Gazing at the lush mosaic of green woodland interspersed with cultivated fields, it is hard for 49-year-old community leader, Pendi, to remember how his community forest land looked back in 2005. Then, this same land in the district of Ciwidey, 200 kilometers southeast of Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta, was barren and unproductive with no vegetation to speak of. During that time, with insecure tenure rights and little sense of ownership of the lands, deforestation in Indonesia was rampant. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that the country lost an average of 580 000 hectares of forest...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Forestry Unit within the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources is taking steps to protect The Bahamas’ forest cover and sustainable management of forests. This initiative stems from an inception workshop held on August 24, which is a first step under a new Green Climate Fund (GCF) project entitled ‘Preparation of Strategic Framework to Reduce Deforestation and Forest Degradation in the Bahamas’ project. The objective of the project is to improve planning and monitoring of forest and land-use activities for mitigation and adaptation. Another key priority will...

In the eastern region of Ghana, a nation teeming with vibrant and robust ecosystems, sits the Apedwa Forest Reserve. This small 4 km2 expanse of wilderness serves as the heart of biodiversity in the region. At the helm of managing this critical reserve, ensuring its flourishing and safeguarding its inhabitants, is a remarkably passionate woman, Lizzie Bekoe. Hailing from the town of Segyimase in Eastern Ghana, Lizzie is the fourth among her six siblings. This dynamic 30-year-old woman has been a forest ranger with Ghana’s Forestry Commission for a year now. Her choice of profession was not a random career detour...

Would you like to support establishing and operationalizing a National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS) in your country? If you are nodding in agreement, then this FAO free self-paced online course is for you. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has recently launched the online course ‘Institutionalization of Forest Data’. This is a course crafted for individuals eager to support the institutionalization of forest data within a robust NFMS. Additionally, it emphasizes transparency, sustainability, and data-sharing as critical pillars for the successful implementation of an NFM strategy. Whether you are a legal expert, a government, or a ministry officer,...

Would you like to contribute to our survey on 'Needs Assessment and Engagement Survey - Assessing needs and opportunities for promoting forest positive agriculture and sustainable food systems'? Help us identify gaps and needs, and explain how the UNFSS Forests & Food Systems coalition (FFS) can support stakeholders from both public and private sectors in forestry, agriculture, and trade, in addressing the topic of forest positive agricultural value chains. Participate in the online survey before the deadline on September 15, 2023.