, Bracelpa's executive president.

"The global forest products industry is at the forefront of forest conservation efforts," said Donna Harman, President of ICFPA. "Through sustainable forest management practices, our industry not only produces a sustained annual yield of timber, but also ensures its abundance for future generations. The global forest products industry also contributes to livelihoods and human well-being by employing millions of people around the world and by producing products that provide shelter and increase literacy. The emerging bio-economy can only increase the important role of this industry."

Supporting livelihoods

Investments in wood-based enterprises can generate jobs, create assets and help revitalize the lives of millions of people in rural areas, according to FAO's new report.

Some 350 million of the world's poorest people, including 60 million indigenous people, depend on forests for their daily subsistence and long-term survival, it notes. "On-farm forestry," also known as agroforestry, is in some cases contributing up to 40 percent of farm income via harvesting of wood, fruits, oils and medicines.

Despite sometimes having a poor reputation due to concerns over deforestation, wood products -- if sourced from well-run forestry operations -- can store carbon and are easily recycled. Forest-based industries around the world are innovating competitive new products and processes to substitute non-renewable materials, and by doing so are opening pathways towards low-carbon bio-economies. "The promotion of a sustainable forest-based industry offers a way to improve rural economies while meeting sustainability goals," says SOFO 2012.

But while the report indicates that the value of forest products exports more than doubled between 2002 to 2010 in certain areas, it also says that more attention needs to be paid to promoting the creation of small and medium scale forest-based enterprises that benefit local communities.

Renewable energy

FAO's report also argues that sustainable forestry offers a renewable, alternative source of energy.

Burning wood may be the oldest method by which humans acquire energy, but it is anything but obsolete," said Rojas-Briales. Today, wood energy is still the dominant source of energy for over one third of the world's population - in particular for the poor, he noted. "And as the search for renewable energy sources intensifies, we must not overlook the considerable opportunities for forest biomass-based energy to emerge as a cleaner and greener alternative," he said.

According to SOFO 2012 deriving energy from wood, can offer a climate-neutral and socially equitable solution, provided wood is harvested from sustainably managed forests, burned using appropriate technologies, and undertaken in combination with reforestation and sustainable forest management programs.

Says the report: "Increasing the use of renewable energy, including wood-based fuels, relative to fossil fuels may be one of the most important components of a global transition to a low carbon economies. Sustainable energy production from wood can create local employment and can be used to redirect expenditures from imported fossil fuels to investments in domestic sources of energy, with employment and income benefits."

However, FAO also cautions that doing so will require careful attention to existing patterns of wood energy dependence, the use of sustainable forest management practices in the harvesting and planting of trees, and the adoption of efficient technologies for converting biomass into heat and cogeneration (heat/electricity).

Carbon capture to mitigate climate change

By both reducing deforestation and restoring lost forests on a large scale, significant amounts of carbon can be removed from the atmosphere, reducing the severity and impacts of climate change. At the same time, such projects would also support rural livelihoods and provide renewable raw materials for sustainable building using more wood and bamboo as well as as bio-energy, indicates SOFO 2012. Nearly 2 billion hectares of land area have been identified through the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration as being suitable for restoration.

And afforestation provides the additional benefit of helping combat desertification and soil degradation.

Supporting policies

Putting forests at the heart of a new, green economy will require, first and foremost, policies and programmes that give entrepreneurs incentives to pursue the sustainable utilization of forest resources. This includes "the removal of perverse incentives that result in deforestation and degradation and conversion of forests to other uses as well as those promoting the use of non renewable raw materials like steel, concrete, plastics or fossil energies that compete with wood and bamboo," SOFO 2012 says.

Creating appropriate revenue streams for forest ecosystem services like carbon sequestration can also encourage forest landholders and managers to protect and restore forests.  Open and decentralized systems of management including industrial transformation and energy supply can help promote efficiency and transparency and offer a diversified range of opportunities for local entrepreneurs.]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/149592/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/149592/icode/ Sun, 17 Jun 2012 23:00:00 GMT FAO helps Tanzania monitor carbon stocks FAO is helping scientists and policymakers in Tanzania to evaluate how much carbon is stored in forests and forests soils, which will enable them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A new FAO soil survey project was presented today at the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Bonn, Germany. 16 May, 2012, Rome - FAO is helping scientists and policymakers in Tanzania evaluate how much carbon is stored in forests and forests soils, which will enable them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Forest soils contain huge carbon stocks. Deforestation, forest degradation, and changes in forest management practices can all release carbon from soil into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. For these reasons reliable estimates of soil carbon stocks and stock changes are important.

The FAO soil survey project for Tanzania was presented today at the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Bonn, Germany.

"The forest soil survey, the first of its kind in Tanzania, was designed to provide unbiased estimates of the soil carbon stock in the country," said FAO Forestry Officer Anssi Pekkarinen. "It will also help experts to further develop a methodology for assessing changes in carbon stocks. The project will allow the government to make informed decisions which will result in an increase rather than a loss of carbon stocks."

Modelling method

Implemented by the Tanzanian government and FAO and funded by Tanzania and Finland, the $5.6 million project involves 16 field teams which have been working for two years, collecting field data from 3,400 sites in Tanzania. Soil sampling is being carried on 25 percent of these sites.

The soil samples are being analyzed in a local laboratory by Tanzanian scientists.

The results of the sampling will be used in computer modelling which allows scientists to estimate changes in soil carbon stocks over time. Dynamic modelling is a less expensive and laborious approach to monitoring changes in soil carbon stocks than repeated soil surveys conducted every 5 to 10 years.

"Soil carbon models are widely available and currently used for soil carbon monitoring and greenhouse gas reporting in Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan. Tanzanian soil survey data enable testing and calibration of dynamic soil carbon models, which can be used for soil carbon monitoring also in developing countries," said Raisa Mäkipää, a scientist from the Finnish Forest Research Institute involved in the project.

Benefits  from increasing carbon stocks

More than a third of Tanzania is forested, but almost one percent of the country's forest is lost each year.

It is estimated that deforestation and degradation in developing countries account for nearly 20 percent of global carbon emissions. This is why the UN is calling for countries to take action under its Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation initiative (REDD).

If these monitoring systems demonstrate an increase in the carbon stocks, it will allow countries to benefit from the REDD initiative

"We hope that the project will serve as an example to other developing countries and encourage them to apply similar approaches to monitor their carbon stocks," Pekkarinen said.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/142972/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/142972/icode/ Tue, 15 May 2012 22:00:00 GMT Countries adopt global guidelines on tenure of land, forests, fisheries In a landmark decision the Committee on World Food Security today endorsed a set of far-reaching global guidelines aimed at helping governments safeguard the rights of people to own or access land, forests and fisheries. The new Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security outline principles and practices that governments can refer to when making laws and administering land, fisheries and forests rights. 11 May 2012, Rome - In a landmark decision the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) today endorsed a set of far-reaching global guidelines aimed at helping governments safeguard the rights of people to own or access land, forests and fisheries.

The new Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security outline principles and practices that governments can refer to when making laws and administering land, fisheries and forests rights.

The guidelines are based on an inclusive consultation process started by FAO in 2009 and then finalized through CFS-led intergovernmental negotiations that included participation of government officials, civil society organizations, private sector representatives, international organizations and academics.

The aim of the guidelines: to promote food security and sustainable development by improving secure access to land, fisheries and forests and protecting the rights of millions of often very poor people.

Historic and far-reaching

"Giving poor and vulnerable people secure and equitable rights to access land and other natural resources is a key condition in the fight against hunger and poverty. It is a historic breakthrough that countries have agreed on these first-ever global land tenure guidelines.  We now have a shared vision. It's a starting point that will help improve the often dire situation of the hungry and poor," said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.

Much public debate has focused on the so-called ‘land-grabbing' phenomenon, which is one of the issues that are dealt with in these guidelines.

While the guidelines acknowledge that responsible investments by the public and private sectors are essential for improving food security, they also recommend that safeguards be put in place to protect tenure rights of local people from risks that could arise from large-scale land acquisitions, and also to protect human rights, livelihoods, food security and the environment.

Investment models exist that do not result in the large-scale acquisition of land, and these alternative models should be promoted. Investments should also promote policy objectives such as boosting local food security and promoting food security, poverty eradication and job creation, and "provide benefits to the country and its people, including the poor and most vulnerable."

The guidelines address a wide range of other issues as well, however, including:

· Recognition and protection of legitimate tenure rights, even under informal systems
· Best practices for registration and transfer of tenure rights
· Making sure that tenure administrative systems are accessible and affordable
· Managing expropriations and restitution of land to people who were forcibly evicted in the past
· Rights of indigenous communities
· Ensuring that investment in agricultural lands occurs responsibly and transparently
· Mechanisms for resolving disputes over tenure rights
· Dealing with the expansion of cities into rural areas

"Some of the issues addressed by the Voluntary Guidelines go back centuries even. The fact that these guidelines tackle those entrenched issues as well as newer concerns is what makes them so significant," said Graziano da Silva

Next steps

"These guidelines are the product of a three year, inclusive process of consultations and negotiations that brought together many stakeholders and ensured that a wide range of voices were heard," said Yaya Olaniran, current CFS Chair. "The result is that we have a meaningful series of principles and practices that everybody — countries, the private sector, farmers, civil society — can stand behind and support, and that will work out in the real world."

It is now up to the countries who endorsed the guidelines to put them into practice on the ground, according to Olaniran. "These changes won't happen overnight. But we also know. as a result of the extensive consultations by FAO and the CFS-led negotiation process, that there is a lot of buy-in and support for the guidelines. The CFS endorsement lends them legitimacy and strength, and all the countries involved are ready to take them on board," he said.

Speaking on behalf of civil society organizations involved in the guidelines process, Ángel Strapazzón, of Movimiento Campesino Indígena-Vía Campesina Argentina said: "We commend the process that was adopted for developing the guidelines, which provided the opportunity for civil society and representatives of small-scale food producers to participate at all stages, to draw attention to the real life issues and make concrete proposals."

"We welcome the Guidelines, but with awareness that they fall short in some areas that are key to the livelihoods of small-scale food producers. Despite this, we call on governments and intergovernmental agencies to implement them and urgently improve governance of tenure for food security," he added.

Luc Maene, Chairman of the International Agri-Food Network, representing the private sector, said:  "Land tenure is fundamental to food security, and it is fitting that the newly-reformed Committee on Food Security leads this process. The guidelines set out important key elements to make land tenure function.  In many places, land tenure systems are effectively non-existent.  To us in the private sector and to our farmer partners, it is important that there should be effective local administration of land registries without corruption.  Fair, transparent rules benefit everyone, ensuring women get equal access to land and furthering responsible investment throughout the agri-food chain."

FAO's Graziano da Silva added that the Organization stands ready to provide support and assistance to countries in adapting and implementing the guidelines.

As done in the past in the case of other, similar agreements — for example the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries — FAO will now develop a series of technical handbooks designed to help countries adapt the guidelines to their local contexts and put them into play. The Organization will also provide targeted technical assistance to governments towards that same end.

For its part, the CFS will next take a focused look at the issue of responsible agricultural investments in general. The body is currently planning a yearlong consultative process, to start in October, that could culminate in set of recommended principles for responsible investment in agriculture later in 2013.

Made up of governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations, agricultural research centres, financial institutions, private sector groups and philanthropic foundations, CFS is the leading global platform for discussions on food security issues and serves as a mechanism for consensus-building at the international level and policy promotion at the national level.]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/142587/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/142587/icode/ Fri, 11 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT Natural teak forests decline, while planted teak forests increase The results of a new FAO global Teak Resources and Market Assessment conducted in 60 tropical countries show that natural teak forests are declining worldwide and that the quality of natural grown teak wood is deteriorating. On the other hand, the survey also reveals that planted teak forests are increasing in area and - when good management practices are applied - producing high quality wood. 26 March, 2012, Rome - The results of a new FAO global Teak Resources and Market Assessment conducted in 60 tropical countries show that natural teak forests are declining worldwide and that the quality of natural grown teak wood is deteriorating. On the other hand, today's survey also reveals that planted teak forests are increasing in area and — when good management practices are applied — producing high quality wood.

Natural teak forests in decline

Natural teak forests grow in only four countries in the world: India, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. In 2010 their combined area of natural teak forest was estimated at about 29 million hectares (ha), almost half of it growing in Myanmar. Myanmar is the only country that currently produces quality teak from natural forests — India, Lao PDR and Thailand have bans on logging in natural forests or on log exports in place.

According to the survey, natural teak forests declined in area by 385,000 ha globally, or by 1.3 percent, between 1992 and 2010. Substantial declines have been particularly notable in Laos (down by 68,500 ha), India (down 2.1 million ha), and Myanmar (down 1.1 million ha). In Thailand, a complete ban on logging in natural forests introduced in 1989 may have contributed to the recovery of natural teak forests, which are reported to have increased by 2.9 million ha, according to FAO's report.

"Although there is no better up-to-date information on teak resources available at the moment, data provided by the survey must be handled with care," said Walter Kollert, FAO Forestry Officer.  "It is difficult to obtain precise figures on teak forest loss, because teak trees do not grow in pure stands in nature. Natural teak forests are mixed deciduous or tropical evergreen forests which have a share of teak of between 4 and 35 percent."

Planted teak  - a globally emerging forest resource

Teak is one of the most important and valuable hardwoods in the world, and planted teak forests have attracted large private sector investments in Africa, Asia and Latin America. As a result, the planted teak area has increased in Africa (Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania), Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama), South America (Ecuador, Brazil) and Asia (India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos).

"Although the time until trees reach harvestable dimensions is comparatively long and on average takes between 20 and 80 years, teak planting serves local communities as a savings account and in the long run helps smallholders improve their livelihoods and the livelihoods of their children," added Kollert.

Genetic resources conservation is needed

In the future it can be expected that sustained production of teak logs from natural forests will be further limited due to continuing deforestation and competition for environmental services, according to Kollert. "Supply trend points to a continuing decline in the volume and quality of natural teak, which results in progressive loss of genetic resources.  This is why it is essential in the near future to plan, organize and implement a programme for the genetic conservation of native teak resources in the four countries with natural teak forests," he stressed.

Global teak market trends


Asia holds more than 90 percent of the world's teak resources, and India alone manages 38 percent of the world's planted teak forests. The major teak trade flows worldwide are directed towards India, while its own considerable teak production is processed within the country. Eleven out of fourteen reporting countries named India as their number one importer, absorbing 70 to 100 percent of global teak exports, including shipments of plantation logs and sawn timber from Africa and Latin America. Myanmar, India and Indonesia are expected to maintain their market position on premium quality teak though this market is limited by supply.  ]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/129569/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/129569/icode/ Sun, 25 Mar 2012 22:00:00 GMT Book on Amazon plants puts science in the hands of people A new FAO study released today shows how plants and fruits from Amazonian forests can be used to improve people’s diets and livelihoods. The book — which is written in easy-to-grasp, accessible language — seeks to bring knowledge out of the academy and into the hands of people. It was unveiled today during a ceremony at FAO marking the close of the International Year of Forests. 20 December 2011, Rome - A new FAO study released today shows how plants and fruits from Amazonian forests can be used to improve people's diets and livelihoods. The book — which is written in easy-to-grasp, accessible language — seeks to take science out of the ivory tower and put it to work on the ground, in the hands of people.

Fruit Trees and Useful Plants in Amazonian Life was co-produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and People and Plants International. It was unveiled today during a ceremony at FAO marking the close of the International Year of Forests.

"During the International Year of Forests we have managed to highlight close ties between people and forests, as well as the numerous benefits that forests provide if they are managed by local communities in a sustainable way," said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, FAO's Assistant Director-General for Forestry.

"Some 80 percent of people living in the developing world rely on non-wood forest products such as fruits and medicinal plants for their nutritional and health needs. This new book provides comprehensive information on Amazon fruits and plants, and is a perfect example of how to make our knowledge accessible for poor people to help them maximize the benefits from forest products and services and improve their livelihoods. While the International Year of Forests is almost over, our efforts on promoting sustainable forest management and the importance of involving forest communities in development initiatives will continue," added Rojas-Briales.

Unique approach

The layout of FAO's new book aims at allowing readers lacking in formal education to extract knowledge using pictures and numbers. Twenty five percent of people in developing countries are functionally illiterate — in rural areas this figure can reach close to 40 percent.

"Some 90 Brazilian and international researchers who were willing to present their research to rural villagers in alternative formats — including jokes, recipes and pictures — collaborated in the production of this book," said Tina Etherington, who managed the publication project for FAO's Forestry Department. "And a number of farmers, midwives, hunters and musicians contributed valuable insights and experience as well. The book is of interest to a worldwide audience because of its truly innovative way of presenting science and how those techniques can be transferred to other areas in the world."

Patricia Shanley, Senior Research Associate at CIFOR and lead editor of the publication, said: "This is an unusual book. Written by and for semi-literate rural villagers, it weaves together a tapestry of voices about the myriad values forests contain."

"The book enables nutritional data and ecology to coexist alongside music and folklore making the forest and its inhabitants come alive," she added.

Marina Silva, former Minister of the Environment of Brazil, who wrote the preface to the book, noted: "This book is an extraordinary poem to Amazonia".

Forests and food at risk

The Amazon is the largest contiguous tropical forest remaining in the world, with 25 million people living in the Brazilian Amazon alone. However, deforestation, fire and climate change could destabilize the region and result in the forest shrinking to one third of its size in 65 years, according to today's publication.

In addition to the environmental services they provide, forests like the Amazon are also a rich nutritional storehouse. Fruits provide essential nutrients, minerals and anti-oxidants that keep the body strong and resistant to disease. Buriti palm fruit, for example, contains the highest known levels of vitamin A of any plant in the world. And açaí fruit is being hailed as a "superfood" for its high antioxidant and omega fatty acid content. Brazil nuts are rich in a complete protein similar to the protein content of cow's milk, which is why they are known as the "meat" of the plant kingdom, said the publication.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/117368/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/117368/icode/ Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:00:00 GMT Mountain forests under threat The integrity and resilience of mountain forests is under threat from increasing temperatures and wildfires, population growth and food and fuel insecurity, warns FAO in its new publication "Mountain Forests in a Changing World" released today in the lead up to the UN International Mountain Day on 11 December. 9 December 2011, Rome - The integrity and resilience of mountain forests is under threat from increasing temperatures and wildfires, population growth and food and fuel insecurity, warns a new FAO publication released today.

Population pressures and the expansion of intensive agriculture have forced smallholder farmers to move higher towards marginal areas and steep slopes, sparking a loss of forests, warns Mountain Forests in a Changing World. It also notes that climate change is likely to facilitate more rapid expansion by pests and disease-causing organisms which may cause additional damage to mountain forests.

The report, jointly produced by the FAO-hosted Mountain Partnership Secretariat and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, was published in the lead up to the UN International Mountain Day on 11 December.

"Mountain forests protect local communities against natural disasters and they safeguard the natural resources and environmental services that billions of people rely on for their well-being and livelihoods," said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, FAO's Assistant Director General for Forestry. "Mountain forests are being affected by many global challenges, such as climate change, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity and desertification, but they also offer significant opportunities for solutions. Sustainable development of mountain forests requires and deserves a prominent place on the international agenda."

Source of fresh water

Mountains provide 60 percent of the world's freshwater resources despite covering only 12 percent of the Earth's surface, FAO's report says.  Mountain forests strongly influence both the quantity and quality of water supplies to mountain and lowland communities and industries.  When forests are removed from mountains and land is left unprotected, runoff and soil erosion increase, with water quality deteriorating in streams and rivers as a consequence.

Many cities depend heavily on mountain water — for example, 95 percent of Vienna's water is sourced from the mountain forests of Northern Alps, while 40 percent of the water for Tegucigalpa, Honduras, comes from the cloud forests of La Tigra National Park. In Kenya, water from Mount Kenya generates 97 percent of that country's hydroelectric power. In Asia, the Tibetan plateau acts as a water tower for around 3 billion people.

Integration in climate change policies

Mountain forests store a vast quantity of carbon and have an important role to play in climate change policies, FAO's report notes. The loss of mountain forests would release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, it says.

National policymakers should take into account the importance of protecting and conserving mountain forests and integrate these concerns into policies aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate change.

At the global level, the key services provided by mountain forests should be better reflected in international negotiations and meetings on climate change, water quality and environmental issues, in particular in light of the research findings on pollution and glacier melting presented at the Mountain Day held during the UNFCCC COP17 climate change conference in Durban, South Africa.

Empowerment of mountain people

Mountain people — who are among the world's poorest and hungriest — are key to maintaining mountain ecosystems, adds FAO's report. They should have a say in the management of the local forestry resources upon which they depend, and share the benefits from forest use and conservation.

Together with the report on mountain forests, FAO also released two more publications focusing on the important role of mountain ecosystems for improving rural livelihoods and poverty alleviation: Highlands and Drylands: Mountains, a Source of Resilience in Arid Regions, and Why Invest in Sustainable Mountain Development?

A ceremony will be held at FAO headquarters on 12 December to commemorate International Mountain Day 2011. This year, the focus of the Day is "Mountain forests - roots to our future."

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/116593/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/116593/icode/ Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:00:00 GMT Satellite technology yields new forest loss estimates A new, satellite-based survey released by FAO provides a more accurate picture of changes in the world's forests, showing forest land use declined between 1990 and 2005. The survey used high-resolution satellite imagery provided by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the United States Geological Survey. 30 November 2011, Rome - A new, satellite-based survey released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provides a more accurate picture of changes in the world's forests, showing forest land use declined between 1990 and 2005.

The findings of a global remote sensing survey show the world's total forest area in 2005 was 3.69 billion hectares, or 30 percent of the global land area. 
 

The new findings suggest that the rate of world deforestation averaged 14.5 million hectares per year between 1990 and 2005, which is consistent with previous estimates. Deforestation largely occurred in the tropics, likely attributable to the conversion of tropical forests to agricultural land.


On the other hand, the survey shows that worldwide, the net loss in forest area between 1990 and 2005 was not as great as previously believed, since gains in forest areas are larger than previously estimated.

Net loss — in which losses of forest cover are partially offset by afforestation or natural expansion — totalled 72.9 million hectares, or 32 percent less than the previous figure of 107.4 million hectares, according to the survey. In other words, the planet lost an average of 4.9 million hectares of forest per year, or nearly 10 hectares of forest per minute over the 15-year period.

The new data also show that the net loss of forests increased  from 4.1 million hectares per year between 1990 and 2000 to 6.4 million hectares between 2000 and 2005.

The figures are based on the most comprehensive use yet of high-resolution satellite data to provide a sample of forests worldwide. They differ from previous FAO findings in the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 (FRA 2010), which were based on a compilation of country reports that used a wide variety of sources.

"Deforestation is depriving millions of people of forest goods and services that are crucial to rural livelihoods, economic well-being and environmental health," said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, FAO Assistant Director-General for Forestry.

"The new, satellite-based figures give us a more consistent, global picture, over time, of the world's forests. Together with the broad range of information supplied by the country reports, they offer decision-makers at every level more accurate information, and underscore the need for countries and organizations to urgently address and halt the loss of valuable forest ecosystems," Rojas-Briales added.

The remote sensing survey was based on a single source of data for all three points in time — 1990, 2000 and 2005 — and used the same input data and methodology for all countries.

"In terms of change in forest area, the new results update our knowledge for Africa, where previous data for some countries was old or of low quality. Here the remote sensing survey shows a much smaller rate of forest loss than previously estimated based on national reports," Adam Gerrand, an FAO Forestry Officer, said.

Regional losses and gains

There were notable regional differences in forest losses and gains.

Between 1990 and 2005 the loss of forests was highest in the tropics, where just under half of the world's forests are located. Net losses in this region averaged 6.9 million ha/yr between 1990 and 2005. The highest rate of conversion of forest land use to other, unspecified, land uses for both periods was in South America, followed by Africa.

Asia was the only region to show net gains in forest land-use area in both periods.

Deforestation occurred in all regions, including Asia, but the extensive planting that has been reported by several countries in Asia (mainly China) exceeded the forest areas that were lost.

Slight net increases in forest area were registered in subtropical, temperate and boreal zones over the full 15 year period.

Further remote sensing studies are expected to reveal changes occurring since 2005, including any progress which may have been made in the protection of existing forests and the establishment of new forests since 2005.

Global view

The new results provide important input into national and international reporting processes which require information on forest area and land-use change statistics. This includes the Convention for Biodiversity and the emerging initiative for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+), under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), currently being discussed at the 17th Conference of the Parties being held in Durban, South Africa (28 November-9 December 2011).

To develop the survey, FAO worked over four years with technical partners in the European Commission Joint Research Centre and more than 200 researchers from 102 countries to analyze satellite imagery from the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Funding for the study was provided by the European Commission, the Heinz Center, the governments of Australia, Finland and France and FAO.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/95180/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/95180/icode/ Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:00:00 GMT Guidebook aims to stop spread of ‘alien’ forest pests A new guide published by FAO aims to help countries prevent forest-damaging pests from spreading to new areas. At least 35 million hectares of forest are damaged by outbreaks of forest insect pests each year. The guide provides suggestions on how to implement effective pest management strategies and ensure the safe movement of forest commodities across the national borders. 10 November, 2011/Rome -  A new guide published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) aims to help countries prevent forest-damaging pests from spreading to new areas.

"Due to climate change, previously inhospitable sites can become suitable for ‘alien' pests that are accidentally transported through international trade in wood products, seeds or nursery plants — as well as trade in other commodities packaged with wood materials," said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, FAO's Assistant Director-General for Forestry.

"The guide provides suggestions on how to reduce the risk of pest spread and to implement effective pest management strategies at every step of the forest commodities chain," he added.

Between 1992 and 2008, the volume of wood products traded internationally surged by 125 percent.

Meanwhile, at least 35 million hectares of forest are damaged by outbreaks of forest insect pests each year.

The UN agency presented its Guide to implementation of phytosanitary standards in forestry today at the Second Asia-Pacific Forestry Week in Beijing.

Warmer temperatures pose risks

In addition to globalization, global warming also factors into the spread of forest pests.

Increases in summer temperature generally accelerate the reproductive capacity of insects, while warmer winter temperatures improve their chances of surviving winters.

For example, in western Canada successive years of mild winters have improved the winter survival rates of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae). Infestations in British Columbia (BC) are now at epidemic proportions and causing massive destruction of pines — the pest has affected an estimated 17.5 million hectares and killed 726 million cubic metres of timber since the early 1990s, according to the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

Drought conditions associated with warmer temperatures have also weakened the trees and increased their susceptibility to the beetles. Warmer temperatures have thus opened up previously climatically unsuitable mature pine stands to the pest.

Practical solutions

Coping with such threats requires action on several fronts. Careful surveillance, the management of forest stands throughout the growing cycle and improved nursery, harvest and transport operations are important.

Given the large volume of wood products moving across national borders, implementing international phytosanitary standards helps ensure the safe movement of forest commodities from one country to another while aiming to minimise any restrictions on trade.

The FAO guide was authored by an international group of 100 scientists and phytosanitary experts from 46 countries and is intended for policy-makers, planners, managers and educators as well as forest workers who implement policies at the ground level.

It is currently available in four languages: Chinese, English, French, and Russian. Spanish and Arabic versions are expected to be published next year.

FAO and its partners are now focusing on strengthening country capacity to implement the guide.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/94381/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/94381/icode/ Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:00:00 GMT Protecting forests to preserve livelihoods An FAO programme that helps local communities in Mongolia protect their forests is being seen as a model for action in the Asia-Pacific region. The Participatory Forest Management project has effectively stopped illegal logging and forest fires in 15 pilot districts since it began in 2007, and is set to go nationwide when the pilot program ends in January 2012. 7 November 2011, Bugat, Mongolia – A UN Food and Agriculture Organization programme that helps local communities in Mongolia protect their forests is being seen as a model for regional action, as an Asia-Pacific forestry event gets underway in Beijing.

The Participatory Forest Management project has effectively stopped illegal logging and forest fires in 15 pilot districts since it began in 2007, and is set to go nationwide when the pilot programme ends in January 2012.
 
With funding from the government of the Netherlands, the project is helping Mongolians learn techniques to preserve the forest resources that are crucial to their well-being.

Community involvement in forestry management is one of the methods being touted during the 7-11 November Asia-Pacific Forestry Week event, which is organized in part by FAO. The event is anchored around the 24th Session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC), comprised of 33 countries in the region.

Challenges and opportunities

Mongolia holds roughly 188 000 square kilometers of forestland, occupying 12 percent of the nation’s vast landscape. Yet these forests have been shrinking, due to greater demand for timber, human-induced fires, mining, and overstocking of cattle. In the 1990s, as many as 400 square kilometers of forest were disappearing every year.

“Local people for many years were suffering because there was a lot of illegal logging in their areas, a lot of fires, strangers coming and doing whatever they wanted to,” said Dashzeveg Tserendeleg, the national coordinator of the Participatory Forest Management Project. “The locals were basically helpless. They couldn’t do anything.”

Communities are now discovering that they can, in fact, do something. Through the project, Forest User Groups receive training in forest assessment, mapping, management planning, fire prevention and marketing of forest products. They then develop their own plans to put into action.

“We have seen in many countries in the world, and not only in Mongolia, that involving the local population is key to stopping forest degradation, but it’s also a major challenge,” said FAO Chief Technical Adviser Dominique Reeb.

A sense of ownership

Batjargal, a herder in Mongolia, makes a living keeping a few hundred sheep, goats and horses in the district of Bugat, about 450 kilometers northwest of Ulaan Baatar. Until recently, he and his family could do little but watch as outsiders poached the resources of his valley.

“We saw that things were going wrong when trees were logged illegally and streams and rivers started to dry up,” said Batjargal. “So the local people wanted to establish a forest user group,” a move that Batjargal says has given community members a “feeling of ownership.”

In the three years since the group was founded, illegal logging and forest fires have essentially disappeared. In areas covered by the project, new trees are taking root and herders say they are no longer dependent on outside forces to protect their environment and livelihoods.

New income

The project allows rural communities to tap into new sources of income. User groups clear dead trees from the forests, and sell the wood for firewood or use in construction. They also sell non-timber products like pine nuts and berries at local markets. Batjargal has just signed a contract to sell the district government 1 500 cubic meters of fuelwood for the winter.

“In our district we have only one state environment inspector and three rangers in three sub-districts,” said Oyumaa, the governor of Bugat district. “They give permission for felling trees but cannot exercise permanent control over our forests. So, the primary benefit of having forest user groups is better control over their own forests.”

The next step is to scale up nationwide, a long-term task that involves drafting policy and refining the legal framework for woodland resources at the national level. Informally, the programme continues to grow, as group members share news of their success with other herders, who, in turn, start up user groups of their own. 

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/94165/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/94165/icode/ Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:00:00 GMT Forests, potential solution in the fight against hunger The role of forests in providing timber and other wood products must not overshadow their important contribution to feeding many of the world's poorest communities, a group of international forest organizations and secretariats said today. The potential of forests to improve food and nutritional security needs more attention from national policymakers and international development agencies. 26 October 2011, Rome – The role of forests in providing timber and other wood products must not overshadow their important contribution to feeding many of the world's poorest communities, a group of international forest organizations and secretariats said today.

According to the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), of which FAO is an active member, forests can play an even greater role in feeding the world and helping farmers cope with climate change, but their potential to do so is not being fully realized.

With nearly one billion people in the world suffering from chronic hunger, the CPF said the potential of forests and trees to improve food and nutritional security needs more attention from national and regional policymakers and international development agencies.

"Forests and trees on farms are a direct source of food and cash income for more than a billion of the world's poorest people," said FAO Assistant Director-General for Forestry Eduardo Rojas-Briales. "They provide both staple foods and supplemental foods. To enhance these benefits, governments and development partners should increase investments in support of sustainable forest management and rehabilitation of degraded forest lands."

Rojas noted that in India, more than 50 million people depend directly on forests for subsistence, while in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, wild foods are consumed by 80 percent of population on a daily basis.

Nutritional values of forest flora substantial

Forest foods and wild animals form a small but critical contribution to otherwise bland and nutritionally poor diets of rural people. For instance, wild leaves can be an excellent source of vitamins A and C, protein and micronutrients such as calcium and iron. Fruits are especially good sources of minerals and vitamins and contribute significant quantities of calories. A variety of forest plants have edible roots and tubers, which provide carbohydrates and some minerals.

However, forest-dependent wildlife and forest foods are increasingly threatened by overexploitation in many developing countries, causing biodiversity loss and putting food security at risk. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), at a meeting in November 2011, will discuss new measures for improving the sustainable management of wildlife in tropical and sub-tropical countries.

Women also play an important part in the processing of tree and forest products, the income from which helps their families achieve food security. For instance, women use shea as a cooking fat and food accompaniment in West Africa. The harvesting and processing of shea, which is an important ingredient in chocolate and other confectionery, provides rural women with nearly 80 percent of their income.

Emmanuel Ze Meka, Executive Director of the International Tropical Timber Organization, noted, "food products are the fastest growing component of non-timber forest products in many tropical countries. And adding value to the forest makes it more likely to remain forest rather than converted to other uses."

Agroforestry can double yields for smallholder farmers

Agroforestry combines working trees with crop or livestock production and holds great promise for smallholder farmers. These trees are part of the cycle of productivity on farms and provide numerous products, including food for humans and fodder for livestock.

"Agroforestry provides a climate smart agriculture alternative that can increase food production and improve farmers' incomes and living standards," said Tony Simons, Director General of the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF). "Agroforestry can both mitigate climate change by storing carbon as well as helping farmers become resilient and adapt to unpredictable seasons."

Over 400,000 farmers in Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe who practice farming that integrates fertilizer tree systems, have seen food production yields doubled. The World Agroforestry Center plans to scale-up similar programs across Africa and South Asia.

Forests support the agriculture sector

In addition to forests' direct contribution to rural diets, forests also provide environmental services that support sustainable agricultural production - which are hugely valuable but cannot be measured easily.

"While some observers have posed increased forest protection and increased agricultural production as a zero-sum trade-off, in fact forests provide many environmental services — such as those related to pollination, hydrological, and climate moderation — that sustain agricultural productivity," said Frances Seymour, CIFOR Director General.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/93236/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/93236/icode/ Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:00:00 GMT As world goes urban, new focus on role of trees in cities Focused policies and investments aimed at protecting and managing forest and trees in and around cities are needed to strengthen urban livelihoods and improve city environments, as the world becomes increasingly urbanized, said the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), of which FAO is a member, on the occasion of World Habitat Day celebrated today. 3 October 2011, Rome -  Focused policies and investments aimed at protecting and managing forest and trees in and around cities are needed to strengthen urban livelihoods and improve city environments, as the world becomes increasingly urbanized. This was the message offered today on the occasion of World Habitat Day by the international Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), of which FAO is a member.

As an increasing share of the world's population now lives in cities and their surroundings, the CPF called on countries to pay more attention to managing and protecting urban and peri-urban forests.

In addition to improving the quality of urban environments, forests in cities can also mitigate severe weather impacts by shielding buildings from strong winds and flooding and can help cities save energy by acting as a buffer from hot weather.

"The accelerating rate of natural disturbances affecting cities such as storms, droughts, floods and landslides reminds us that resilience to disasters is of critical importance and that trees play an important role in protecting city environments," said FAO Assistant Director-General for Forestry Eduardo Rojas-Briales. "Good practices in urban and peri-urban forestry can contribute to building a resilient city in terms of mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change."

Urban forests also improve the well-being and health conditions of citizens by cooling the environment, particularly in arid zones.

Ecosystem services

"Trees and forests in cities provide urban dwellers with much needed recreational and ecological values, and during the International Year of Forests we have seen many examples of community activities in cities from tree plantings to nature hikes," said Ms. Jan McAlpine, Director of the United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat. "These ‘green belts' also serve as valuable habitats for birds and small animals and create an oasis of biological diversity in urban environments."

Additionally, urban trees afford vital ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration and carbon storage, and can serve as a source of alternative energy. 

Benefits for food security, environmental education

Urban agriculture and agroforestry, home gardens, and the harvesting of non-wood forest products like mushrooms can supplement household food supplies, but are not common practices, globally.

Urban forests can also serve as a living laboratory for environmental education in urban settings helping to bridge the gap between urbanized populations and forests.

First ever guidelines on urban forestry

FAO is helping develop guidelines for policy and decision-makers on urban and peri-urban forestry to promote sound policies and highlight good practices.

"Often unclear responsibilities for different parts of the urban forests, lack of policies and legislation, as well as lack of comprehensive information, hamper successful integrated approaches to urban forestry," said Cecil Konijnendijk, Deputy Coordinator of a research group on urban forestry initiated by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). "Initiatives such as FAO's guidelines for urban forest policy and management are of great importance."

The guidelines, which set to be published in July 2012, will give a comprehensive review of good practices and highlight significant initiatives taken around the world in order to contribute to improved policy development and decision making.             ]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/92329/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/92329/icode/ Sun, 02 Oct 2011 22:00:00 GMT Ecotourism can play vital role in maintaining healthy forests The continuing boom in ecotourism has the potential to save endangered forests or destroy them, depending on how effectively tourism expansion is managed, an international partnership for forest conservation and improvement cautioned today as the world celebrates the World Tourism Day and the International Year of Forests. 27 September, 2011, Rome - The continuing boom in ecotourism has the potential to save endangered forests or destroy them, depending on how effectively tourism expansion is managed, an international partnership for forest conservation and improvement cautioned today.

The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), comprising 14 international organizations and secretariats, including FAO, issued its view on the relationship between ecotourism and forestry today as the world celebrates the World Tourism Day and the International Year of Forests.

Ecotourism and livelihoods in developing countries

Tourism has demonstrated resiliency in the face of the global economic downturn.  Globally, the tourism industry generated more than $1 trillion in 2010, according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO). And the share of tourism in developing countries is steadily rising, up from 31% in 1990 to 47% in 2010.

"Sustainable tourism has proven one of the most effective ways of providing economic and employment opportunities for local communities while protecting the world's natural resources," said Taleb Rifai, WTO's Secretary-General.

Ecotourism, characterized by responsible travel to natural areas that promotes conservation of the environment, is one of the fastest growing segments of tourism worldwide, and is growing at a pace of more than 20 percent annually -  two to three times faster than the tourism industry overall.

"For many people, there is an attitude of "we had better see it while it is still there to see" when it comes to visiting threatened forests or endangered wildlife," said Patrick Durst, a senior forestry official with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), working in Asia.

Local benefits

Ecotourism can provide local communities with motivation to maintain and protect forests and wildlife.  When local people get income and employment from ecotourism, they are far less likely to destroy the natural resources through unsustainable exploitation.

"Ecotourism has a far greater potential for contributing to income and livelihoods in poor rural communities than what is realized," noted FAO's Edgar Kaeslin, Forestry Officer in Wildlife and Protected Area Management. "It is crucial that local people are fully involved in the activities and receive sufficient benefits."

The benefits of ecotourism flowing to local businesses are dramatically higher than those from mass tourism.  Standard all-inclusive package tours typically deliver just 20 percent of revenue to local companies, while the rest is captured by airlines, hotels and large tour companies, whereas locally-based ecotourism operations that hire locally and are based locally can return as much as 95 percent of earnings into the local economy.

Excessive ecotourism poses dangers

However, failure to limit tourist numbers at popular sites can quickly overload ecosystems and damage fragile natural resources, sometimes permanently.

Also, as with most economic endeavors, when profits are to be made, there is a risk that powerful players will dominate and squeeze out smaller local operators.  Under the guise of "ecotourism" less scrupulous enterprises sometime have wittingly or unwittingly introduced negative influences to local people, disrupted local economies and tarnished unique indigenous cultures. In some of the worst instances, indigenous peoples have even been displaced or dispossessed of traditional access to natural areas.

Ecotourism as sustainable forest management

The best ecotourism programmes strive to regulate against such abuses and guide it toward maximizing local benefits.  Training for local people is crucial to ensure they can compete successfully for desirable ecotourism jobs.

Training for local people is crucial to ensure they can compete successfully for desirable ecotourism jobs. One prominent example is the ecotourist trade involving critically endangered Mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tourism in those countries generates significant incentives for governments and local communities to conserve their rich environment instead of choosing unsustainable pathways to development, said Doug Cress, coordinator of the UNEP led Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP).

"Mountain gorillas are the only species of great ape that are actually rising in numbers," Cress said. "There is no question that is a direct result of the careful commitment to responsible tourism in East Africa that respects the gorillas and their habitat."

In recent years FAO has provided technical assistance to a number of countries, including Egypt, Hungary, Laos, the Philippines and Tunisia, to develop ecotourism as a sustainable forest use.  With support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), FAO recently began implementing an $18 million programme in collaboration with Pacific islands (Fiji, Niue, Samoa and Vanuatu) aimed at developing ecotourism as a major component of sustainable forest management.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/90192/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/90192/icode/ Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:00:00 GMT FAO-supported forest policy in Gambia wins award Gambia's Community Forestry Policy, put in place with support from FAO, has won silver in the 2011 Future Policy Awards as one of the world's most inspiring and innovative forest policies. The country has developed and implemented the first policy and legislation framework in Africa that provides local populations with secure and permanent forest ownership rights. 21 September 2011, Rome/New York - Gambia's Community Forestry Policy, put in place with support from  FAO, has won silver in the 2011 Future Policy Awards as one of the world's most inspiring and innovative forest policies.

Three policies which most effectively contribute to the conservation and sustainable development of forests for current and future generations were chosen as prizewinners today by the World Future Council at UN Headquarters in New York.

Rwanda's National Forest Policy was proclaimed the first prize winner while the US Lacey Act with its amendment of 2008 and The Gambia's Community Forest Policy shared the Silver Award.

Gambia, with the support of FAO and other development partners, has developed and implemented the first policy and legislation in Africa to provide local populations with secure and permanent forest ownership rights. Transferring forest tenure from state ownership to management by local communities enabled them to reduce illegal logging and forest fires, slow desertification and benefit from using the forest products.

Right policies

"The success of the Gambia's Community Forest Policy proves that even in the world's poorest countries, with the right policies and legal framework in place, rural populations can benefit economically from forests and significantly improve their food security and environment," said FAO's Assistant Director-General for Forestry Eduardo Rojas-Briales.

"The Gambia's experience has shown that the challenge of sustainable forestry can be attained through the government's willingness to empower rural populations," he added.

Gambia has managed to buck a strong deforestation trend in Africa, with over 350 villages managing 12 percent of the country's forests and a net increase in forest cover of 8.5 percent over the last two decades.

People power

FAO Goodwill Ambassador and Olympic track legend Carl Lewis, who attended the Awards ceremony, said that "the Gambia's people-centered approach has been highly successful and represents a model to replicate in other countries with similar forestry environment."

Between 2000 and 2004, FAO has facilitated the introduction of economic incentives in the community forestry concept. In 2009 Gambia joined the National Forest Programme Facility hosted by FAO and received help with expanding community forestry areas and enhancing the capacity of stakeholders to derive economic benefits from community forestry. A recent FAO-supported project provided assistance to the revision and popularization of the forest policy.

It is intended that by 2016, nearly half of the forests in Gambia will be under community management. Communities have established producer groups, generating income from forest management.

Based in Hamburg, the World Future Council is a political advocacy group led by 50 leading personalities from all five continents. It focuses on environmental and social issues with the aim of safeguarding the rights of future generations.]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/89896/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/89896/icode/ Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:00:00 GMT Better landscape management needed to prevent forest fires Countries need to pay more attention to fire management on lands bordering forests in order to prevent the 95 percent of wildfires that originate from human activities in forests and adjacent areas, an international partnership for forests warned today. 9 September 2011, Rome - Countries need to pay more attention to fire management on lands bordering forests in order to prevent the 95 percent of wildfires that originate from human activities in forests and adjacent areas, an international partnership for forests warned today.

The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), which consists of 14 international organizations and secretariats, issued its warning as many countries are experiencing an increasing incidence in the frequency and size of wildfires due to lack of fire management policies and impacts of climate change.

"In many cases the fire starts on agricultural or pasture lands and spreads quickly on nearby forests," said Pieter van Lierop, an FAO expert on forest fire management. "When people continue to burn rubbish and agricultural waste, clear lands by burning vegetation for agricultural or development purposes, or burn pastures to allow grass to sustain its high productivity, there is always a danger of large-scale vegetation and forest fires particularly under dry and hot weather conditions," he added. "There are practical things that can be done to reduce the risks of fire escaping from agricultural areas.

Integrated landscape management approach to prevent fires

It is vital to think about fire prevention and suitable use of fire not only in forests but also through other parts of a landscape, in particular land in the vicinity of forests.  For example, people should try to avoid establishing large homogeneous forest areas in regions with fire-prone vegetation, which usually exacerbate fires, and instead maintain mosaic landscapes with natural firebreaks provided by combining different land-uses.

Burning agricultural waste early in the dry season before the surrounding landscape gets too dry and avoiding burning during high winds will help avoid big wildfires.

Activities on lands on or around peat soils require control. For example, mega-fires in the Russian Federation last year damaged more than 14 million hectares, killed more than 50 people and became almost uncontrollable mainly because nearby peat lands had been drained for irrigation of adjacent agriculture lands. This in turn affected the neighboring forests, which also became drier. Experience has shown dried peat land fires to be nearly impossible to extinguish.

More funds needed for fire management

CPF stressed that frequency and intensity of forest fires could be reduced by including fire management in broader landscape management strategies and through more integrated approaches to fire management -- this includes not only fire suppression but also fire prevention, controlled burning, early warning and preparedness. All require increased investment.

"As most fires are started by people, countries should invest more in integrated fire- management strategies, especially in the often overlooked area of prevention," said van Lierop. "Local communities should be trained on how to prevent vegetation fires throughout the whole year and not only during the fire season. More attention should also be given to monitoring wildfire carbon gas emissions as a potential contributor to climate change."

Countries should also invest in research on the social and economic drivers of fire to be able to improve the way they are addressing the underlying causes of fires.  Ongoing research at CIFOR is showing that the preconceived notions of why and how fires start are not always right and at best managers only generally understand a part of the picture.

FAO is now forming a multidonor trust fund programme to raise funding to respond better to member countries' demands. It is expected to be finalized by November this year.

The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) published guidelines on fire management in tropical forests in 1997 that provide a basis on which policy-makers and managers at various levels can develop programs and projects to address specific national, socioeconomic and natural problems related to fire in natural and planted tropical forests.

ITTO's Executive Director Emmanuel Ze Meka endorsed the proposed multi-donor trust fund to be established by FAO to assist countries to deal with forest fires, noting that "We have the knowledge and policies in place to reduce the damage from fire in tropical forests - the main missing link is sufficient funding for training, equipment and monitoring technologies to be able to effectively implement such policies."

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/88903/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/88903/icode/ Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:00:00 GMT Increased forest threat from extreme weather Extreme weather events and natural disasters will pose an increasing threat to the world's forests in coming years, requiring heightened cooperation between regions and countries, an international partnership for forest conservation and improvement warned today. The group's warning came as FAO launched a new publication report on how 'abiotic disturbances' are impacting forest health. 9 August 2011, Rome - Extreme weather events and natural disasters will pose an increasing threat to the world's forests in coming years, requiring heightened cooperation between regions and countries, an international partnership for forest conservation and improvement warned today.

The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), comprising 14 international organizations and secretariats, issued its warning as FAO released a new report, Abiotic disturbances and their influence on forest health.

Almost 4 000 extreme events — so-called ‘abiotic disturbances' such as cyclones, floods, landslides, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and "mega" forest fires —  occurred between 2000 and 2009 worldwide, according to the report. And recently they have also included man-made events such as radioactive contamination and oil spills.

The CPF called upon forest managers to apply forest policies such as diversifying species, using windbreaks and mixed cropping patterns to protect forests from disasters, minimizing the risks and impacts of extreme events.

"Disturbances are expected to continue to increase in intensity, quantity and frequency," said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, FAO's Assistant Director-General for Forestry and CPF Chair. "Adaptive forest management involving all sectors and stakeholders is therefore essential to protect the world's forest resources. And since such disturbances do not respect borders, regional or international cooperation is badly required."

Examples of abiotic disturbances and their impacts on forests include: a major storm in Sweden in 2005, which uprooted or damaged trees in over 1.2 million hectares of forest; Tropical Cyclone Sidr, which hit Bangladesh in 2007 and affected almost nine million people and damaged nearly 1.5 million houses and some four million trees; and the 2010 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in central Chile, which killed more than 700 people and caused up to $30 billion in economic losses to the country.

Minimizing damage from extreme events

The condition of forests themselves can have an influence on the extreme events. For example, deforestation or poor management can increase flooding and landslides during cyclones. Degradation of mangrove forests may increase the damage caused by storms or tsunamis.

Observations from the Maldives showed that coastal forests are most resilient to tsunami impacts when left as an undisturbed, mixed-species community. Sand dunes, mangrove forests and coral reefs all help to reduce the energy of tsunami waves as well as retain soil and preserve safe conditions to allow biodiversity to thrive. Although mature mangroves are quite resistant to water surges, there are limits to this resilience.

In 2004, when the Indian Ocean Tsunami hit Indonesia, it cleared nearly 49 000 hectares of coastal forests (excluding mangroves) and significantly damaged nearly 300-750 hectares of mangrove forests, representing economic losses of $21.9 million and $2.5 million, respectively. But with improved coastal and mangrove forests management these types of effects can be substantially reduced.

According to Emmanuel Ze Meka, Executive Director of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), "ITTO-funded projects to rehabilitate tsunami-damaged mangroves in the Ayeyarwady delta of Myanmar, in Phang Nga and Ranong Provinces, southern Thailand, and in many other countries are helping to ensure that future extreme weather or tsunami events will be less damaging to local communities than the tragic 2004 Indian Ocean event."

Climate change impacts can heighten intensity of events

Expected increases in the frequency, severity of drought and heat stress associated with climate change can fundamentally alter the composition and structure of forests. Increases in tree mortality are of particular concern because decaying trees also release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.

Moreover, decreased rainfall and more severe droughts, such as that presently being experienced in the Horn of Africa, are expected to be particularly stressful for African populations that depend on forests for food, clean water and other basic needs.

"Climate-change adaptation planning is hampered by a lack of information about current and future climate-related impacts", said Steve Makungwa from the Forestry Research Network for Sub-Saharan Africa (FORNESSA), an initiative that has worked with the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) on climate change impacts on African forests. "There is a need for reliable regional projections as well as early warning systems that require investments in research and monitoring infrastructure."

In November 2011, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will release a Special Report on managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation. The report aims to become a resource for decision-makers to more effectively manage the risks of these events.

In advance of the report, CPF partners also called upon forest managers to develop strategies to adapt to future drought events reducing tree density to ease competition, selecting plants with improved drought resistance, and shifting from monoculture plantations to species-rich forests.]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/86570/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/86570/icode/ Sun, 07 Aug 2011 22:00:00 GMT Reforming forest tenure systems Reforming forest tenure systems and securing forest ownership rights can significantly improve peoples’ livelihoods and enable them to gain income from forest products, said FAO in a newly published guide, Reforming Forest Tenure. The continuing demand for land, weak governance in many countries, and climate change add urgency to forest tenure reform. 13 July 2011, Rome – Reforming forest tenure systems and securing forest ownership rights can significantly improve peoples’ livelihoods and enable them to gain income from forest products, said FAO in a newly published guide, Reforming Forest Tenure. 

“The continuing demand for land, weak governance in many countries, and emerging global challenges such as climate change increase the urgency of addressing forest tenure reform,” said Eva Muller, FAO’s Chief Forest Policy Officer.  

The guide was launched at the Forest Tenure, Governance and Enterprise Conference taking place in Lombok, Indonesia, from 11 to 15 July. Attended by around 200 representatives from international and regional organizations, private sector, non-governmental organizations, civil society and researchers, the conference was co-organized by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry (MOF), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI).

In recent years, FAO has carried out extensive assessments of forest tenure systems in Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Central Asia and its impact on sustainable forest management and poverty reduction. Based on this analysis, the guide offers practical guidance for policy makers involved in forest tenure reforms.

State of ownership of the world’s forests
 
According to FAO, around 80 percent of the world’s forests are publicly owned, but forest ownership and management by communities, individuals and private companies are increasing – more in some countries than in others.  

In Venezuela and French Guiana, for example, almost all forests are under public ownership, whereas in Paraguay, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Chile more than 30 percent of forests are under private ownership. In Peru, Guyana and Costa Rica, more than ten percent of forests are owned by indigenous people. 

“A more diversified tenure system could result in improving forest management and local livelihoods, particularly where state capacities to manage forests are weak,” said Muller. 

Social equity and gender dimensions 

Forest tenure reforms should give attention to the empowerment of marginalized groups, particularly women and the poor. Research suggests that trees and forests are more important to rural women’s livelihoods than men’s. Poor women in one Madagascar community earned 37 percent of their income from forest products, compared with men’s 22 percent. In some areas of Andhra Pradesh, 77 percent of women’s income was derived from forests. 

Forests can be crucial to the survival strategies of farming women. In sub-Saharan Africa, responsibility for caring for household members afflicted by HIV/AIDS falls mainly on women, leaving them with less time for agricultural production. As a result, they become more reliant on forest foods and income from fuelwood. 

Enabling environment   

Without an enabling policy environment, forest tenure reform is unlikely to deliver the beneficial socio-economic outcomes, Muller stressed. Key stakeholders should be enabled to manage forests in a way that improves both their livelihoods and the condition of forests. Forest tenure should be as secure as possible, and overregulation should be avoided by keeping compliance procedures simple. Legislation should be coupled with responsible governance at all levels, including government agencies, the private sector and communities.  

Recognition of customary rights 

Many forests worldwide have been used, managed and even owned on the basis of traditional or customary tenure. Such informal tenure systems often operate in parallel with legal tenure. In such cases local people regard forests and forest products as belonging to specific people or groups, regardless of whether the rights have been recognized by the government or not.  

Informal tenure can be effective, unless other interests, such as privatization or converting to other land-uses encroach, which often results in conflict and frequently leads to forest degradation. Tenure reforms should take into consideration customary tenure systems that are not legally protected, Muller said.           ]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/81859/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/81859/icode/ Wed, 13 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT Olympic track legend Carl Lewis sprints again for Haiti forests FAO Goodwill Ambassador and Olympic track legend Carl Lewis ended a two-day visit to Haiti today where he saw for himself reforestation efforts to help the country protect itself against flash floods and mudslides as hurricane season begins 14 June 2011, Port-au-Prince/Haiti - FAO Goodwill Ambassador and Olympic track legend Carl Lewis ended a two-day visit to Haiti today where he saw for himself reforestation efforts to help the country protect itself against flash floods and mudslides as hurricane season begins.

Lewis's visit was planned to mark the UN's celebration of the International Year of Forests and followed a similar trip to the neighboring Dominican Republic.

Trees at the epicenter

Lewis travelled to Leogane, near the epicenter of the deadly January 2010 quake that killed almost a quarter of a million people. There he saw for himself Haiti's denuded mountains and visited a Fruit Trees for Haiti school project, part of a larger FAO programme to reforest and shore up watersheds in the region.

As well as suffering terrible earthquake damage, Leogane is a frequent victim of Haiti's often deadly hurricane seasons.

The nine-time Olympic Gold Medalist visited a tree nursery in the grounds of a school that was destroyed by the earthquake. As well as providing planting material, and planting trees themselves, children are taught to value trees, by being made responsible for one of their own.

"Starting with educating kids is a very important step in stopping the cycle of environmental degradation which is now one of the most serious problems facing Haiti," said Lewis.

"What FAO is doing is tremendous and it makes me optimistic to see that Haitians are realizing they have take to take care of their land. Trees are at the epicenter of Haiti's renaissance."

222 million trees needed

FAO forestry experts estimate if 22 trees are planted for every Haitian, a total of 222 million trees, then the newly elected President Michel Martelly's goal of reforesting eight percent of Haiti's land surface in his five years in office could be met.

Haiti currently has just two percent forest cover, one of the worst rates in the world, and the main reason for the spate of deadly mudslides and floods that has killed thousands of people over the past eight years. At least 25 people were killed by flash floods and landslides just last week, the first week in this year's hurricane season.

Presidential meeting

During his trip, Lewis met with the newly-elected Present Michel Martelly where the issue of reforestation, a priority of the new government, was discussed. Lewis accepted Martelly's invitation to return to Haiti later to help the President in his efforts to raise awareness about the importance of forests among the general population.

"Trees not only help to secure the soil and prevent landslides, they are also crucial to the water supply, as a provider of income, from coffee to wood, and are key to restoring the fertility of degraded land," said FAO Representative in Haiti AriToubo Ibrahim.

Haiti is a net importer of rice, high international food prices make it very difficult for poor people here to buy staple food.

Malnutrition rates too high

24 percent of Haitians experience chronic malnutrition — nine percent suffer from acute malnutrition, which means they are sick from hunger. Nearly a quarter of all children suffer stunted growth as a result of not getting enough of the right nutritional food.

"Haitians also need to increase their intake of other staples like sweet potatoes and plantain to improve nutrition," said Ibrahim.

Lewis also visited an FAO vegetable garden project at La Corail camp for homeless victims of last years devastating earthquake and heard how people have learnt to grow their own food safely, to avoid cholera, a disease that has claimed thousands of victims.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/80202/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/80202/icode/ Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:00:00 GMT Turning the tide on desertification in Africa An FAO pilot project that has proved a great success in combating desertification is to be rolled out more widely in an attempt to turn African drylands back into fertile land. With two thirds of the African continent now classified as desert or drylands and desertification affecting a quarter of the world's population, the breakthrough has the potential to transform the lives of vulnerable populations. 10 June 2011, Rome - An FAO pilot project that has proved a great success in combating desertification is to be rolled out more widely in an attempt to turn African drylands back into fertile land.

With two thirds of the African continent now classified as desert or drylands and desertification affecting a quarter of the world's population, the breakthrough has the potential to transform the lives of vulnerable populations.  In operation since 2004, the Acacia project has involved the planting and managing of Acacia forests in arid lands helping combat desertification while providing socio-economic benefits to local communities.

Fatou Seye, her husband and their six children live in the village of Thiékene Ndiaye in Senegal's drylands. Now 50 years old, Fatou remembers how different the land looked during her own childhood. "When I was young, the land was so much greener with a much greater diversity of plant species," she recalls.

Here, as in much of the Sahel - the 5000-kilometre belt of land that divides the Sahara desert from the rest of Africa - vegetation has been disappearing.

The Acacia project

Climate change has led to prolonged periods of drought, over-intensive farming and over-grazing have caused land degradation and deforestation has turned the once fertile land into desert. In an attempt to reverse that process of desertification, FAO has stepped in with the Acacia project. Fatou Seye and her family are among the beneficiaries. "Before the project we had no trees, we were cultivating degraded, infertile lands, but with the project that has changed, " she says.

Fatou Seye is one of 150 women in the village benefiting from the project.  From 2004 to 2007, FAO, in partnership with the Senegalese forestry service, provided seeds and seedlings and taught the women in the village how to sow and plant the Acacia trees as well as how to extract and market the gum they produce. 

In the last year, the trees have finally reached maturity and gum extraction has become possible. But even before the local community benefited.

According to Nora Berrahmouni, FAO Forestry officer, "Acacia offers many benefits. They feed the soil by capturing nitrogen that restores fertility. It is a shelter for crops. It also provides gum Arabic, which has an international market, and so it is good for the economy.  Not only that but it is also a source of  fodder for livestock and food for local communities."

Great potential

Fatou confirms that the Acacia have already dramatically improved living conditions "because now we're producing hibiscus juice  and millet, peanuts and beans, which we can eat. Production of fodder for livestock has increased and we sell the fodder at market. With the money, we are planning to build a mill so can make flour and bread."

Harvesting of the gum itself has only just begun as, at 7 years if age, the plants are only just mature enough. In the coming years the plants will provide further income for these women.

The gum is sold via intermediaries to the Valdafrique processing plant close to Senegal's capital, Dakar. From there it will be sold on international markets.

The Chief pharmacist at Valdafrique, Dr. Madiagne Sakho, says "the Arabic gum industry is great business because the gum is in demand from many industries, including the pharmaceutical and food industries where it's used in a wide variety of products ranging from bakery and dairy products to soft drinks."

According to Thiam Sakhoudia of the Network for Gum Arabic and Resin Associations (NGARA), "great potential exists to provide income for these communities and also to help diversify the economy because these days the peanut market is in crisis so the gum Arabic sector can help make up for losses there."


A total of 44 villages have benefited from the Acacia project in Senegal so far and the project is also in operation in five more countries across the region. Italy has funded the Acacia Operation Project since 2003 with a total funding of USD 5.389.400. Based on its success, FAO is now in search of funding to roll the Acacia project out on a wider scale to re-green more of the land bordering the Sahara desert. If successful, the initiative will keep the desert sands at bay and help provide protection for the millions of vulnerable people living within Africa's drylands.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/80060/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/80060/icode/ Thu, 09 Jun 2011 22:00:00 GMT Good forest governance key for climate change schemes FAO and the World Bank have unveiled a new guidance framework which can help countries assess the governance of their forest resources. The ability to demonstrate good governance in forestry is becoming increasingly important for countries wishing to participate in emerging climate change mitigation schemes. 23 May 2011, Rome - FAO and the World Bank have unveiled a new guidance framework which can help countries assess the governance of their forest resources. The ability to demonstrate good governance in forestry is becoming increasingly important for countries wishing to participate in emerging climate change mitigation schemes.

The framework provides countries with a comprehensive checklist they can use to identify and address problems in governance of forest resources. It can also be used to help ensure that efforts to reduce emissions from forests in developing countries are properly managed.

Generally speaking, governance refers to the laws, institutions, management regimes, policies and social conventions that determine how forests are used and who gets to use them.

Developed by FAO and the World Bank-managed Program on Forests (PROFOR), the "Framework for Assessing and Monitoring Forest Governance" looks at three key components or "pillars" of forest governance — policy, legal, institution and regulatory frameworks; planning and decision-making processes; implementation, enforcement, and compliance — and grades performance in six areas: accountability, effectiveness, efficiency, fairness, participation, and transparency.

"Good governance in forestry determines whether forest resources are used efficiently, sustainably, and equitably," said Eva Muller of FAO's Forestry Department. "This framework outlines a systematic approach that countries and forest managers can use to identify areas of weakness, devise and implement suitable responses, and monitor results."

Nalin Kishor of the World Bank's Forestry Team added: "Through a participatory approach, the framework can identify actions needed for monitoring of financial flows in the sector and equitable sharing of benefits."

Managing forests to temper climate change

Hundreds of millions of rural people depend on forests and trees for their livelihoods and household food security and stand to benefit from improved and more equitable forest management regimes.

At the same time, the sector also holds great potential for sequestering carbon and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Deforestation and forest degradation account for nearly 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the entire global transportation sector and second only to the energy sector. Most of these emissions occur in developing countries.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change addresses this problem via an initiative known as "Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation," or REDD+. Under REDD+, developing countries would be offered incentives to reduce emissions from deforestation and to increase carbon sequestration through planting new forests, forest conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

North-South financial flows for greenhouse gas emission reductions from REDD+ could reach up to $30 billion a year, providing a considerable boost for rural development.

Getting REDD+ right

Despite its promise, REDD+ does present some formidable challenges. Unintended disruptions for local communities, fraud and ineffective projects, and corruption and misappropriation of funds have all been cited as possible problems.

"At the last UN Climate Change summit in Cancun, there was basic agreement on the core activities, principles and safeguards that should underpin REDD+," said Peter Holmgren, Director of FAO's Climate, Energy and Tenure Division. "This included the need for systems to provide information on how safeguards are being addressed and respected."

At the same meeting where the FAO-World Bank forestry framework was presented, a similar document focusing on the provision of information on governance issues related specifically to REDD+ was presented by the UN-REDD Programme and Chatham House. Like the forest governance framework, it provides guidance for use by countries looking to ensure and show that REDD+ activities are effectively implemented and governance safeguards addressed.

Though the implementation of REDD+ presents a huge challenge for countries where institutional capacities are weak, it also creates new incentives and opens the possibility for increased support for tackling governance issues, it says.

The international workshop where the two framework documents were presented and discussed was organized by FAO in conjunction with the UN-REDD Programme, Chatham House and the World Bank.

Pilot projects based on the two frameworks are planned in order to test and strengthen them.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/74825/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/74825/icode/ Sun, 22 May 2011 22:00:00 GMT Growing number of mega-fires may contribute to global warming Whilst changing climatic conditions may be exacerbating the growing number of mega-fires round the world, these fires may also themselves be a contributing factor to global warming, said FAO. The agency called upon countries to implement more comprehensive fire management strategies and improve the monitoring of wildfire carbon gas emissions that cause global warming. 10 May 2011, Rome/Sun City - Whilst changing climatic conditions may be exacerbating the growing number of mega-fires round the world, these fires may also themselves be a contributing factor to global warming, said FAO in a report presented today at the 5th International Wildland Fire Conference in Sun City, South Africa.

The agency called upon countries to implement more comprehensive fire management strategies and improve the monitoring of wildfire carbon gas emissions that cause global warming.

"Mega-fires are mainly caused by humans and are likely exacerbated by climate change, but now we suspect they may also in themselves represent a vicious circle that is speeding up global warming," said Pieter van Lierop, FAO Forestry Officer. "With an increasing incidence in the frequency and size of mega-fires along with weather projections indicating hotter and drier fire seasons, the issue is becoming urgent," he said.

Recent examples of mega-fires include the 2009 Black Saturday conflagration in Australia which killed 173 people and incinerated many towns, and record-setting wildfires in Russia last year, where 62 people were killed and around 2.3 million hectares burned as a result of over 32 000 fires.

The report, entitled "Findings and Implications from a Coarse-Scale Global Assessment of Recent Selected Mega-Fires", studies recent fires in Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Indonesia, Israel, Greece, Russia, and the United States.

Major causes of mega-fires

Nearly all of the mega-fires studied under this assessment were started by people. Often fires are deliberately set in order to clear land for agricultural or development purposes. Drought was implicated in all but one of the mega-fires examined. Hot, dry and windy conditions accompanied all of the wildfires studied in the report. In tropical forests, mega-fires are principally fueled by dried-out woody debris left behind from logging and land clearing for plantations and crop production. 

Balanced wildfire protection strategies needed

Although drought is often blamed for the uncontrolled spread of mega-fires, Florida and Western Australia offer two examples where, despite the prolonged presence of severe drought, wildfire costs, losses, and damages seem much lower than elsewhere. These programs reflect more balanced prevention, mitigation, and suppression approaches.

In Florida, the U.S. Forest Service and the State of Florida own approximately 800 000 hectares. On average each year, both agencies burn between 10 and 20 percent of their forests in a controlled way.  Controlled fires occur on a two- to four-year rotation and cost between $10-30 per hectare. In forests left untreated, wildfire suppression costs can often exceed many hundreds, even thousands of dollars per hectare, not counting the additional losses and damages that may be involved.

In southwest Western Australia, the Department of Environment and Conservation protects an estate of approximately 2.5 million hectares. It routinely uses controlled fires to treat approximately 8-9 percent of their holdings and aim for 70-90 percent burn coverage.  Wildfire costs, losses, and damages have been much reduced since the controlled burning program began.

In some areas, community-based fire management initiatives are underway. These models, jointly run by private and public landowners, reconcile competing interests, and provide for safer and more resilient fire-prone forests at landscape scales.



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]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/74214/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/74214/icode/ Mon, 09 May 2011 22:00:00 GMT Forests and climate change in the Mediterranean A new partnership for Mediterranean forests has been established to address major threats to the region's forests triggered by climate change. The partnership involves twelve institutions and organizations, including FAO, and will focus primarily on six countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. 6 April 2011, Rome/Avignon - A new partnership for Mediterranean forests has been established to address major threats to the region's forests being exacerbated by the severe impact of climate change. The partnership was announced at the Second Mediterranean Forest Week, which is taking place in Avignon, France (5-8 April).

"The Collaborative Partnership on Mediterranean Forests will help raise awareness on the wealth of vital functions Mediterranean forests provide. These include soil and water protection, landscape values, carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. It is urgent that we join efforts to restore and preserve their functions for future generations," said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director-General of the FAO Forestry Department.

The partnership involves 12 institutions and organizations including FAO and will focus primarily on six countries in the southern and eastern Mediterranean: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. The new partnership offers a way for stakeholders in the region to address the mounting challenges facing Mediterranean forests and draw greater attention to their value and the urgent need to protect them.

The Mediterranean Basin every year loses between 0.7 and one million hectares of forests due to fires, corresponding to an economic loss of an estimated €1 billion.

The Mediterranean region is confronted with a considerable increase in longer and more frequent drought and heat waves, resulting in the growing risk of large scale forest fires as well as more water scarcity, affecting both rural and urban populations.

Forests affected by numerous threats

Total forest area in the Mediterranean region is 73 million hectares, or 8.5 percent of the region's total land area. Mediterranean forests provide a diversity of products such as wood, non-wood forest products including cork, fodder for livestock and aromatic plants and game, all of which are important for socio-economic development and contribute to food security and poverty alleviation in rural areas.

But Mediterranean forests also are facing a mix of threats such as climatic change, agricultural expansion, tourism, urban development and other land use practices that are contributing to forest losses.

For example, in the northern Mediterranean, where forest land is mostly privately-owned, vegetation has spread extensively as a result of natural dynamics and, as a consequence of the lack of hands-on management, the risk of wildfires has increased.

In the south, growing pressure on forest resources by overgrazing, forest clearance for other uses, over-collection of fuel wood and charcoal are among the factors contributing to forest degradation and deforestation.

Action needed at all levels

The partnership is designed to integrate policies and investments at the country level in order to adapt forests to climate change; this would involve sectors such as forestry, agriculture, urban development, water, environment, land use planning, education and tourism.  It is also aimed at developing a joint regional approach to forest management and in particular, to wildfire prevention, through the sharing of expertise, knowledge and best practices.

At a local level the partnership will help to promote sustainable forest management among all stakeholders, including local communities, forest owners and managers, farmers, herders, environmentalists, protected areas managers and researchers.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/54606/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/54606/icode/ Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:00:00 GMT Forests are key for high quality water supply The global water situation is so precarious that by 2025, two-thirds of the world's population may experience regular water shortages. Forests capture and store water and play an important role in providing drinking water for millions of people. International agencies involved in forest protection call upon countries to pay more attention to forest protection for the provision of clean water. 18 March, 2011, Rome - By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in regions with absolute water scarcity and two-thirds of the world's population may experience water-stress conditions. Forests capture and store water and can play an important role in providing drinking water for millions of people in the world's mega-cities. Given this fact, the members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), international organizations involved in forests, call upon countries to pay more attention to forest protection and management for the provision of clean water.
 

"Forests are part of the natural infrastructure of any country and are essential to the water cycle", said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director General of the FAO Forestry Department.

"They reduce the effects of floods, prevent soil erosion, regulate the water table and assure a high quality water supply for people, industry and agriculture."  He was speaking prior to the UN World Water Day which will be celebrated this year on 22 March.


Forests are in most cases an optimal land cover for catchments supplying drinking water. Forest watersheds supply a high proportion of water for domestic, agricultural, industrial and ecological needs.


"The management of water and forests are closely linked and require innovative policy solutions which take into account the cross-cutting nature of these vital resources", said Jan McAlpine, Director of the United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat.  "The International Year of Forests, 2011 provides a unique platform to raise awareness of issues such as the water-soil-forests nexus, which directly affect the quality of people's lives, their livelihoods and their food security."


Moreover, forests and trees contribute to the reduction of water-related risks such as landslides, local floods and droughts and help prevent desertification and salinization.


Today, at least one third of the world's biggest cities, such as New York, Singapore, Jakarta, Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá, Madrid and Cape Town draw a significant portion of their drinking-water from forested areas. If properly utilized, forest catchment areas can provide at least a partial solution for municipalities needing more or cleaner water.


Generating momentum on forests and water


It is well known that water used by forests can be influenced and reduced by prudent forest planning and management practices such as the planting of appropriate tree species. Countries are stepping up policy and project activities to increase forest areas for the protection of soil and water.

Eight percent of the world's forests have soil and water conservation as their primary objective. While every hectare of forests make a huge contribution to regulating water cycles, around 330 million hectares of the world's forests are designated for soil and water conservation, avalanche control, sand dune stabilization, desertification control or coastal protection. This area increased by 59 million hectares between 1990 and 2010. The recent increase is largely due to large-scale planting in China for protective purposes.


Topics related to forest and water interactions have gained international attention in recent years. Many relevant conferences and events have been organized between 2008 and 2010, each of them looking at forests and water issues from a different perspectives (e.g. integrated water catchment area management and the role of forests in precipitation). Based on the outcomes of these meetings, a set of practical actions on forests and water supply are currently being developed for policy-makers and technicians.


Work is also continuing at the project level, particularly in transboundary water courses. One very prominent example is the "Fouta Djallon Highlands (FDH) Integrated Natural Resources Management Project" in West Africa.

This ten-year project, supported by the Global Environment Facility and jointly implemented by FAO, UNEP and the African Union, involves eight countries (Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Sierra Leone).

The Fouta Djallon Highlands are the point of origin of a number of international water courses, notably the Gambia, Niger and Senegal rivers. Shifting agriculture and tree felling for charcoal production led to heavy deforestation and depleted water resources in the area. In order to improve local livelihoods and water resources, the project aims to ensure the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources through the restoration of forest cover.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/53391/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/53391/icode/ Wed, 16 Mar 2011 23:00:00 GMT Reviving agricultural and forestry research in DR Congo In partnership with the European Union (EU), FAO is leading efforts to help the Democratic Republic of the Congo breathe new life into agricultural and forestry research, vital to nourish an underfed population and to preserve some of its most precious resources. 14 February 2011, Kinshasa/Rome -  In partnership with the European Union (EU), FAO is leading efforts to help the Democratic Republic of the Congo breathe new life into agricultural and forestry research, vital to nourish an underfed population and to preserve some of its most precious resources.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country 81 times the size of Belgium, is incredibly rich, and not only thanks to its resources underground. Its vast expanses of arable land and its immense forests possess unequalled potential.

But the riches trickle down only very sparsely to a population, over 70 percent of which is undernourished. And it is not yet clear what should be done to make sure that the forests and lands are developed in such a way that they will also benefit generations to come?

"All development begins with research ," says Gustave Tuka, former Secretary General of the Ministry of Scientific Research.

"Research used to be the pride of Congo," he adds, "but after a long period of lethargy, we are now just taking the first steps to bring it back to life." To illustrate the situation, he compares his country to Nigeria, which he says reportedly has more than 1200 full-time agricultural scientists. "Here we have only a handful of them."

Thinking back to late 2006, Patrick Houben of the European Union in Congo remembers: "We had the modest ambition to set a couple of teams of scientists to work." That was just the beginning of a major initiative in support of agricultural and forestry research, known by its French acronym as REAFOR, that is now in place with almost € 8 million in funding from the EU.

Completion


"Thanks to the support of the EU and with the backing of our many partners in agriculture and forestry, REAFOR is now reaching completion," says Ndiaga Gueye, FAO Representative in DR Congo.

REAFOR, he explains, is led by FAO, working with a host of specialised partners, including the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the National Institute for Agronomic Study and Research (INERA) and the University of Kisangani (UNIKIS).

In the area of forestry, 13 PhD-students and 35 MSc-students are carrying out research aimed at safeguarding one of the world's most valuable ecosystems, while at the same time improving the livelihoods of the people living in and around the forest, who greatly depend on it for their income and subsistence.

24 students are enrolled in agricultural research projects, 5 PhDs and 19 MScs. Their projects focus on basic Congolese food crops such as cassava and plantain, on how to produce more and better plants, while preserving the environment and the ecosystem.

Meanwhile, research stations from the heart of the rainforest to the high hills bordering Uganda or the southwestern savannahs, are being rehabilitated and equipped with state of the art material, so that the students have what they need to perform.

Where goes the system?

 "Our aim is to provide Congo with the means to re-establish a critical mass of scientists for itself," says FAO's project manager, Nehru Essomba. Now that the students are preparing to defend their theses, and with REAFOR reaching completion, Essomba is confident that one of the immediate goals, the training of students and the rehabilitation of assets, will be achieved.

Moreover, he would like to leave behind the awareness that institutional reform is urgent.  "Because a system cannot develop itself when it doesn't know in what direction it is going."

"We have reached our objectives," the EU's Patrick Houben agrees. He adds that the question now is how to keep research going. "And that," he concludes, "is up to the Congolese."

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/49293/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/49293/icode/ Sun, 13 Feb 2011 23:00:00 GMT International Year of Forests launched Millions of forest-dependent people play a vital role in managing, conserving, and developing the world's forests in a sustainable manner, but the outside world often underestimates their rights to use and benefit from local forest resources, according to a new FAO report on the state of the world's forests. FAO releases the report at the launch of the United Nations International Year of Forests in New York. 2 February 2011, New York/Rome - Millions of forest-dependant people play a vital role in managing, conserving, and developing the world's forests in a sustainable manner, but the outside world often underestimates their rights to use and benefit from local forest resources, says FAO's new State of the World's Forests report, launched at the opening ceremony of the United Nations International Year of Forests in New York today.

"What we need during the International Year of Forests is to emphasize the connection between people and forests, and the benefits that can accrue when forests are managed by local people in sustainable and innovative ways," said Eduardo Rojas, FAO's Assistant Director-General for Forestry.

Towards a "greener" economy

An increased interest in social and environmental sustainability presents a unique challenge to the forest industry to innovate and restructure itself to be able to respond to the demands of the 21st century and to change the generally poor perception of wood products by consumers, who often feel guilty about using wood as they think it is ethically unsound to cut down trees.

The FAO report stresses that on the contrary, the forest industry forms an important part of a "greener" economy and wood products have environmental attributes that would appeal to people. Wood and wood products, as natural materials, are made from renewable resources that store carbon and have high potential for recycling.

The forest industry is responding to numerous environmental and social concerns by improving sustainability of resource use, using more waste materials to make products, increasing energy efficiency and reducing emissions. For example, 37 percent of total forest production in 2010 came from recovered paper, wood waste and non-wood fibers, a figure that is likely to grow to up to 45 percent in 2030, with much of that growth from China and India.

Furthermore, most solid wood products, like sawn wood and plywood, are produced with relatively little energy use. This results in a low "carbon footprint" from their production and use, which is further enhanced by the fact that carbon is stored in wood products. Pulp and paper production is more energy intensive but is coming under increased pressure to reduce its energy intensity and carbon emissions by adopting improved technologies and emission trading.

Many governments believe that the forest industry has great potential in promoting a "greener economy" including through the use of bioenergy, wood promotion activities, and new wood based products and biomaterials and many developed countries have increased their support for the development of forest industries over the last few years.

REDD+ needs to address local concerns

The FAO report also stresses that urgent action is needed to protect the values of forests that sustain local livelihoods in the face of climate change.

Recent decisions taken in Cancun in December 2010 on REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) should be aligned with broad forest governance reform and enable the participation of indigenous people and local communities. Their rights should be respected in national REDD+ activities and strategies, the report suggested.

According to the report, countries will need to adopt legislation to clarify carbon rights and to ensure equitable distribution of costs and benefits from REDD+ schemes.

Adaptation strategies are underestimated

While REDD+ forest mitigation actions are attracting major attention and funding, the role of forests in climate change adaptation is crucial but often underestimated by governments.  The report stresses the importance of forests in contributing to the achievement of national adaptation strategies.

Forestry measures can reduce the impacts of climate change on highly vulnerable ecosystems and sectors of society. For example, stemming the clearance of mangroves (one fifth of which are believed to have been lost globally since 1980), would help protect coastlines from more frequent and intense storms and tsunamis.  Planting forests and trees for environmental protection and income could help the poor in arid countries to be less prone to droughts.  Examples of adaptation measures in developing countries include mangrove development and conservation in Bangladesh, forest fire prevention in Samoa and reforestation programmes in Haiti

The report points out that the close links between forests, rural livelihoods and environmental stability underline the need for substantial financial support for forest adaptation measures.

Without such attention given to local-level issues, there is a risk of eroding traditional ways of life and threatening some of the most biologically diverse and environmentally important forests in the world," the report stated.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/50437/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/50437/icode/ Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT FAO receives top award for forest fire protection The Forestry Department of FAO yesterday received an important Spanish award in recognition of its outstanding merits in forest fire protection. Each year, the Spanish NGO "Asociación para la Promoción de Actividades Socioculturales" gives the "El Batefuegos de Oro" (Golden Fire Swatter) award for achievements in forest fire protection. 26 November 2010, Rome - The Forestry Department of FAO yesterday received an important Spanish award in recognition of its outstanding merits in forest fire protection.


Each year, the Spanish non-governmental organization "Asociación para la Promoción de Actividades Socioculturales (APAS)" gives the "El Batefuegos de Oro" (Golden Fire Swatter) award to distinguished persons or organizations with outstanding merits in forest fire protection.


This year, the jury, which is made up of high-level experts from Spanish ministries, NGOs and civil society, chose FAO's Forest Assessment, Management and Conservation Division to receive its 2010 honour. The award came under the "International" category for helping developing countries in particular in forest fire prevention and suppression.


"This is a great honour for FAO and an important recognition of our work in the field of fire management which has demonstrated over the years that well-established community based and integrated fire management systems can effectively protect human lives, livelihoods, forest and natural resources," said José Antonio Prado, Director of the Forest Management Division of FAO, after receiving the award in Madrid.


FAO has coordinated the development of the Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines aimed at helping countries develop an integrated approach to fire management, from prevention and preparedness to suppression and restoration.


The FAO Guidelines advise authorities and other stakeholder groups that fire-fighting should be an integral part of a coherent and balanced policy applied not only to forests but also across other land-uses on the landscape.  


The Guidelines are now widely used all over the world by industralized and developing countries as a basis for formulating fire management policies, strategies and practices.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/47972/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/47972/icode/ Wed, 24 Nov 2010 23:00:00 GMT Forest biodiversity at risk The world's forest biodiversity is threatened by a high global rate of deforestation and forest degradation as well as a decline in primary forest area. In many countries, however, there is a continued positive trend towards the conservation of forest biological diversity via dedicated conservation areas. 4 October 2010, Rome - The world's forest biodiversity is threatened by a high global rate of deforestation and forest degradation as well as a decline in primary forest area. In many countries, however, there is a continued positive trend towards the conservation of forest biological diversity via dedicated conservation areas.

These are some of the key findings of the final report of FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 (FRA 2010), the most comprehensive assessment of the state of the world's forests ever undertaken. The final report of FRA 2010 was published today at the start of the latest biennial meeting of the FAO' Committee on Forestry and World Forest Week, in Rome.

Globally, around 13 million hectares (ha) of forests were converted to other uses (including agriculture) or were lost through natural causes each year between 2000 and 2010. That is down from around 16 million ha per year during the 1990s, the report said.

More than one-third of all forests are classified as primary — showing no visible signs of human intervention. Primary forests, in particular tropical moist forests, include some of the world's most species-rich and diverse ecosystems. Primary forests account for 36 percent (1.4 billion ha) of the world's forest area but their area has decreased by more than 40 million ha — at a rate of 0.4 percent annually — over the last ten years.

This does not necessarily mean that these forests have disappeared; rather, in many cases they have been reclassified because selective logging or other human interventions were carried out during the reporting period, FAO said. The UN agency emphasized that forests where humans have intervened can still hold important biodiversity values, contribute significantly to environmental protection, and sustain livelihoods, provided they are well managed.

South America accounted for the largest proportion of the loss in primary forests, followed by Africa and Asia.

Other threats to forest biodiversity include unsustainable forest management, climate change, forest fires, insect pests and diseases, natural disasters and invasive species — all of which are causing severe damage in some countries.

Better conservation and management

At the same time, the forest area designated for the conservation of biological diversity has increased by more than 95 million ha since 1990, according to FAO's report. The largest portion (46 percent) was designated between 2000 and 2005. Today 12 percent of the world's forests (more than 460 million ha) are designated primarily to conserve biological diversity.

Legally established protected areas, such as national parks, game reserves and wilderness areas now cover more than 10 percent of the total forest area in most countries and regions. The primary function of these forests may be the conservation of biological diversity, the protection of soil and water resources, or the conservation of cultural heritage.

"The world's forests represent a vital source of forest biological diversity. This biodiversity is an important treasure, especially as forests will not just have to adapt to climate change but are also expected to help mitigate it," said FAO Assistant Director-General Eduardo Rojas. "Greater investments in sustainable forest management are urgently required to better conserve and manage forest biodiversity."

FAO noted that there is an accelerating trend among countries to integrate biodiversity conservation into forest management planning and practices.  However, there is a clear need for action to improve the effective conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in production forests, particularly in forest concessions.

"Over-exploitation and unsustainable use of wildlife in many tropical regions, often from protected areas and most pronounced in Central African forests, is a major concern," Rojas said.

Wildlife at risk of extinction

FRA 2010 also warned that commercial hunting driven by consumer demand in cities will probably drive many wildlife species to extinction in the near future unless effective measures are implemented soon, including law enforcement, community participation, provision of alternative protein and the establishment of simple and practical wildlife monitoring systems.

The report contains data from 233 countries and areas covering seven themes: the extent of forest resources; biological diversity; forest health; productive; protective and socio-economic functions of forests and the legal, policy and institutional framework guiding their management and use. More than 900 experts from 178 countries contributed to the report, which is the result of a four-year effort.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/45904/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/45904/icode/ Sun, 03 Oct 2010 22:00:00 GMT FAO launches NASA-developed fire monitoring system FAO today has launched a new online portal on fire information and real time monitoring to help countries to control fire effectively and protect property and natural resources. The new Global Fire Information Management System (GFIMS) detects fire hotspots from satellites operated by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). 11 August 2010, Rome - FAO today has launched a new online portal on fire information and real time monitoring to help countries to control fire effectively and protect property and natural resources. The new Global Fire Information Management System (GFIMS) detects fire hotspots from satellites operated by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Developed in collaboration with the University of Maryland, GFIMS has an online mapping interface for displaying fire hotspots in "near real" time meaning that there is a lag of approximately 2.5 hours between satellite overpass and the data being available. The new system also allows users to receive email alerts on specific areas of interest, enabling subscribers to react quickly.

"The GFIMS has been launched at a time when the incidence of megafires tends to increase," said Pieter van Lierop, FAO Forestry Officer, who is responsible for the agency's activities in fire management.

"The control of these fires has become an issue of high importance, not only because of the increasing number of casualties and the huge amounts of area burned but also because of the relations with issues of global interest, like climate change."

In Russia alone this year due to the unprecedented heat wave with temperatures soaring to up to 40ºC and winds of up to 20 metres per second the total area burned has reached more than 14 million hectares, according to the data provided by the Sukachev Institute for Forests, based in Krasnoyarsk. Forest fires in Russia have already killed more than 50 people this summer.

Globally, vegetation fires affect an estimated 350 million ha of land each year- about half or more of this area is burnt in Africa. In the Mediterranean, between 700 000 and one million hectares are damaged by vegetation fires every year.

Easy to use

Until recently, natural resource managers have faced considerable challenges in obtaining timely satellite-derived information on vegetation fires.

"The information was very fragmented because it was gathered from various sources making it unsuitable for precise analysis and identifying trends," - said John Latham, FAO Senior Environment Officer in the Natural Resources Management and Environment Department. - "GFIMS is an integrated fire information system which delivers the essential data to its users while the fires are still burning."

GFIMS allows users to download fire information in minimal file sizes and in easy-to-use formats, including text files, ESRI shapefiles, Web Map Services, Google Earth/KML files, and a plug-in for NASA World Wind.

"GFIMS has also provoked strong research interest," added Latham. "Linking the system to land cover shows us what is burning. GFIMS now provides analysis on trends of prevalence of fire by year and month, and will include information on the size of burnt area by land cover type in the future. It will result in improving analytical data and timely response."

The system could be used by forest managers and fire fighters, as well as agencies involved in agricultural and natural resources monitoring. The subscription is free of charge. The system only requires a functioning email address. Initially GFIMS has been launched in three languages - English, French and Spanish. The monitoring system is hosted at the FAO's Natural Resources Management and Environment Department.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/44613/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/44613/icode/ Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:00:00 GMT Growing poplars for food security Around one million people in Siyang County, China, are now enjoying benefits from the capacity of poplar forests to restore marginal flood plains stabilizing the banks of the Yellow, Huai and Yangtze rivers. Poplar trees protect fields from floods, wind, sandstorms and soil erosion which gives boost to agricultural activities and improves rural livelihoods. 4 August 2010, Rome - Around one million people in Siyang County, China, are now benefiting from the capacity of poplar forests to restore marginal flood plains and stabilize the banks of the Yellow, Huai and Yangtze rivers. Large swaths of planted poplar trees now protect fields once ravaged by floods, wind, sandstorms and soil erosion, giving boost to agricultural activities.

"Poplars are very fast-growing and amazingly resilient," said Jim Carle, Leader of the Forestry Management Team at FAO. "They can grow in many sorts of ways and can easily integrate with other land uses, making them ideal for supporting animal husbandry, agriculture, aquaculture, viticulture and horticulture."

Some of the services provided by these multi-purpose trees include furnishing material for shelter, shade and dwellings, protecting crops and supplying fodder for livestock, as well as offering viable sources of bio-energy. Poplar is one of the faster growing trees, with production cycles of 5 to 15 years, and has a wide range of end-uses. Increasingly poplars are grown for wood energy production.

By engaging Siyang farmers and smallholders in new income generating activities, the development of wood industries and resulting job creation has contributed to an improvement of the region's overall economic situation and an increase in the per capita income of both its urban and rural residents. 

Key to success

Siyang has long been pointed to as an example of the successful application of the international transfer of germplasm, scientific knowledge and technology. The history of Syiang's cooperative partnership in poplar cultivation dates back to the 1970s, when the county first imported 32 poplar clones from Italy, where centres of excellence in poplar research and development existed. This ongoing activity was facilitated by FAO's International Poplar Commission (IPC).

Covering more than 100,000 hectares of the county's land area, poplars are today Siyang's principal tree species, increasing its tree cover from seven to 47 percent over the last 30 years.

"Because of the scale [of the activity] and because of the fast-growing nature of poplars, it grew to become a very large rural development programme also supporting food security, livelihoods and other land-uses, pushing boundaries beyond what was originally planned," Carle added.

China is now the world's biggest poplar growing country, followed by France. The area of planted poplar forests and agroforestry (combining trees and crops or livestock) in China is about 8 million hectares, 30 times greater than the areas under poplar cultivation in France.

Support for agriculture

Poplar-based smallholder agroforestry has transformed the flood plains of Siyang County into a mosaic of green activity on the landscape. Faster leaf decomposition and biomass growth have created a much more fertile soil on once sandy land, which was not always suitable for cultivation.

"People can now diversify their activities," said Alberto Del Lungo, a Forestry Officer with FAO's International Poplar Commission. "Because of poplars' compatibility with many crops, farmers can now grow wheat and maize and an abundance of horticulture crops. Smallholder farmers, for example, also use the cut stems of poplar for cultivating mushrooms in their greenhouses." 

Wood as key industry

Poplars also provide wood, fibre and fuelwood for forest industries. Poplar wood is colourless, odourless and tasteless, making it highly suitable for fruit boxes, medical tools, chopsticks, flooring and furniture and manufacturing pulp and paper.

Siyang's wood processing industry today churns out nearly 100 types of products, including fibreboards, plywood, decorative veneer and furniture. At present there are more than 1 200 wood processing enterprises active in the region, employing around 50 000 workers. Siyang's wood processing capacity has recently surpassed 2 million cubic meters per year, with its products being exported to Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Carbon sink

Poplar-based agroforestry is a profitable activity for another key reason. Carbon storage is a crucial environmental service provided by poplar trees and critically important for climate change mitigation.

Several studies have shown that agroforestry provides opportunities to create highly efficient carbon sinks. And the combination of poplar and wheat in particular is a good land-use option for increased carbon sequestration in farms, according to FAO.

"Great Green Wall" of China

Poplar cultivation has become popular in smallholder and agro-forestry plantings in other regions of China. "Cover the infertile mountain with trees, - turn the crawling desert into oases" — these rhyming phrases used by China's "green campaigners" refer to the Great Green Wall of poplar and willow forests, built to curb soil erosion and to reduce the intensity of sandstorms.

Smallholders who were producing little from the infertile cropland of the sandy Northwest region began to plant drought-resistant poplars and willows to provide shelter and shade from sandstorms. Later, once the advancing deserts were halted, smallholders started harvesting and selling lumber for a living, while keeping the sheltering greenbelts in place.

67-year-old Shi Guangyin — a farmer, who has fought with sandstorms since his childhood and, was awarded an "outstanding farmer" by FAO in 2002 — has played a lead role in this effort. In 1984, Shi joined with seven other rural families to found a company to combat advancing sands in his region by planting trees on 200 hectares of land. To date, his company has mobilized over $1.47 million to plant and reinforce 13 000 hectares of forests in Dingbian County, Shaanxi Province.

Important lesson to learn

"Poplar planting in China has been a tremendous success," said Carle. "China has become the key player in poplar cultivation and is now able to transfer knowledge and technology not only to other parts of China but also to other regions and territories, like Central Asia.

"The IPC plays an important role in improving farmers' livelihoods. It promotes the integration of poplar cultivation in agroforestry systems, by transferring science and technologies from developed to developing countries and by supporting policy-makers, strategic planners and investors in the implementation of poplar cultivation to contribute towards sustainable development and land-use".

In recognition of the role of poplars in rural development and to highlight the catalytic role played by FAO, the IPC and Italian cooperation, Siyang county created the world's only historic Poplar Museum. It was founded on the exact spot where the first two Italian clones were planted in Siyang. Building on the technology transfer facilitated by IPC members, specifically Italy, over the past 30 years, and investing further, China has become a world leader in poplar genomics and biotechnology to improve resistance to biotic agents, improve wood quality, increase productivity and contribution of poplars to rural development.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/44518/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/44518/icode/ Tue, 03 Aug 2010 22:00:00 GMT Holding back the sand A successful FAO-run project in Mauritania to fix sand dunes and stop sand encroachment has many lessons for other similar projects in the Sahel and Sahara. A manual on the project has been published by FAO to mark The World Day to Combat Desertification. Sand encroachment can bury villages, roads and oases and damage crops and irrigation infrastructure, causing economic damage and increasing poverty and food insecurity. June 17, 2010, Rome – FAO marks World Day to Combat Desertification today with the publication of a manual that shows how a project in Mauritania successfully fixed dunes and stopped sand encroachment.

It will serve as a useful blueprint for similar projects in Africa. Sand encroachment is what happens when grains of sand are carried by winds and collect in dunes on the coast, along watercourses and on cultivated or uncultivated land.  

As the dunes move, they bury villages, roads, oases, crops and irrigation channels and dams, causing major economic damage and increasing poverty and food insecurity.   

The right plants 

The new FAO publication, Fighting sand encroachment – lessons from Mauritania, compiled with the support of the Walloon region of Belgium and Mauritania’s Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, explains sand encroachment processes and control techniques, with an emphasis on involving local people in sand control activities. 

By choosing the right local plant and tree species and involving the local community and national authorities, the FAO Mauritania project fixed 857 hectares of threatened land on the outskirts of the capital city Nouakchott and in southern coastal areas with 400 000 plants grown for the purpose in nurseries.

Two way battle

“The fight against desertification is a fight on two fronts,” said Nora Berrahmouni, FAO Forestry Officer for Arid Zones.

“The first is preventing the process happening in the first place through sustainable management of existing forests, range lands and natural resources.

“The second is repairing the damage done to forests and oases, by first stopping the sand blowing on the degraded soil and then replanting.”

The Support for Rehabilitation and Extension of the Nouakchott Green Belt Project was initiated by His Royal Highness, Prince Laurent of Belgium, financed by a $1.6 million grant from the Walloon Region of Belgium.

It ran for nine years and finished in 2009.  It was implemented by FAO in close collaboration with the Government of Mauritania. The project has worked so well that it is now being replicated in other parts of Mauritania.  

Brick in a green wall 

Lessons will be also drawn up for the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel, an initiative being carried out under the auspices of the African Union Commission and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD).

The Great Green Wall initiative aims to address the impacts of aridity, low land productivity, desertification and climate change as well as to secure sustainable livelihoods in the Sahara and Sahel drylands.

It will include sustainable management and restoration of degraded forest lands, dune fixation, and management of oases and grazing land across several countries of the Sahara and Sahel, from the Atlantic coast to the Indian Ocean.

FAO, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, has just launched a $460 000 project to kick-start the Great Green Wall project in five selected countries – Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Mali and the Niger.  The European Union is also providing 1.4 million euros to implement the initiative in eight other countries.

Lessons learned from this project will also serve the new “inter-regional program for poverty alleviation and combating desertification through collaborative watershed management” launched by FAO in June 2010 in Mauritania, Morocco and Ecuador and funded by Spain.]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/43305/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/43305/icode/ Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:00:00 GMT Enlisting communities in wildfire prevention Fighting wildfires requires participation by local communities, since most fires are caused by human activities. FAO has published a new version of its "Wildland Fire Management Handbook for Trainers," which calls for a more integrated approaches to fire management, including not only detection and suppression but also prevention and preparedness. 19 April 2010, Rome - Fighting wildfires requires the participation of local communities, since most fires stem from human activities, says a new version of FAO's "Wildland Fire Management Handbook for Trainers," co-published today by the UN agency and the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"When local communities benefit from protecting their natural resources they are more likely to be mobilized to prevent fires," said Pieter van Lierop, FAO Forestry Officer. Where people have a direct interest in protecting their natural resources, the number and size of unplanned wildfires started by people are likely to drop significantly.

The handbook highlights that the risk, frequency, intensity and impacts of wildfires can be reduced through more integrated approaches to fire management, including fire detection and suppression but also monitoring, early warning, prevention and preparedness. 

"There should be the right balance between activities involving suppressing fires and investing in costly forest-fire equipment on one hand, and establishing effective prevention and awareness-raising among local communities on the other," van Lierop said.

Scale and causes of wildfires

Globally, more than 350 million hectares (ha) are estimated to be affected by vegetation fires eah year — about half or more of this area is burnt in Africa.

An estimated 150 to 250 million ha of tropical forests are affected by wildfire annually.

Between 700 thousand and 1 million ha in the Mediterranean area suffer from vegetation fires every year.

Ninety to 95 percent of all such fires have a human cause.

The expansion of agriculture and other forms of land conversion in developing countries, negligence, the increased use of wildlands for recreation, such as picnics and barbecues, and tourism in both developed and developing countries are among the reasons for the increasing incidence and impacts of wildland fires. Many fires are intentionally set to clear land for agriculture, and often burn much larger areas than was originally intended.

However, simply prohibiting burning is not a practical solution. "People will light fires anyway, even if it is legally banned, in order to clear land or to dispose of rubbish," van Lierop said. "So it is more beneficial to train local communities in fire management and to develop alternative less harmful solutions with them. Burning land at the end of winter, for example, will lower the risk of bigger devastating fires."

Fire: a necessary evil

Fire can be very destructive and at the same time be a very useful land management tool if carefully timed and used. Fire and ecosystems have been linked in many ways for millennia, and that must be recognized for any wildland fire management to be effective, according to FAO. It is important that planned burning in ecosystems takes place to maintain biodiversity, ensure regeneration, and forage production.

For instance, it is known that in Southern Africa, controlled burning of savanna provides edible forage for animals compared to unburnt areas and reduces the fire risk by reducing the accumulation of dry and inedible older grasses. In grassland ecosystems, fire is the primary mode of decomposition, crucial for returning nitrites to the soil and allowing the grasslands to sustain their high productivity.

Successful fire management requires training of local communities to improve their knowledge of fire impacts on food security and rural livelihoods. Also, land-use authorities and managers around the world need to be educated in ecological fire management. Creating special forest fire control units in each country is another important step to monitor and prevent disastrous forest fires.

In Thailand, massive education and training programmes involving foresters and the general public have resulted in a reduction of indiscriminate burning by 30 percent, the publication mentions. "Developing countries should look into such positive practices and put more efforts into community based fire management education and prevention of fires," added van Lierop.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/41230/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/41230/icode/ Sun, 18 Apr 2010 22:00:00 GMT World deforestation decreases, but remains alarming in many countries World deforestation, mainly the conversion of tropical forests to agricultural land, has decreased over the past ten years but it continues at an alarmingly high rate in many countries, according to key findings of FAO's most comprehensive forest review to date, The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010. 25 March 2010, Rome - World deforestation, mainly the conversion of tropical forests to agricultural land, has decreased over the past ten years but continues at an alarmingly high rate in many countries, FAO announced today.


Globally, around 13 million hectares of forests were converted to other uses or lost through natural causes each year between 2000 and 2010 as compared to around 16 million hectares per year during the 1990s, according to key findings of FAO's most comprehensive forest review to date The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010. The study covers 233 countries and areas.


Brazil and Indonesia, which had the highest loss of forests in the 1990s, have significantly reduced their deforestation rates. In addition, ambitious tree planting programmes in countries such as China, India, the United States and Viet Nam - combined with natural expansion of forests in some regions - have added more than seven million hectares of new forests annually. As a result the net loss of forest area was reduced to 5.2 million hectares per year between 2000 and 2010, down from 8.3 million hectares annually in the 1990s.


The world's total forest area is just over four billion hectares or 31 percent of the total land area. The net annual loss of forests (when the sum of all gains in forest area is smaller than all losses) in 2000-2010 is equivalent to an area about the size of Costa Rica. 


Biggest losses in South America, Africa


South America and Africa had the highest net annual loss of forests in 2000-2010, with four and 3.4 million hectares respectively. Oceania also registered a net loss, due partly to severe drought in Australia since 2000. 


Asia, on the other hand, registered a net gain of some 2.2 million hectares annually in the last decade, mainly because of large-scale afforestation programmes in China, India and Viet Nam, which have expanded their forest area by a total of close to four million hectares annually in the last five years. However, conversion of forested lands to other uses continued at high rates in many countries.  


In North and Central America, the forest area remained fairly stable, while in Europe it continued to expand, although at a slower rate than previously.


"For the first time, we are able to show that the rate of deforestation has decreased globally as a result of concerted efforts taken both at local and international level," said Eduardo Rojas, Assistant Director-General of FAO's Forestry Department.


"Not only have countries improved their forest policies and legislation, they have also allocated forests for use by local communities and indigenous peoples and for the conservation of biological diversity and other environmental functions. This is a very welcoming message in 2010 - the International Year of Biodiversity.


"However, the rate of deforestation is still very high in many countries and the area of primary forest - forests undisturbed by human activity - continues to decrease, so countries must further strengthen their efforts to better conserve and manage them", he added.


Forests and climate change


Forests play an important part in climate change mitigation. Forests store a vast amount of carbon. When a forest is cut down and converted to another use, carbon is released back into the atmosphere.


"A lower deforestation rate and the establishment of new forests have helped bring down the high level of carbon emissions from forests caused by deforestation and forest degradation", said Mette Løyche Wilkie, the Coordinator of the Assessment.


"But we need to look forward because the large tree planting programmes in China, India and Viet Nam, accounting for most of the recent gains in forest area, are scheduled to end by 2020," she added. "That means we have a short window of opportunity to put in place effective and permanent measures to significantly reduce the current rates of deforestation and forest degradation. Without such interventions we risk a sudden return to the high rates of net forest loss and of carbon emissions from forests, which we had in the 1990s," she said.


FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessments are published every five years. More than 900 specialists from 178 countries were involved in the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010. The full report of this Assessment will be released in October 2010.


Key findings


Other key findings in the report included:


  • Brazil lost an average of 2.6 million hectares of forest annually in the last ten years as compared with 2.9 million hectares per year in the 1990s while Indonesia's figures were respectively 0.5 and 1.9 million hectares per year.
  • Primary forests account for 36 percent of total forest area but have decreased by more than 40 million ha since 2000. This is largely due to reclassification of primary forest to "other naturally regenerated forests" because of selective logging or other human interventions.
  • The area of forest in national parks, wilderness areas and other legally protected areas has increased by more than 94 million hectares since 1990 and it now equals 13 percent of the total forest area.
  • Forests are among the world's chief carbon sinks. They store some 289 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon in trees and vegetation. The carbon stored in forest biomass, deadwood, litter and soil together is more than all the carbon in the atmosphere. Globally, carbon stocks in forest biomass decreased by an estimated 0.5 Gt a year in 2000-2010, mainly due to a reduction in total forest area.
  • Fires, pests and diseases are causing increased damage to forests in some countries. On average, one percent of all forests was reported to be significantly affected each year by forest fires. Outbreaks of forest insects damage some 35 million hectares of forest annually. Extreme weather events such as storms, blizzards and earthquakes also took a heavy toll in the past decade.
  • Seventy-six countries have issued or updated their forest policies since 2000 and 69 countries - primarily in Europe and Africa - have enacted or amended their forest laws since 2005.
  • Data collection for the Global Forest Resources Assessment is becoming more comprehensive and precise. New data and additional information on afforestation and on natural expansion of forests for the past 20 years has made it possible to estimate rates of deforestation and loss from natural causes more accurately. The new global estimate for 1990 to 2000 (close to 16 million ha per year) is higher than previously estimated (13 million ha), because it now also includes deforestation within countries that have had an overall net gain in forest area.
  • A remote-sensing survey of forests, led by FAO, sampling some 13 500 sites over a period of 15 years, will provide even more accurate data on global and regional rates of deforestation by the end of 2011.
]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/40893/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/40893/icode/ Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:00:00 GMT Global forest monitoring to help mitigate climate change For the first time worldwide, free and ready-to-use high-resolution satellite data is now available to monitor forests and help reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The monitoring system has been launched by FAO and other partners as part of the Global Forest Resources Assessment. 20 October 2009, Rome - For the first time worldwide, free and ready-to-use high-resolution satellite data is now available to monitor forests and help reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The monitoring system has been launched by FAO and other partners as part of the Global Forest Resources Assessment.

"This brings a revolution to the forest monitoring field. Never before have data of this kind been provided directly to users in developing countries. Monitoring will be cheaper, more accurate and transparent for countries that want to participate in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation," said FAO Director General Jacques Diouf.

The world's forests are in the spotlight as talks for a new climate change deal move towards an agreement on how to achieve reduced emissions from forests next December in Copenhagen, Denmark.

A mechanism for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) would be a breakthrough in the fight against climate change and represents one of the areas where most progress is expected in Copenhagen.

It is the first time that a global forest scheme has the potential to generate such a magnitude of benefits for developing countries. Diouf underlined how a REDD mechanism would not only bring a reduced impact on climate but also much needed resources to improve livelihoods, conservation efforts and food security.

Tools to make REDD work

At the same time, many issues remain to be solved before REDD will work. One of the corner stones is Measurement, Reporting and Verification systems of carbon, which must be in place for carbon accounting and payments to be carried out in an appropriate and transparent way. Today, the majority of developing countries do not have sufficient monitoring systems in place.

Satellite remote sensing has provided images of the Earth for over 30 years. The technology and associated science has vastly improved the knowledge and perception of our planet.

"The FAO Forest Resource Assessment is unprecedented in so many ways.  It is the most comprehensive and challenging use of high resolution satellite data ever attempted and the use of the historical time-series of Landsat images will result in sound and objective estimates of global forest and land cover change." says Jeffrey Eidenshink, Acting Director of the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. Other partners include South Dakota State University, U.S. and the European Union Joint Research Center.

The monitoring system delivers data in a global sample grid at 13 000 locations and provides tools for their interpretation. It is designed to improve global and regional information on forest change in FAO's assessments of forests.

For a country the sample grid can be intensified and become a cost-efficient approach to measure national forest trends.

"This system will not cover all information needs for REDD, but the remote sensing approach, together with field verification, will provide forest area changes in a robust and verifiable way - a crucial component for carbon accounting under REDD," said Mette Wilkie who coordinates the Global Forest Resources Assessment Programme at FAO.

The UN-REDD Programme, a collaborative partnership between FAO, UNDP and UNEP supports developing countries to prepare for REDD.

"National monitoring systems must be enhanced, not just looking at carbon dynamics but also measuring multiple benefits of REDD and drivers of deforestation. This new global monitoring system is a very important step in demonstrating that REDD can become a reality" said Peter Holmgren responsible for FAO's involvement in UN-REDD and FAO's focal point for Climate Change.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/36408/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/36408/icode/ Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:00:00 GMT World Forestry Congress to meet in Buenos Aires As climate change negotiations enter their final stretch towards the December conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, the World Forestry Congress will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 18-23 October 2009. 9 October 2009, Rome – As climate change negotiations enter their final stretch towards the December conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, the World Forestry Congress will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 18-23 October 2009.

The most important meeting on the global calendar with regard to the forestry sector, the World Forestry Congress has been held every six years since 1926, organized by the government of the host country under the auspices of FAO.  

4 500 participants

This year, some 4,500 participants — including government delegates and representatives from the private sector and environmental organizations from more than 120 countries — are expected to kick off the five day discussions under the theme: “Forests in development. A vital balance”.

300 papers were selected out of the over 3 500 which were received, thus ensuring a high quality discussion, with principal topics for debate being bio-energy, climate change, sustainable development and the need for synergies across diverse sectors in order to identify a green roadmap out of the crisis.

Forests affect everyone

“Damage to forest ecosystems is affecting everyone in the world through climate change, water scarcity and the loss of biological diversity,” said Jan Heino, FAO’s Assistant Director General of Forestry.

Heino urged those in attendance to endeavour to adopt more effective land, crop and livestock management practices. “Given that agriculture and land use changes such as deforestation contribute about one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, the potential role of these sectors in meeting the climate change challenge is great,” he said.  

Turning to climate change, one tangible outcome of the conference will be a technical recommendation to be presented at the UNFCCC COP15 meeting in Copenhagen.  

“With the world population rising, and with global warming at the top of the political agenda, it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet the goals we set for ourselves in terms of combating hunger and eliminating poverty. The situation will worsen if leaders do not take bold action. Nothing else will suffice,” Heino added.]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/36150/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/36150/icode/ Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:00:00 GMT REDD: North-South Agreement for New Emissions Reduction Mechanism In an unprecedented display of cooperation between developed and developing countries on climate change, eighteen Heads of State publicly expressed their commitment and support for REDD — Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing counties. 23 September 2009, New York - In an unprecedented display of cooperation between developed and developing countries on climate change, eighteen Heads of State gathered at UN headquarters in New York to publicly express their commitment and support for REDD—Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing counties.

They asserted that the new climate change agreement to be negotiated in Copenhagen must address in an effective and equitable way the role of forests as a mitigation option. 

Following the previous day’s Summit on Climate Change, and in advance of the critical Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen taking place this December, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened leaders and dignitaries from developed and developing countries to dialogue and publicly support REDD. After remarks by Secretary-General Ban, Presidents and Prime Ministers from Africa (Republic of Congo); Asia and the Pacific (Papua New Guinea); Latin America and the Caribbean (Guyana); industrialized countries (Australia,  Norway, Sweden),  and World Bank President Zoellick took the stand to support progress and actions on REDD.  Statements by other high ranking officials included Bangladesh, Belgium, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Indonesia, Japan and the People’s Republic of China also underlined their commitment.   

The event marked the largest gathering of countries to date on the issue of REDD, with the participation of over 80 countries and over 150 dignitaries and leaders from international and non-governmental organizations, academia, think tanks and the private sector from around the world concerned with climate change and forests. 

“This convergence of world leaders highlights a positive, growing momentum in support of REDD and signals how this mechanism may be feasible from a technical, financial and collaboration perspective,” Secretary-General Ban said about the event. “While drastic reductions in fossil fuel-related emissions are crucial in addressing climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from forests and land use is pivotal to the overall equation.”   

Participating developing countries expressed their willingness to undertake significant cuts in deforestation and forest degradation, provided that they receive sufficient financial support.  Secretary-General Ban highlighted global emissions can be substantially reduced by preventing deforestation. 

A report by the Informal Working Group on Interim Finance for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (IWG-IFR) estimates a 25 percent reduction in deforestation could be achieved with a financial commitment of 15-20 billion Euros ($22-29 billion) by 2015.   

Deforestation and the degradation of forests are responsible for just under one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than all the world’s cars, trucks, ships and planes combined. In addition to storing over one trillion tons of the world’s carbon, forests provide for essential human needs, including adaptation. Yet under the current Kyoto Protocol, developing countries cannot receive credit for the social and environmental benefits their forests provide. The absence of rewards for maintaining forests means they continue to be cut, burnt and degraded. A REDD mechanism, that will be discussed during the climate change negotiations this December in Copenhagen, proposes to change the perverse incentives that make forests worth more dead than alive.


The UN-REDD Programme, a collaborative partnership between FAO, UNDP and UNEP, supports countries to develop capacity to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and to implement a future REDD mechanism.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/35689/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/35689/icode/ Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:00:00 GMT First shoots of Haiti’s agricultural renaissance An extensive programme to multiply quality seeds in Haiti has helped boost food production and contributed to the decline in the number of hungry people in the desperately poor Caribbean nation. Almost 250 000 smallholder and landless farmers have or will receive adapted quality seeds through the programme which although only half way completed has already paid for itself many times over. 20 August 2009, Rome - A $10.2 million scheme to distribute and multiply quality seeds in Haiti has significantly increased food production in the Caribbean nation providing cheaper food for the population and boosting farmers' incomes.

Requested by the Haitian government, financed by a loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and implemented by FAO, the programme was introduced to combat high international food prices.

The situation was made more urgent by a series of deadly tropical storms that hit Haiti exactly a year ago in which farmers lost seeds and crops. With this year’s hurricane season now underway, the programme has also helped boost FAO seed stocks in Haiti so the country will have more quality seeds at hand to distribute should farmers lose their stocks again. 

$5 million worth of beans in one season 

Almost 250 000 smallholder and landless farmers have or will receive adapted quality seeds through the programme, which although only half way completed has already paid for itself many times over.

FAO estimates that the quality bean seeds from Guatamala procured and distributed to poor and vulnerable farmers for the 2008 winter planting season for $300,000, has produced $5 million in bean crops.  

“We are extremely encouraged by the results we are seeing in this programme which, along with favourable weather, has been an important factor in increasing the amount of food available to poor people in Haiti,” said FAO Haiti Representative Ari Toubo Ibrahim.

Hurricanes wash away seeds

Haiti is one of the countries worst hit by rising food prices, which in April 2008 triggered riots in the capital Port-au-Prince. Four successive and devastating hurricanes in August and September 2008 meant the seeds poor farmers had saved were either washed away or eaten because people were so hungry. In any case, often there are no quality seeds available for poor farmers and they have no choice but to plant grain, hoping that some will grow.   

The Haitian Ministry of Agriculture identified the lack of suitable quality seeds as a major obstacle to increasing local food production and reducing dependence on imports susceptible to price fluctuations. 

New and better adapted varieties of seeds are also required to meet the challenges of shifting agro-ecological systems caused by climate change and deforestation.  The government and IFAD chose FAO as a partner because the UN agency has more than ten years experience in seed multiplication in Haiti and a strong emergency programme since 2004. 

Tools and training  

Apart from beans, the project also includes the multiplication of maize, sorghum as well as the propagation of cassava, sweet potato and banana plants. Five hundred tonnes of good quality rice seed produced locally is also to be distributed under the project.

The farmers also receive basic tools and advice or training via written material and radio broadcasts on best cultivation techniques.  The programme initially covers three planting seasons in Haiti — winter 2008 and spring and summer 2009 — and has seed multiplication partners in all of the country’s ten administrative departments ranging from farmers’ associations in hard-to-reach rural areas to a handful of larger peri-urban agri-businesses.

The government would now like to extend the project to the upcoming winter season to build on the programme’s excellent results and to continue support in the aftermath of the soaring food prices. Farmers can not recover their livelihoods in a few months but need more sustained assistance of at least a year.

Agriculture a priority

More than a half of Haitians — between five and six million people — live in rural areas and around 85 percent of the rural population practice some agriculture and farming accounts for around 26 percent of Haiti's economic output, making agriculture by far the country’s biggest employer.

According to Haitian government figures, agricultural production rose by 25 percent in the 2008 spring planting season compared to 2009. The number of food insecure people fell from 2.4 million in April 2008 (just before last year’s food price peak) to 1.9 million in June 2009.

FAO experts say NGO, government and UN schemes to rehabilitate the country’s irrigation channels and roads following last year’s floods and storms have also helped increase agricultural production.

“Reviving agriculture in Haiti is a priority in the fight against hunger and for the development of rural areas where the rate of extreme poverty is three times higher than in urban areas,” said Ibrahim.

“Food production is a pre-requisite to any other economic activities, even tourism, because to bring in tourists and then import food to feed them when more than two million Haitians are still food insecure is a recipe for resentment,” he said.

Fruit trees against hurricanes

When food production includes fruit trees such as mangos, avocados, bananas and coffee agriculture can be part of the reforestation process, as poor people are less likely to cut them down for firewood.

Despite the massive depletion of its natural resources and land degradation due to mismanagement of the land and extreme poverty over the past couple of decade Haiti was formerly an important agricultural producer.

“Haiti still has many excellent agronomists and its farmers have retained the knowledge base to produce food which is why we must keep up the focus on agriculture,” said Ibrahim.  
]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/29457/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/29457/icode/ Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:00:00 GMT The wildland fire problem Every year fires affect an estimated 350 million hectares of land, with damage to property, livelihoods and frequently loss of life. Uncontrolled vegetation fires also contribute to global warming, air pollution, desertification and loss of biodiversity. Fire prevention is one of the most effective counter measures. 27 July 2009, Rome – Every year fires affect an estimated 350 million hectares of land, with damage to property, livelihoods and frequently loss of life. Uncontrolled vegetation fires also contribute to global warming, air pollution, desertification and loss of biodiversity. Fire prevention is one of the most effective counter measures, and efficient fire monitoring can help in early warning, intervention decision- making and measuring impacts.  

Developing countries are often the most susceptible to the damaging impacts of fire which causes loss of human lives and property and destruction of natural resources.

In Ethiopia and South Sudan, fires destroy millions of hectares of land each year. Between 2000 and 2008, over 200 000 fires were reported in Sudan. In Ethiopia, the number of fires registered was over 400 000 in the same period.
 
In early 2009 forest fires caused millions of dollars worth of damage in California and in the Australian state of Victoria. The bush fire that swept through Victoria in February 2009 killed 173 people, left 7 500 people homeless, destroyed about 2000 houses, blackened 450 000 ha of land and the total insurance costs for the fires could amount to $1.5 billion. 

Recently, 10 000 people were evacuated due to uncontrolled fires in Western Canada. Huge numbers of fire fighters have also been deployed in Greece, Spain, Southern France, and the Italian island of Sardenia where fires have been raging with resulting destruction to property and a number of deaths among fire fighters.



Whose responsibility is it?

Growing population density escalates fire risk due to the increased demand for land and other natural resources. While by far the largest number of fires are human-induced, either through negligence, economic interests, careless use of fire in agriculture and pasture lands, illegal land clearing or arson, there are also concerns that building in areas of high fire risk exacerbates problems of fire control and management.

Should governments put money and human lives at risk in fire-susceptible zones allowing people to choose to live in high fire-risk areas without taking suitable prevention measures?

Such measures include cutting back bush and scrub located in close proximity to human dwellings which are not built in accordance with fire safety regulations. Prescribed well controlled burning to reduce fire risk also forms part of such measures. Both government and citizens have responsibilities in this.

Fire management is becoming increasingly a complex issue that requires the involvement of different sectors and interest groups to be effective. 

Fire monitoring

As bush and forest fires have increased both in frequency and severity, in areas such as the Mediterranean, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and North America, fire control is vital to human health, environmental protection, and natural resources management. 

Increasingly, satellites provide the means to monitor fires, by delivering real time information to fire management services. FAO, working together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) use satellites to monitor fires by creating a fire early warning system, providing data on forest fire location and estimating loss of biomass and biodiversity. At the same time field measurements are essential to validate satellite data. 

Participation of local communities 

Involvement of local communities is crucial to reduce wildland fires and their impact. For this reason, most FAO field projects in fire management include activities with local communities to assist in fire prevention, monitoring and control. 

These include awareness raising campaigns, capacity building and equipping of community fire brigades. 

Integrated fire management 

Given the complexity of fire management, policies should have an integrated approach with a right balance and due attention and resources set aside for all related activities. These include fire prevention, early warning, monitoring and assessment, fire preparedness, fire suppression, but also restoration following fires.

FAO works with developing countries to strengthen their capacity to implement the principles and actions as detailed in the FAO coordinated Fire management Voluntary guidelines. 

Fires occur in and outside forests and affect both forests and other land uses. Thus integrated fire management encompasses all types of vegetation fires – forests, woodlands, shrublands, rangelands, grasslands, and pasture lands.  ]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/29060/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/29060/icode/ Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:00:00 GMT €14 million Finland/FAO forestry programme Finland and FAO have signed a €14 million partnership agreement to improve forest data collection and analysis as well as management skills in selected developing countries for sustainable forest management. 27 March 2009, Rome – Finland and FAO signed a €14 million partnership agreement to improve forest data collection and analysis as well as management skills in selected developing countries for sustainable forest management.

The aim of the four-year programme is to help developing country governments protect their forest resources, build sustainable forest livelihoods and provide governments with the knowledge to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Country selection

The selection process for the three to six countries that will pilot the “Sustainable Forest Management in a Changing Climate” programme is under way and should be concluded in the coming weeks.

“FAO is very grateful to the Finnish government for having the foresight to realise just how important this work is and for providing the financial, technical and political support to carry it out,” said Jan Heino, FAO’s Assistant Director-General for Forestry.

“It is vital that we strengthen the information base for sustainable forest management so that developing countries are able to manage their trees and forests based on timely and reliable information,” he said.

The experience and knowledge gained in the countries participating in the programme will then be shared through FAO’s global networks to benefit a wider group of FAO member countries.

Knowledge is power

"If you don't know what you have it is difficult to act,” said Jim Carle, Chief of FAO’s Forest Resources Development Service.

“The Finnish contribution will allow FAO to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to gather information on forest resources and land-use change, forest uses and users and to formulate more consistent land-use and livelihoods policies not only to reduce an important cause of climate change but also to mitigate its impacts," he said.

According to the recently published FAO State of the World’s Forests 2009 report, 7.3 million hectares of forests were lost every year between 2000 and 2005. The report added that the global economic turmoil has resulted in reduced demand for wood, shrinking investments in forest industries and forest management.

Forest emissions

Around 18 percent of global CO2 emissions stem from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, a figure comparable to the total annual carbon dioxide emissions of the United States and China.

FAO is the lead UN agency for supporting developing countries in establishing forestry management and assessment systems, developing and implementing National Forest Programmes, deriving and implementing best practice guidelines for forest management.

The bilateral programmes in the selected beneficiary countries will in turn collaborate with and feed into the UN-REDD (United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) and the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership facility and the Forest Investment Programme.

FAO is one of the three UN agencies that form a part of UN-REDD. The others are UNDP and UNEP.

]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/10803/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/10803/icode/ Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:00:00 GMT Forestry in a new economic climate The dual challenges of economic turmoil and climate change are bringing the management of forests to the forefront of global interest. The need to reform forestry institutions and increase investments in science and technology are key to the better management of forests, notes FAO's latest State of the World’s Forests report. 16 March 2009, Rome – The dual challenges of economic turmoil and climate change are bringing the management of forests to the forefront of global interest.  The need to reform forestry institutions and increase investments in science and technology are key to the better management of forests, notes the State of the World’s Forests 2009 launched today. 
 
A highly mixed situation is expected, with gains in forest area in some regions and losses in others, notes the report. Countries in the early stages of development in particular tend to struggle with immense pressures on their forests. The trade-offs between immediate economic compulsions and long term benefits are challenging. Institutional weaknesses remain the most important problem, but also the most difficult to solve. 

 “Adapting forestry institutions to rapid changes in the larger environment is a major challenge”, says Jan Heino, Assistant Director-General of FAO’s Forestry Department.  Of particular importance is the need to re-invent public sector forestry agencies that have been slow in adapting to changing customer needs, said Mr. Heino.

Global demand for products and environmental services is expected to increase in the coming decades, notes the report. Energy and climate change policies are increasing the use of wood as a source of energy, although this trend may be affected by the recent economic down-turn.
 
Effect of global economic crisis

In the short term forests and forestry are greatly impacted by the global economic crisis, notes the report. Reduced demand for wood and wood products as a result of the collapse in the housing sector and the credit crunch are having a severe negative impact on investments in industries and also on forest management.

A general concern is that some governments may dilute previously ambitious green goals or defer key policy decisions related to climate change mitigation and adaptation as they focus on reversing the economic downturn, the report said. Initiatives such as those for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation that are dependent on international financial transfers could also face problems.

Furthermore, contraction of formal economic sectors often opens opportunities for expansion of the informal sector and could lead to more illegal logging. 

Green path to development

But there are also opportunities stemming from the current crisis. Increased attention on “green development” could provide a new direction to the development of the forest sector.  Planting trees, increased investments in sustainable forest management, and active promotion of wood in green building practices and renewable energy will all become integral parts of “green development,” notes the report.   

Regional disparities

Forest resources in Europe are expected to continue to expand in view of declining land dependence, increasing income, concern for protection of the environment and well developed policy and institutional frameworks. Europe accounts for about 17 percent of global land area but has one-quarter of the world’s forest resources, approximately 1 billion hectares, of which 81 percent is in the Russian Federation. I

In South America, the pace of deforestation is unlikely to decline in the near future, despite low population density. High food and fuel prices will favour continued forest clearance for production of livestock and agricultural crops for food, feed and biofuel.

In Africa, forest loss is likely to continue at current rates. The growing demand for, and rising price of, food and energy will exacerbate the situation, especially as increased investments in infrastructure open up new areas. Increasing frequency of droughts, declining water supplies and floods strain coping mechanisms at the local and national levels and undermine efforts to manage African forests sustainably.

In Asia and the Pacific, home to more than half of the world’s population with some of the most densely populated countries in the world, demand for wood and wood products is expected to continue to increase in line with the growth in population and income.

Growth in the demand for primary commodities owing to rapid industrialization of emerging economies is likely to result in forest conversion in other countries within and outside the region. While the region is a leader in planted forests, it will continue to depend on wood from other regions, as land and water constraints will limit the scope for self-sufficiency in wood and wood products.

The near future of forestry in North America will depend on how quickly the region reverses the recent economic downturn and its impact on the demand for wood and wood products, especially in the United States of America, noted the report. The forest sector will also need to address challenges of climate change, including increasing frequency and severity of forest fires and damage by invasive pest species.  ]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/10554/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/10554/icode/ Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:00:00 GMT Forests and the global economy: 10 million new jobs Ten million new green jobs can be created by investing in sustainable forest management, according to FAO. As more jobs are lost due to the current economic downturn, sustainable forest management could become a means of creating millions of green jobs, thus helping to reduce poverty and improve the environment,” said Jan Heino, Assistant Director-General of FAO’s Forestry Department. 10 March 2009, Rome - Ten million new “green jobs” can be created by investing in sustainable forest management, according to FAO. “As more jobs are lost due to the current economic downturn, sustainable forest management could become a means of creating millions of green jobs, thus helping to reduce poverty and improve the environment,” said Jan Heino, Assistant Director-General of FAO’s Forestry Department.
Since forests and trees are vital storehouses of carbon, such an investment could also make a major contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, said Heino. 

According to a recent study by the International Labour Organization, unemployment worldwide could increase from 179 million in 2007 to 198 million in 2009 under the best case scenario; under the worst case scenario, it could go as high as 230 million.  

Increased investment in forestry could provide jobs in forest management, agroforestry and farm forestry, improved fire management, development and management of trails and recreation sites, expansion of urban green spaces, restoring degraded forests and planting new ones. Activities can be tailored to local circumstances, including availability of labour, skill levels and local social, economic and ecological conditions. 

A number of countries, for example the United States and the Republic of Korea, have included forestry in their economic stimulus plans. Similarly afforestation is an important component of India’s rural employment guarantee programme. According to FAO, the global potential is at least 10 million new jobs through national investments.

At the same time, improved forest management and new tree planting could significantly reduce the downward trend in forest cover reported by many countries. This would help to reduce carbon emissions from land-use change and could potentially have a larger positive impact on climate change than any other initiative currently being planned or considered by world leaders. 

How sustainable forest management can help build a green future and meet society’s changing demand for forest-derived goods and services will be the main thrust of World Forest Week, to be held in conjunction with FAO’s Committee on Forestry, 16 to 20 March in Rome. Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, will deliver the keynote address. She will emphasize the critical role of forests in society’s response to the challenges posed by climate change.
 
The meeting takes place against the backdrop of an unprecedented global economic crisis. The forest sector has also been affected severely, notes FAO’s State of the World’s Forests 2009, to be released on 16 March 2009. However, the forest sector has considerable potential to play a catalytic role in the world’s response to the global economic and environmental crises.  ]]> FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom) http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/10442/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/10442/icode/ Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:00:00 GMT