From 27 to 29 September, the FAO Forest and Water Programme has organized, in collaboration with host SIWI Swedish Water House, a workshop where 20 participants from around the world meet as part of a process to develop a standardized monitoring framework and tool for forest-water relationships.

The objective of the workshop is to further develop a monitoring framework for forest-water interactions, more specifically the workshop aims to identify generalized forest-water indicators and recommended methodologies.

Approximately 75% of the world’s accessible freshwater for agricultural, domestic, urban, industrial and environmental uses comes from forests. Forests and trees are essential to maintaining resilient production systems, communities and ecosystems. They are vital to our water supply, providing high quality water resources: they intercept atmospheric moisture, contribute to cloud and rain formation, reduce erosion and recharge groundwater.

With approximately 80% of the world population facing water insecurity, the management of forests for water is increasingly important. Nevertheless, there has been a lack of monitoring of forest-water relationships, especially before and after changes in forest or land management. Insufficient data means there has been limited influence over the adoption of integrated forest-water policy and practice. This is why the FAO Forest and Water program has taken the initiative for this workshop, with the collaboration of SIWI Swedish Water House.

Key Facts:

• Forested watersheds and wetlands supply 75 percent of the world’s accessible fresh water for domestic, agricultural, industrial and ecological needs
• About one-third of the world’s largest cities obtain a significant proportion of their drinking water from forested protected areas
• Forests act as natural water filters
• Climate change is altering forests’ role in regulating water flows and influencing the availability of water resources