全球森林前景堪慮 世界林業大會提三願景

Over the past 25 years the rate of global deforestation has slowed by more than 50 percent, even though the world’s forests continue to shrink as populations increase and forested land is developed, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, reports.

Some 129 million hectares of forest – an area almost equivalent in size to South Africa – have been lost since 1990, according to FAO’s most comprehensive forest review to date, “The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015.”

烏干達基巴萊國家公園（Kibale National Park），一隻猩猩獨坐在路旁。圖片來源：Kent MacElwee（CC BY-NC-ND 2.0）

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, launching the report in Durban at the 14th World Forestry Congress last week.

The FAO report confirms the huge loss of tropical forests over the last 25 years, and Rod Taylor, director, WWF Global Forest Programme, is warning that the future of forests is not bright.

“WWF’s analysis shows that this trend will continue with future losses concentrated in 11 ‘deforestation fronts,’ unless bold and urgent action is taken to address the drivers of deforestation,” said Taylor.

“Without such action, up to 170 million hectares – the size of Germany, France, Spain and Portugal combined – will be wiped out in just 20 years,” he warned.

The assessment, which investigated forest management in 234 countries and territories, found that forest areas have increasingly come under protection while more countries are improving forest management.

This is often done through legislation and includes the measuring and monitoring of forest resources and a greater involvement of local communities in planning and in developing policies.

Close to 4,000 delegates from 142 countries attended the congress, including representatives from civil society, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, universities and the private sector, as well as 30 ministers and deputy ministers.

After a week of debate, the largest gathering on forests this decade set forth its vision of how forests and forestry should look in 2050.

As the Congress closed on Friday, delegates issued the Durban Declaration – a 2050 vision for forests and forestry that makes three main points.

“Forests are more than trees and are fundamental for food security and improved livelihoods,” the document declares.

“The forests of the future will increase the resilience of communities by providing food, wood energy, shelter, fodder and fibre; generating income and employment to allow communities and societies to prosper; harbouring biodiversity; and supporting sustainable agriculture and human well being by stabilizing soils and climate and regulating water flows,” it states as its first major point.

And third, the declaration views forests as “an essential solution to climate change adaptation and mitigation.”Second, it declares that, “Integrated approaches to land use provide a way forward for improving policies and practices to: address the drivers of deforestation; address conflicts over land use; capitalize on the full range of economic, social and environmental benefits from integrating forests with agriculture; and maintain multiple forest services in the landscape context.”

“Sustainably managed forests will increase the resilience of ecosystems and societies and optimize the role of forests and trees in absorbing and storing carbon while also providing other environmental services,” the document states.

Realizing this vision will require new partnerships among the forest, agriculture, finance, energy, water and other sectors, and engagement with indigenous peoples and local communities, the Durban Declaration states.

Success will require further investment in forest education; communication; capacity building; research, including climate change impact on forest health and diseases; and the creation of jobs, especially for young people.