Using forest resources sustainably


  • Sustaining multiple roles and functions of wooded resources

Context

Intact forests protect watersheds. They provide the biological gene bank for many agricultural crops. They buffer the climatic system against change. They are the storehouse for traditional medicines. Their long term sustainable use provides the foundation for many local economies.

Two thirds of the earths original forest cover has disappeared. the rest is disappearing at the rate of one acre per second. In three months an area the size of belgium is lost in the Amazon due to fires started deliberately to clear land. The ecological cost of this destruction is an estimated loss of 100 species per day. Less than 6% of the worlds forests are protected.

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities. Agenda 21 recommends promoting efficient utilization and assessment to recover the full valuation of the goods and services provided by forests, forest lands and woodlands.

Implementation

The World Bank and WWF have formed an alliance for the conservation and sustainable use of forests. The aim is to increase to 10% the amount of protected forest of all types by the year 2000. Also to put 500 million acres of forest under independent certification by the year 2005. So far 21 countries including Brazil have agreed to the 10% target. The initiative includes helping countries with resources and the science as well as the creation of sustainable managed buffer zones surrounding protected areas. Emphasis is placed on the needs of people especially indigenous people to enable them to invest in sustainable development.

Counter claim

  1. Current regulations in many countries are allowing destruction of the forests to go on under the false flags of balance, sustainability and the like.

Facilitated by

  1. Undertaking investment for forest based processing enterprises
  2. Supporting use of environmentally sound technology
  3. Supporting survey on forest products
  4. Supporting downstream processing of forest products
  5. Supporting a holistic approach to forest resources planning
  6. Strengthening national programmes for assessing value of forests
  7. Strengthening national capacities on sustainable forest use
  8. Strengthening international institutional capacity for sustainable use of forest resources
  9. Providing technological information for better use of forest products
  10. Providing specialized training in forest planning
  11. Planning forest resources
  12. Mapping forests
  13. Managing wild renewable resources through local communities
  14. Managing tropical forest areas
  15. Increasing research on non-wood forest resources
  16. Increasing effectiveness of forest-based processing industries
  17. Increasing awareness for need to stabilize resource consumption
  18. Including full value of forests in market prices for forest products
  19. Improving trade in forest products
  20. Improving forest utilization
  21. Improving environmentally sound methods for forest harvesting
  22. Improving coordination of forest-related international agencies
  23. Fostering small business
  24. Developing policy for conservation of forests
  25. Developing methodologies for comprehensive assessments of the value of forests
  26. Conducting research on the properties of forest products
  27. Assessing supply for forest products
  28. Assessing commercial prospects of underutilized forest species

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