While the importance of forests and trees to a healthy, prosperous planet is universally recognized, the depth of those roots may be greater than imagined.
Forests and trees make vital contributions both to people and the planet, bolstering livelihoods, providing clean air and water, conserving biodiversity and responding to climate change. Forests act as a source of food, medicine and fuel for more than a billion people.
In addition to helping to respond to climate change and protect soils and water, forests hold more than three-quarters of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, provide many products and services that contribute to socio-economic development, and are particularly important for hundreds of millions of people in rural areas, including many of the world’s poorest.
However, the world’s population is projected to increase from around 7.6 billion today to close to 10 billion people by 2050. The corresponding global demand for food – estimated to grow by 50% during this period – is placing enormous pressure on the way we use productive land.
Deforestation, chiefly caused by the conversion of forest land to agriculture and livestock areas, threatens not only the livelihoods of foresters, forest communities and indigenous peoples, but also the variety of life on our planet. Land-use changes result in a loss of valuable habitats, land degradation, soil erosion, a decrease in clean water, and the release of carbon into the atmosphere. How to increase agricultural production and improve food security without reducing forest area is one of the great challenges of our times.
Evidence is key to opening up forest pathways to sustainable development. Agreed by the UN Statistical Commission in March 2016, the 2030 Agenda’s 230 indicators are designed to help countries measure the progress they are making towards achieving their objectives, learning from their experiences and understanding which areas to prioritize and allocate resources to.
Several indicators under SDG 15 focus on forests, specifically monitoring forest land and the share of forests under sustainable management. The Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA), coordinated by FAO, found that the world’s forest area decreased from 31.6% of global land area to 30.6% between 1990 and 2015, but that the pace of loss has slowed in recent years.
There is quantitative evidence to show that forests are being managed more sustainably and that forests and trees contribute to achieving SDGs relating to livelihoods and food security for many rural poor, access to affordable energy, sustainable economic growth and employment (in the formal sector), sustainable consumption and production, and climate
change mitigation, as well as sustainable forest management.
Some studies suggest that forests and trees may provide around 20% of income for rural households, both through cash
income and by meeting subsistence needs. Hence, the world’s response to climate change – in terms of adaptation, mitigation and resilience – must focus more on forests.
