Forests and development: From development discourses to providing data for decision making

Forests have a crucial role in achieving global sustainable development. The seminar discussed some of the central processes, policies and measures to advance forest-related sustainable development and the provision of forest data for supporting it. The topics discussed included implications of sustainable development goals for forests, environmental concerns in the bioeconomy discourse, how the problem of illegal logging and its solutions are perceived across the globe, equity discourses around REDD+, and the relationship between REDD+ and agricultural intensification, as well as the implications of the climate agreement at COP21 in Paris.

Sustainable forest management can be achieved only if forest policy and management decisions are based on a monitoring system which produces up-to-date and statistically robust evidence on forest resources and their changes. The FAO Finland Forestry Programme has developed capacities and methodologies to this end in five developing countries.  Integrated land use assessment in Zambia and national forest resources assessment and monitoring in Tanzania were presented as examples.  Standardization and transparency of forestry data and information is paramount.  A good example of how to achieve this is the Open Foris software developed within the FAO-Finland Forestry Programme and presented in the seminar.

The programme of the seminar below includes links to most of the presentations.
 
Programme:

Session I Shifting global development discourses

• Introduction to IUFRO WFSE project – Pia Katila, IUFRO WFSE Coordinator, Luke
• Implications of the SDGs for forests – Glenn Galloway, University of Florida, USA
• The search for sustainability: integrating environmental concerns in bioeconomy discourse – Daniela Kleinschmit, University of Freiburg, Germany
• The evolution of equity discourses in REDD+ - implications for policy making – Maria Brockhaus, CIFOR, Indonesia
• Green protectionism or a breakthrough for sustainable management - different narratives on illegal logging across the globe – Georg Winkel, EFI, Joensuu, Finland
• REDD and sustainable agricultural intensification: An analysis of tradeoffs and synergies in Kilosa District, Tanzania – Sheryl Quail, University of Florida and the Climate Food and Farming Research Network (CLIFF)

Session II Data provision for decision making

• FAO-Finland Forestry Programme "Sustainable management of forests in a changing climate" – Anssi Pekkarinen, FAO, Italy
• Integrated land use assessment II in Zambia – Mindenda Pande, Forestry Officer, Forestry Department, Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Zambia
• National forest resources monitoring and assessment of Tanzania – Nurdin Chamuya, NAFORMA National Project Coordinator, Tanzania Forestry Services Agency, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Tanzania
• Implications of the COP21 – the way forward – Maria Jose Sanz Sanchez, Scientific Director Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Spain            
• Open Foris Initiative, Anssi Pekkarinen and Open Foris demonstrations

Photo Credits:

Top: Mr. Pekka Puustinen, Director General, Department for Development Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland opened the seminar. Mr. Puustinen emphasized the importance of collaboration in the face of the significantly reduced funds for development collaboration. Both of the projects whose results are presented in this seminar clearly show that in the forest sector there is both expertise and potential for this kind of cooperation. Photo: Arttu Malkamäki

Bottom: Ms. Sheryl Quail from University of Florida and the Climate Food and Farming Network concluded that REDD+ has a role to play in rapidly transitioning farmers from extensive to intensive agriculture. Photo: Arttu Malkamäki