Policy brief: Inspire for the future: the role of forests in ensuring sustainable production and consumption

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) and the IUFRO World Congress 2024 | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) launched a brief with key messages of the high-level event in celebration of the International Day of Forests 2022 with the theme Forests and Sustainable Production and Consumption.

On 21 March 2022, panelists shared their perspectives and insights on a range of global trends and inspiring local examples under four guiding themes – Sustainable Lifestyles, Responsible Cities and Communities, Responsible Forest Ecosystem Services, and Responsible Industries. These included the role of forests in ensuring planetary health and human well-being, environmental degradation associated with economic development and social progress, responsible consumption, technical innovation and resource efficiency for sustainable production, and the importance of global cooperation to address relevant concerns towards building a sustainable future.

This publication gives further guidance on the four key messages identified during the event:

1. the forest sector contributes significantly to Sustainable Development Goal 12 on Responsible Production and Consumption and other related SDGs, acknowledging that trade-offs between ecology and economy are required to achieve goals related to climate, biodiversity and land degradation;
2. renewable forest products hold vast potential to contribute to the transition toward carbon-neutral societies and build inclusive, resilient and sustainable economies;
3. cities and communities are engines of innovation and provide new sustainable solutions and options to promote resource efficiency, opening opportunities to attract new capital and investments; and
4. local forest-based value chains support inclusive economic development and can be further strengthened by building trust and dialogue between stakeholders along the value chains and policymakers.

Find the report at:  https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc2259en
Read a media release at:  https://www.iufro.org/media/latest-releases/