Cali, Colombia – A new publication launched this week by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) warns that more needs to be done to protect, restore and sustainably manage the world’s forests in order to achieve global biodiversity goals.
Presented today during Forest and Water Day at the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16), The Forest Factor: The role of protection, restoration, and sustainable management of forests for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework publication highlights the importance of the conservation of forest biodiversity and sustainable forest management in achieving the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).
The CPF report, which has been led by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), also tackles global challenges such as climate change and sustainable development and presents solutions for reversing deforestation and degradation and enhancing the health of forest ecosystems. Practical policy recommendations and pathways are identified for stakeholders to help them align with KMGBF targets.
“This report delivers a clear message: conservation, restoration and sustainable management and use is crucial for achieving the KMGBF targets,” said Zhimin Wu, Chairperson of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and Director of the Forestry Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “This is a pivotal moment to connect biodiversity, climate change, hunger, and poverty as we journey from the 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference to the 2025 UN Climate Conference.”
Forests shelter up to 80% of the terrestrial biodiversity, including more species of birds, reptiles, and mammals than any other habitat. At the same time, the global rate of extinction of forest species is now 1,000 times higher than historical norms.
The role of forests in climate regulation is also highlighted in the report, in addition to their significant economic value and the immense costs of biodiversity loss due to deforestation and degradation.
Forests need more attention
Forests cover 31 per cent of the Earth’s surface and play a key role in supporting livelihoods as well as hosting most of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. They also manage carbon, water and energy exchange and support other ecosystems such as freshwater and coastal marine environments. Despite their significant contributions, they continue to face challenges.
Climate change, deforestation, forest degradation, species exploitation and the spread of invasive species are contributing to the loss of biodiversity, while more frequent and intense wildfires account now for nearly 33 per cent of global tree cover loss, according to the CBD-CPF report.
All of these are challenges to the implementation of the KMGBF goals and targets, which are fundamentally linked with the UN Strategic Plan for Forests. The only way forward, explains the report, is by improving forest management, restoration and conservation, and ensuring that forestry is better integrated into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans.
In addition, despite their unique nature, forests are frequently pooled with other types of ecosystems in terms of conservation, restoration and sustainable management of biodiversity. This means they often don’t receive the attention they need, the report underlines.
The Collaborative Partnership on Forests is an inter-agency partnership of 16 international organizations with substantial programmes on forests. Its members work together to support countries in scaling up forest action to maintain biodiversity, adapt and mitigate to climate change and advance sustainable development.
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