79611 Forests At a glance generate heat and power, this renewable energy source could make a major contribution to reducing greenhouse ++  orests cover 25-30 percent of the earth’s land surface and F gases and support integrated, productive landscapes. contain about 80 percent of the world’s remaining terrestrial biodiversity. Forests help to maintain the fertility of the soil, The challenge protect watersheds, reduce the risk of natural disasters— including floods and landslides—and mitigate global climate Ultimately, we all rely on forests for climate regulation, carbon change by capturing carbon. sequestration, biodiversity conservation, soil fertility, and water. Forests contribute to our economic, social, and environmental well-being, but ++ C  onversely, deforestation and forest degradation contribute their many values are often underestimated or ignored in comparison significantly to the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions (about with other, often short-term, economic imperatives. Apart from wood, 17 percent according to the IPCC, though emissions may many forest goods and services are taken for granted and accessed have declined in recent years). Despite reforestation efforts, freely, hiding the true costs of forest loss. Undervaluation of multiple more than 5 million hectares are still lost worldwide every forest services reduces the competitiveness of long-term sustainable year. Over the last 50 years, more forest has been lost or forest management versus short-term gains from overexploitation and transformed than in any other historical period. conversion to other land uses. ++  About 350 million people who live within or close to Pressure to clear forests for agricultural and residential land, cattle dense forests depend on both timber and nontimber ranching, energy production, mining, and commodities is growing products for their subsistence and income. Of those, about along with world population and lifestyle changes. In the past 60 million people (especially Indigenous Peoples) are decade alone, about 43 million hectares of primary forest has been wholly dependent on forests. They are key custodians of lost. Illegal logging and associated trade are taking a further toll on the world’s remaining natural forests. If extensive areas of precious ecosystems, while forest plantations are currently unable degraded forest land were restored to a mix of forests and to keep up with the demand for pulp, paper, charcoal, and timber, agriculture, those mosaic landscapes could deliver a “triple and are no substitute for the multiple other values of natural forests. win� by improving food security; increasing resilience to climate change; and helping maintain ecological services Alarmingly, the combined stresses of climate change, deforestation, derived from forests, including greenhouse gas mitigation. and forest degradation may cause critical forest ecosystems, such as Particularly in remote areas, people have relatively few the Amazon, to be drastically affected and turn into savannas. This economic alternatives to living off the forest, and forests would produce additional social, biodiversity, and carbon losses. provide an important safety net in times of economic or agricultural stress. The future we want ++  orests represent a source of energy in many countries. In F Forests can help meet the growing demands for food, fiber, biofuel, 2005, 65 percent of the total primary energy supply in Africa shelter, and other bio-products as the world population increases came from solid biomass such as firewood and charcoal. to 9 billion people by 2050. Because forest resources are solar- Wood-based fuel will continue to represent a principle powered, renewable, and store carbon as they grow, they also have source of energy in low-income countries and is increasingly the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate viewed as a “green� alternative to fossil fuels in developed climate change by taking the place of nonrenewable materials and countries. If supplied sustainably and used efficiently to substituting for fossil fuels. World Bank Group | Brief May 2012 In a landscape approach, trade-offs in the use of the land could over short-term gains. Scientific management systems need to be managed better than they are today. Land can be used more be supported by accountable governance providing regulatory rationally to serve multiple needs, including food, fiber, and controls, law enforcement, and fiscal and tax policies that reinforce an energy production, but also preserve critical habitats and cultural appropriate sense of resource scarcity and protection of social values. resources. Sustainable forest management can be applied over a range of forest and farm systems to serve multiple purposes Consumer demand for goods that are sustainably produced is as the linchpin of healthy, productive, and resilient landscapes. growing and can provide economic incentives for sustainable Agroforestry, including nitrogen-fixing trees known to increase crop wood product manufacturing. Private sector involvement, through productivity, should be an integral part of climate-smart agriculture. market-based instruments such as certification schemes, Voluntary Partnership Agreements, and commodity roundtables, can help In the future we want, forests and trees will be harnessed to reverse transform markets and enhance sustained trade related to forests. soil erosion and land degradation, regulate critical ecological services, Sustainably produced wood can also substitute for fossil fuels and and protect biological diversity, while facilitating nature-based nonrenewable materials, for example, in construction, even on an solutions to climate change. Forests will generate more and better industrial scale. employment, and greater tax revenues. And the rights of Indigenous Peoples and forest dwellers will be guaranteed so they may enjoy International climate negotiations recognize that efforts to combat the resources and spiritual values of forests while their stewardship climate change must include nature-based solutions reducing of collective assets, such as water provision, biodiversity, and carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), sequestration, is fairly rewarded. Responsible forestry operators and which aims to support countries’ efforts to slow rates of forest wood-product manufacturers will be rewarded for their sustainable destruction, a significant source of greenhouse emissions. Through forest production, while illegally sourced timber that does not REDD+, countries can access sources of performance-based reflect the true cost of production will progressively disappear from payments for protecting and restoring forests. international and local markets. Finally, involving local communities and indigenous peoples, who How do we get there? are key custodians of the world’s remaining natural forests, can help protect the earth’s most precious forest assets. While important Reducing forest loss has often been impaired by a narrow sectoral inroads have been made in terms of community managed forests, view on land management, which does not reflect the reality faced forest dwellers often lack legal recognition of land tenure and by those using land and forests. The idea that a holistic landscape their customary rights, do not have access to resources, and are approach provides a better foundation for action is gaining ground. sometimes marginalized by the creation of industrial concessions Such a sustainable landscape approach—including climate-smart or protected areas. In other areas, they do not have the business agriculture, landscape restoration, sustainable management of administration or forest management skills to adequately manage natural forests, plantation development and natural regeneration— their resources. Removing some of these obstacles to community has the potential to increase crop and tree productivity while forestry and strengthening forest governance can go a long way protecting essential ecological and biodiversity functions. It is also toward more inclusive and equitable management of resources. expected to promote climate resilience and food security as well as Program safeguards, grant mechanisms, and capacity building increase access to affordable energy. are tools to help ensure that all stakeholders are given a more prominent voice and vote in development that affects them. With the right policy choices, institutions, and investments, sustainably managed forests can become a source of inclusive References and suggested readings economic growth, safety nets for rural dwellers, and economic  BioCarbon Fund: www.biocarbonfund.org. drivers to reduce poverty. Forests can also provide ecological services beyond the immediate realm of forests. The potential of Collaborative Partnership on Forests. Forthcoming. “Factsheets on Sustainable Forest Management.� forests—like other natural capital—to contribute to sustainable Convention on Biological Diversity. Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Accessed on 5/1/2012. http://www.cbd. development needs to be recognized in national accounts. Wealth int/sp/targets/. Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) helps FAO. 2008. “Forests and Energy: Key Issues.� ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/i0139e/i0139e00.pdf. countries incorporate the value of natural capital in national accounts and achieve the 2020 targets of the Convention on Forest Carbon Partnership Facility: www.forestcarbonpartnership.org. Biological Diversity regarding the valuation of biodiversity in Forest Investment Program: www.climateinvestmentfunds.org/cif/node/5. development and poverty reduction strategies and national accounting and reporting. Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration. 2011. Conference: “Bonn Challenge on Forests, Climate Change and Biodiversity 2011.� Bonn, Germany, September 2, 2011. Through sustainable forest management we can produce timber Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing: Synthesis. Washington, DC: and nontimber products in a manner that places value on standing World Resources Institute. forests and motivates communities and governments to maintain UNEP. 2011. Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication. a source of jobs and taxes and indirect benefits such as education, UNEP. Multiple years. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity. http://www.teebweb.org. job training, and health care. Sustainable forestry provides a reliable framework for resource development that can involve building Vergara, Walter, and Sebastian Scholz. 2010. Assessment of the Risk of Amazon Dieback. Washington, DC: community businesses, establishing long-term forest concession World Bank. programs, developing plantation incentive policies, and improving Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) brief. Forthcoming. the governmental administration of public goods to highlight the World Bank. Forthcoming, May 2012. World Development Report 2012: Inclusive Green Growth. The long-term economic, social, and environmental benefits of forests Pathway to Sustainable Development. Washington, DC: World Bank. World Bank Group | Brief May 2012