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Cómo abordar la silvicultura y la agroforestería en los Planes Nacionales de Adaptación


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* Nota del editor: Esta es una traducción del artículo en inglés Forests and agroforestry taking its place for climate adaptation, publicado originalmente en Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). *

El potencial de los bosques y los árboles para mitigar el calentamiento global ha estado por mucho tiempo en el centro de las discusiones sobre el cambio climático. Pero hoy, los bosques –y los medios de vida de 1,6 mil millones de personas que dependen de ellos– están gravemente amenazados por los cambios en la temperatura y las precipitaciones, las tormentas,  plagas e incendios cada vez más frecuentes e intensos. Y es un hecho que la habilidad de los bosques y los árboles para adaptarse a estos impactos influirá también en su capacidad para mitigar el cambio climático.

Pero además, los bosques y los árboles ofrecen las llamadas soluciones basadas en la naturaleza para la adaptación, que pueden ayudar a la resiliencia de otros sectores. Gracias a sus importantes servicios ecosistémicos, los bosques sustentan los cultivos, la ganadería y la pesca, y también previenen las inundaciones y la erosión que pueden amenazar la infraestructura, las economías y a las personas.

Cómo abordar la silvicultura y la agroforestería en los Planes Nacionales de Adaptación: directrices complementarias [PDF]
Dada la importancia de estas contribuciones, el Programa de Investigación del CGIAR sobre Bosques, Árboles y Agroforestería (FTA) y la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO) unieron esfuerzos para poner a disposición el documento Cómo abordar la silvicultura y la agroforestería en los Planes Nacionales de Adaptación: directrices complementarias, para apoyar a los países a integrar estas consideraciones en la planificación de la adaptación al cambio climático.

Esta nueva publicación complementa las Directrices técnicas para el proceso del Plan Nacional de Adaptación, preparadas en 2012 por el Grupo de Expertos de los Países Menos Adelantados (GEPMA) de la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático (CMNUCC), así como el documento de la FAO Abordar la agricultura, la silvicultura y la pesca en los Planes Nacionales de Adaptación – Directrices complementarias, el cual introduce la perspectiva del sector y las oportunidades en los Planes Nacionales de Adaptación (PNA).

Todas las directrices se desarrollaron a partir de las lecciones aprendidas en los países y por medio del Programa de Integración de la Agricultura en los Planes Nacionales de Adaptación (NAP-Ag, por sus siglas en inglés), liderado de forma conjunta por la FAO y el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), y financiado por el Ministerio Federal de Medio Ambiente, Conservación de la Naturaleza, Construcción y Seguridad Nuclear de Alemania, por medio de la Iniciativa Internacional para el Clima (IKI, por sus siglas en alemán), cuyo objetivo es atender las preocupaciones de adaptación al cambio climático relacionadas con el sector agrícola en los procesos de planificación nacional y de elaboración de presupuesto implementados entre 2015 y 2020 por 11 países socios.

Las nuevas directrices destacan la importancia de la silvicultura y la agroforestería para la adaptación.

“Dado que el cambio climático afecta a los bosques, se requiere de medidas de adaptación para reducir los impactos negativos y mantener las funciones del ecosistema y su biodiversidad. Asimismo, los ecosistemas forestales contribuyen a la adaptación al proveer servicios ecosistémicos locales que reducen la vulnerabilidad al cambio climático tanto de las comunidades locales e indígenas, como de la sociedad en su conjunto. El potencial de los bosques y los árboles pasa desapercibido en las áreas rurales y urbanas. La adaptación del bosque será crucial, como parte de la recuperación verde ante la pandemia de COVID-19, y para un futuro más resiliente y sostenible”, aseguró Julia Wolf, coautora y Oficial de Recursos Naturales de la FAO.

Contribuciones potenciales de los bosques, árboles y la agroforestería a la adaptación de otros sectores o sistemas

Planificar la adaptación

Al reconocer los múltiples vínculos que tienen los bosques, los árboles y la agroforestería con otras actividades y sectores, y sus contribuciones a los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), las directrices adoptan un enfoque sistémico que se basa en el Marco Integrativo para los PNA y los ODS definidos por el GEPMA, lo cual permite una consideración más explícita sobre cómo abordar los ODS por medio de los PNA.

La CMNUCC estableció los procesos de los PNA para los Países Menos Adelantados (PMA) y para otros países en desarrollo, para identificar y abordar sus necesidades de adaptación a mediano y largo plazo. Este es el instrumento principal para que los países logren sus prioridades de adaptación y sus contribuciones nacionalmente determinadas (NDC, por sus siglas en inglés) bajo el Acuerdo de París, así como medidas alineadas de resiliencia climática y de manejo del riesgo de desastre bajo el Marco de Sendai para la Reducción del Riesgo de Desastres. Al tomar en cuenta las interacciones entre todos los sectores de una forma coordinada, los procesos de los PNA pueden favorecer un enfoque más holístico sobre el uso de la tierra y sobre los paisajes.

Proceso Modelo para la formulación e implementación de los PNA. Nota: Se muestran los pasos (en cuadros) y sus productos que actúan como entradas para los pasos posteriores.
Abreviaturas: M&E = monitoreo y evaluación, PAN = plan nacional de adaptación.

Estas directrices surgieron en respuesta a un llamado en 2018 del Comité Forestal de la FAO para alentar a los países a incorporar a los bosques en sus PNA, desarrollar políticas para la adaptación que incluyeran a los bosques, llevar a cabo acciones para mejorar la salud de los bosques y restaurar los paisajes y bosques degradados.

Posible flujo del proceso para abordar los sectores agrícolas en los PNA (para su adaptación). Fuente: Adoptado de las directrices técnicas PNA de la CMNUCC (UNFCCC, 2012)

La publicación se fundamenta en conocimiento existente relacionado con el manejo del bosque, evaluaciones de vulnerabilidad y adaptación al cambio climático, aprovechando las enseñanzas obtenidas al abordar la adaptación al cambio climático en los sectores agrícolas. Su objetivo es ofrecer orientación para las políticas y los responsables de la toma de decisiones sobre planificación para la adaptación y el financiamiento climático, así como a los múltiples actores en los sectores forestal y agrícola.

Para abordar las necesidades de los países de una forma más eficaz, las directrices se basan en un análisis de los PNA publicados, junto con documentos relacionados preparados por los países desarrollados o autoridades subnacionales. También se basan en consultas con expertos técnicos y partes interesadas clave de organizaciones de la sociedad civil, de organizaciones no gubernamentales, del sector privado y de organizaciones internacionales, así como en las directrices PNA-Ag y las recomendaciones del Grupo de Expertos de los Países Menos Adelantados de la CMNUCC.

La adaptación del bosque será crucial, como parte de la recuperación verde ante la pandemia de COVID-19, y para un futuro más resiliente y sostenible”

 Julia Wolf, Oficial de Recursos Naturales de la FAO

Enfoque integral

Las directrices invitan a los países a examinar las vulnerabilidades de los bosques y de las personas que dependen de ellos. Para ello, pueden utilizar este otro documento publicado de forma conjunta por la FAO- CGIAR FTA, Climate change vulnerability assessment of forests and forest-dependent people: A framework methodology (documento solo disponible en inglés), dado a conocer durante la COP 25 en Madrid, en 2019, en respuesta a los llamados para contar con enfoques sencillos y eficaces para llevar a cabo evaluaciones de vulnerabilidad. El documento ofrece una orientación flexible y detallada sobre cómo llevar a cabo estas evaluaciones, con la finalidad de acelerar los esfuerzos para mejorar las condiciones de las personas y de los bosques.

Con la aprobación de la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible y el Acuerdo de París, la comunidad internacional se ha comprometido con objetivos colectivos ambiciosos. Y el uso de la tierra es clave para todas estas aspiraciones, especialmente para los compromisos hechos por los países, establecidos en sus NDC. Debido a su destacado papel en la mitigación, para la adaptación, para el manejo sostenible de los recursos naturales y para la seguridad alimentaria, los bosques y los árboles están en el centro de este enfoque integrado.

Este artículo fue elaborado por el Programa de Investigación del CGIAR sobre Bosques, Árboles y Agroforestería (FTA). FTA es el programa de investigación para el desarrollo más grande del mundo. Busca fortalecer el papel de los bosques, los árboles y la agroforestería en el desarrollo sostenible y la seguridad alimentaria, y en la lucha contra el cambio climático. CIFOR lidera el FTA en asociación con Bioversity International, CATIE, CIRAD, INBAR, ICRAF, y TBI. El trabajo del FTA es apoyado por el CGIAR Trust Fund.

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  • New FTA Brief: Contribution of forests and trees to food security and nutrition

New FTA Brief: Contribution of forests and trees to food security and nutrition


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FTA just released a Policy Brief titled Contribution of forests and trees to food security and nutrition, which illustrates extensively the many ways through which forests and trees play a key, yet largely unrecognized, role in sustaining food production and food security and nutrition (FSN).

Contribution of forests and trees to FSN, an FTA Brief [PDF]
This paper synthesises knowledge about the contributions of forests and trees to the four dimensions of FSN: availability, accessibility, utilization and stability. Its purpose is to facilitate the use of such knowledge to inform policy and decision making in forestry and FSN related areas, as well as actions meant to build back better in a post-pandemic world.

It’s timely publication coincides with the 16th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF16) and will be also of relevance to the dialogues of the UN Food Systems Summit, for which FTA has submitted 11-game-changing solutions. Authors hope that this Brief will help shape the discussions and that future policies aiming at achieving SDG2 will better consider the numerous fundamental contributions of forests and trees to FSN. Maximizing these contributions requires policy coherence and integrated landscape approaches. Agricultural policies need to better integrate the specificities of tree crops and the multiple benefits provided by the integration of trees in farming systems.

The document was developed by CIFOR-ICRAF, UBC, The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Penn State and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Austria. Forests, trees and agroforestry provide:

  1. food (such as nuts, oils, vegetables – leaves, flowers, roots –, fruits, bushmeat, fish, herbs, saps, mushrooms, tubers and insects), and feed for livestock,
  2. bioenergy,
  3. income and employment, and
  4. non-provisioning ecosystem services (indispensable for agriculture and food production, now and in the future).

These contributions are then assessed in relation to the 4 dimensions of FSN (availability, accessibility, utilization and stability) with a detailed analysis of the complex inter-relationships between these dimensions and contributions. The paper embraces the wide diversity of forests and systems with trees, including agricultural tree crops and agroforestry systems.

Schematic representation of the multiple contributions of forests and trees to the four dimensions of FSN from local to global scales

Finally, the brief analyzes how the contributions of forests and trees to FSN and their variations by regions, social groups, households and even within households can help to further enrich (through FSN dimensions) the concept of “dependence on forests and trees”  with local to national and global dependences.

It highlights the importance of having indicators measuring the contributions of forests and trees to FSN integrated in the assessment of polices and welcomes the progress made in that regard in the  Global Core Set of indicators initiated by the CPF, thanks to the leadership of the UNFF and FAO.

The paper ends with a set of very clear recommendations, inviting policy makers to address all the relevant criteria to improve FSN and reach SDG2, with a focus on nutrition as well as on gender, indigenous peoples and vulnerable groups. Policies based only on producing more food  risk to develop undesired and detrimental effects on food security and nutrition, social equity and environmental sustainability.

This article was produced by the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). FTA is the world’s largest research for development program to enhance the role of forests, trees and agroforestry in sustainable development and food security and to address climate change. CIFOR leads FTA in partnership with ICRAF, The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, CATIE, CIRAD, INBAR and TBI. FTA’s work is supported by the CGIAR Trust Fund.

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  • Contribute! Roadmaps for primary forests conservation and innovative forest technologies in the Asia-Pacific region – the main results of the inception workshop

Contribute! Roadmaps for primary forests conservation and innovative forest technologies in the Asia-Pacific region – the main results of the inception workshop


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Following the recommendations of the ‘Third Asia-Pacific Forest Sector Outlook Study’ (FAO, 2019)[1], FAO and CIFOR, lead center of the CGIAR research programme on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA), are developing two inter-related roadmaps for primary forest conservation, and for innovative forest technologies in the Asia-Pacific region. These roadmaps will include key recommendations (policy and concrete actions) informed by science. They will be developed through an inclusive and participative process, involving key regional stakeholders and technical experts and paying a specific attention to the contributions of students and people engaged in activities related to the forest sector in the Asia-Pacific region.

On July 30th, 2020, FAO and FTA co-organized an online inception workshop to launch this collective process with three objectives in mind: (i) agree on the global direction of the two roadmaps; (ii) identify potential contributors; (iii) start building a strong community around these roadmaps to ensure a large participation to the process. The workshop combined plenary sessions with parallel sessions in smaller breaking groups (seven groups of 8-10 persons each) with the view to ensure both inclusiveness and active participation.

The workshop attracted a wide and diversified audience, representative of the key stakeholder groups in the region (international organizations, governments, private sector, civil society, research and academia).

The first session, devoted to primary forest conservation, was the occasion to discuss the main threats facing primary forest conservation, among which: climate change and natural disasters; population and economic growth; overexploitation and illegal exploitation of forests; conflicting land uses; inconsistent policies across sectors and scales; corruption, weak governance, migration and conflicts. Participants in the workshop identified many ‘hotspots’ for primary forest conservation and suggested for the roadmap to develop a list of criteria that could help describing and mapping these hotspots across the region and contribute to prioritize conservation efforts. Among such criteria were mentioned: size, level of threats, as well as richness and uniqueness of the ecosystem (considering its environmental, economic, social and cultural values).

Participants recommended to adopt an integrated, cross-sectoral, multi-stakeholder forest governance, articulated at all scales. Remnant primary forests should be considered within the broader landscape, taking into account the dynamics at stake in surrounding areas (e.g. planted forests, agricultural land, infrastructures and human settlements) that directly or indirectly impact primary forest status and trends. Among the institutional challenges for primary forest conservation, participants highlighted: the accurate monitoring of primary forest values; the sustainable funding of forest conservation; the importance of education and capacity building; the effective enforcement of existing laws and rules.

During the second session, the following categories of innovative technologies appeared as the most promising for sustainable forestry and sustainable forest management: ICTs/digital technologies; low-carbon technologies; biotechnologies; and emerging finance technologies. Most participants shared the feeling that innovation benefits will outweigh the risks. Innovative technologies can provide new products and services; generate further income and employment opportunities in the forest sector; and, by reducing waste, enhance the sustainable management of natural forest resources. However, the negative impacts of new technologies on local communities – including in terms of access to natural resources, food security, employment and livelihoods -, on natural ecosystems and on biodiversity should not be overlooked. In particular, the adoption and dissemination of innovative technologies will likely produce a shift in the labour market: generating new skilled job but destroying unskilled jobs and marginalizing traditional practices.

Among the main barriers to uptake and upscale of technologies, participants identified: (i) the lack of capacity (infrastructures and equipment, human capital and financial resources); and, (ii) restrictive policies and regulations lagging behind the rapid evolution of technologies and the rapid shifts in wood demand. One of the major challenges will be to “scale-down” innovative technologies and adapt them to each local context, so that they can also benefits to traditional users, smallholders and local communities. Participants agreed that regional cooperation, investment, infrastructure development, education and capacity building will be key to overcome these barriers, support technology transfer and dissemination, and accompany the populations at risk of being marginalized by these technological advances. They highlighted the importance for the public and private sectors to work hand-in-hand to address these issues.

Consumers have a lot of power for orienting the forest sector towards sustainability. Consequently, these roadmaps should contribute to raise consumer awareness on the two topics discussed during this workshop.

Report of the FAO-FTA Inception Workshop held on 30 July 2020

The workshop report presents in more details the discussions and the main results of the workshop.

During the workshop, participants demonstrated their high level of interest and enthusiasm for the two topics discussed. This raises high expectations regarding the outcomes of this collective process. Thomas HOFER, Senior Forestry Officer in FAO Regional office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-RAP, Bangkok), thus invited all participants to maintain their level of engagement in the coming months and to contribute actively to the work ahead with innovative ideas, out-of-the-box thinking and a forward-looking perspective, in the spirit of the ‘Third Asia-Pacific Forest Sector Outlook Study’.

At the end of the workshop, Vincent GITZ, FTA director, presented the next steps of the collective process of development of the two roadmaps.

After the workshop, the scopes of the two roadmaps were refined, based on the comments received.

The two revised scoping notes can be downloaded here

In the coming months, FAO and FTA will invite further contributions to the roadmaps through different channels: (i) direct interviews of selected key regional stakeholders; (ii) an open online consultation; and, (iii) an essay competition for students and young people engaged in activities related to the forest sector in the region. Following this inception workshop, additional technical workshops will be organized as appropriate, at critical stages of the process.

The open consultation was framed based on the suggestions received during the workshop. It aims at collecting scientific and local/traditional knowledge, experience and best practices, views and perspectives, suggestions and recommendations on primary forest conservation and on the application of innovative technologies in forestry and forest management in the Asia-Pacific region.

The consultation is open till November 15th, 2020 NOW EXTENDED UNTIL 15 DECEMBER!

Participate to the Online Consultation!

Young people will be the managers and decision-makers of tomorrow. They have shown their capacity to generate and spearhead trans-national mobilization to address environmental challenges, such as climate change, and advance sustainable development. They can be instrumental in shaping a sustainable future by taking leadership roles and generating momentum through collaboration and social media, and by transforming rigid institutions from within and participating to the uptake and upscale of innovative technologies in the forest sector.

This is why FAO and FTA decided to organize a competition to encourage contributions from students and young people engaged in activities related to the forest sector in the Asia-Pacific region. Youth are invited to share their experience, expectations and recommendations regarding the use of innovative technologies to advance sustainable forest management in Asia and the Pacific. This competition will take place in two steps: (1) call for abstracts, (2) development of the selected contributions.

The call for abstracts is open till November 15th, 2020 NOW EXTENDED UNTIL 15 DECEMBER!

Youth from the Asia-Pacific are encouraged to submit their abstracts!

The main findings and recommendations of the two roadmaps, as well as the best youth papers, will be presented and discussed during a regional multi-stakeholder workshop possibly organized back-to-back to the XV World Forestry Congress to be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea (24-28 May 2021).

The final objective is to publish the technical paper and the corresponding policy brief by end November 2021.

[1] FAO. 2019. Forest futures – Sustainable pathways for forests, landscapes and people in the Asia Pacific region. Asia-Pacific Forest Sector Outlook Study III. Bangkok. 352 pp. http://www.fao.org/3/ca4627en/ca4627en.pdf

This article was produced by the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). FTA is the world’s largest research for development program to enhance the role of forests, trees and agroforestry in sustainable development and food security and to address climate change. CIFOR leads FTA in partnership with Bioversity International, CATIE, CIRAD, INBAR, ICRAF and TBI. FTA’s work is supported by the CGIAR Trust Fund.

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  • COVID-19-led ban on wild meat could take protein off the table for millions of forest dwellers

COVID-19-led ban on wild meat could take protein off the table for millions of forest dwellers


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Young man hunting in the forest, Yangambi, DRC. Photo by Axel Fassio/CIFOR
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Originally posted on Forest News

Lack of access to wild meat could result in hunger and malnutrition for local and Indigenous communities

Conservationists have greeted China’s recent clampdown on wild animal hunting and consumption with enthusiasm.

The government made the move based on scientific theories that COVID-19 was transmitted from a pangolin or a bat to humans in a market in the city of Wuhan.

A similar response to the capture and consumption of wild meat occurred during the Ebola outbreak, which originated in an animal-human interaction and raged in West Africa from 2014 to 2016. At that time, conservationists suggested the disease was good for wildlife because people would not be eating wild animals as a result.

The transmission of disease between animals and people is nothing new. Animals have been the vector of more than 60 percent of infectious diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also states that three of every four new or emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic.

In the Middle Ages, plague, which is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, found in small mammals and their fleas, led to pandemics. Known as the “Black Death,” in the 14th century it caused more than 50 million deaths in Europe. The Spanish flu virus, which is thought to have originated in pigs, led to the 1918-1919 pandemic, killing an estimated 40 million people worldwide.

Read also –> On the Chinese government’s decision prohibiting some trade and consumption of wild animals

Diseases often jump from animals to humans, but become much more serious and have the potential to create pandemics when human-to-human transmission occurs.

How does this happen? The current focus is on wild fauna, but remember, as in the case of the Spanish flu, some of the deadliest diseases have been transmitted to humans not by wildlife, but by domestic livestock. For example, poultry sparked avian influenza and rodents led to the plague and cause hantaviruses.

First, transmission occurs when humans create contacts with wild fauna in places where none previously existed. In other words, humans “go” to the site of virus reservoirs.

Read also –> The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2

Research into Ebola by a multidisciplinary team coordinated by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Spain’s University of Malaga and Britain’s Manchester Metropolitan University, into how wild animals, humans and natural landscapes interact, demonstrates that in large measure the problem is linked to deforestation and habitat degradation, which leads to environmental oscillations that enable the jump of diseases from animals to humans.

Read also –> No conservation silver lining to Ebola

In a more recent study, the team showed that when bats in African rainforests are unsettled by humans, contact increases with people, likely influencing the spread of Ebola or other diseases carried by bats.

Second, transmission occurs when humans bring the reservoirs to their favored environments. For example, live animal markets or even pet trade sites — think psittacosis, also known as parrot fever.

The  global wildlife trade – whether legal or illegal – valued at billions of dollars, is also to blame for the spread of pathogens and infectious diseases resulting from the legal or illegal transport of animals or from selling them alive in markets in appalling conditions.

Read also –> The harvest of wildlife for bushmeat and traditional medicine in East, South and Southeast Asia

These two mechanisms of disease transmission from animals to humans are quite universal, even in the case of the current Coronavirus pandemic.

However, the solution to the problem must be more nuanced than an outright global ban.

If China’s example of outlawing hunting of wild animals is taken up by other countries, this could mean that millions of people – often the poorest rural and Indigenous communities – will not be allowed to access – through hunting or gathering wild animals – the only source of animal protein available to them.

Where no other protein is available, eating wild meat is a necessity, but it should be banned where there are alternatives and where profiteering from wildlife is the motive. Many urban consumers consider wild meat a luxury item, while others might buy it because they have migrated from rural areas to cities and they want to continue eating the food they traditionally consumed.

In very simple terms: nations should forbid the sale of live animals, close markets selling live animals, stop wildlife trafficking and stem the trade of wild animals from forests to cities.

Read also –> Recent loss of closed forests is associated with Ebola virus disease outbreaks

By doing this, we help conserve wildlife in their habitats and enable communities to use this resource. Research shows that city dwellers do not rely on wild meat as the only source of animal protein, since other affordable sources of meat are available.

The interrelationship between wild meat consumption, food security and poverty alleviation must be explored simultaneously when making decisions without relying on an outdated colonial discourse of conservation that favors wildlife over people.

Rural and Indigenous communities who harvest wild meat sustainably as a source of dietary protein already face growing competition from deforestation, biodiversity loss, legal and illegal trade. We should not add to these increased risks of malnutrition or hunger.

Read also –> Importance of Indigenous Peoples’ lands for the conservation of Intact Forest Landscapes

Many tropical forests face “empty forest” syndrome – they are forests in good standing, but they are depleted of large animals because of overhunting, disease, the impact of climate change, deforestation and forest degradation.

To address unsustainable exploitation amid growing concerns about animal-human disease transmission, sound and locally-tailored policies must be developed and implemented.

CIFOR and the partners of the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme — which includes the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the French Agricultural Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and the Wildlife Conservation Society — with support from the European Commission, are contributing to this effort through research-action, open consultations, working with communities to learn how to best protect the livelihoods and traditions of subsistence forest and rural dwellers and the landscapes they depend upon.

By Robert Nasi and John E. Fa

FTA is the world’s largest research for development program to enhance the role of forests, trees and agroforestry in sustainable development and food security and to address climate change. CIFOR leads FTA in partnership with Bioversity International, CATIE, CIRAD, INBAR, ICRAF and TBI. FTA’s work is supported by the CGIAR Trust Fund.

 

Access all FTA publications on bushmeat here.

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  • Exploring guiding elements of transformational change in integrated landscape management

Exploring guiding elements of transformational change in integrated landscape management

24 May, 2018

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FTA COMMUNICATIONS TEAM

Great emphasis is currently being placed on achieving transformational change and paradigm shift through policies and measures to implement the Paris Agreement and the UN 2030 development agenda, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF). There is a need to improve our understanding on how to enable, operationalize, measure and evaluate the intended, lasting outcomes. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) are partnering to elucidate the triggers and drivers of, and resistance to, transformational change across the landscape.

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  • Integration is name of the game that forests and agriculture need to play

Integration is name of the game that forests and agriculture need to play


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Banyan trees beside a river. Photo by FAO Forestry Mediabase
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Banyan trees. Photo by FAO Forestry Mediabase

Sustainable development of agriculture cannot be reached without acknowledging the important role forests have in landscapes and in value chains.

Agroforestry systems include not only traditional but also modern land-use systems where trees are managed together with crops and/or animal production systems in agricultural settings.

Whenever trees can be kept intact rather than be cleared for the purposes of agricultural production and forest ecosystems can thrive alongside crops, the more benefits are reaped. Considering this there is a need to facilitate the integration of agriculture and forestry relevant policies, allowing them to play better, together.

However, what is needed is a forward-looking focus on research, knowledge-generation and scaling-up with development of strong partnership among many different stakeholders. This is exactly what a side event at this year’s CFS 44 entitled “Forests, trees and agroforestry for food security and nutrition and the SDGs: Research and partners, toward a joint action agenda” aimed to debate.

The event itself was organized in a partnership between a large number of different stakeholders, including the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), The Netherlands Government, Tropenbos International and SIANI.

A strong case has been made for scaling up agroforestry in order to address the need for more productive and sustainable use of the land while assuring livelihoods and quality nutrition for the growing world population. In fact, as stated by FAO in their presentation on agroforestry, there is a constantly growing body of scientific literature that clearly demonstrates the gains accruing from agroforestry adoption, especially in regards to the improvement of the environment and people’s lives.

Continuing to invest in research is therefore essential. As FAO outlines “the agroforestry systems are dynamic, ecologically based, natural resource management systems that diversify and sustain production in order to increase social, economic and environmental benefits for land users at all scales.”

Click here to read the full story on the CFS website, by #CFS44 Social Reporter Ksenija Simovic.

As part of the live coverage during CFS44, this post covers the Forests, trees and agroforestry for food security and nutrition and the SDGs side event.

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  • Why good policies and public funding (only) won’t change the world

Why good policies and public funding (only) won’t change the world


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Photo by G. Smith/CIAT

We have been cutting trees to plant food crops since the beginning of time. Forest cover loss is a major contributor to climate change – the biggest challenge of our times. So, we won’t save the world without saving forests.

However, while the connection between forests and climate is very well recognized, agriculture is an elephant in the room at climate talks and a rare bird at discussions about forestry.

International deforestation curbing policy infrastructure is well developed. It includes the New York Declaration on Forests, the Bonn Challenge, Initiative 20×20, AFR100 and now also the UN Strategic Plan on Forests 2017-2030, just to mention a few of its components.

These are all great, but throwing billions at conservation and afforestation won’t work without making agriculture sustainable and zero-deforestation.

“Foresters must get out of the woods and focus more on deforestation drivers!” invokes Hans Hoogeveen, Ambassador to the FAO of the Netherlands, at the “Forests, trees and agroforestry for food security and nutrition and the SDGs” side event during the 44th session of the Committee on World Food Security.

Click here to read the full story on the CFS website, by #CFS44 Social Reporter Ekaterina Bessonova.

As part of the live coverage during CFS44, this post covers the Forests, trees and agroforestry for food security and nutrition and the SDGs side event.

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  • High Level Panel of Experts launches landmark report on sustainable forestry

High Level Panel of Experts launches landmark report on sustainable forestry


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Project Team Leader Terry Sunderland presents during the HLPE report launch at FAO Headquarters. Photo ©FAO/Giulio Napolitano
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The HLPE launches its latest report at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy, on June 27, 2017. Photo ©FAO/Giulio Napolitano

The High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) launched on June 27 a landmark report on sustainable forestry for food security and nutrition (FSN). The HLPE is the independent science-policy interface of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS). It provides a comprehensive evidence base for the political, multistakeholder discussions at the CFS.

The launch marked the first time that the CFS discussed the contributions of forests and trees to world food security, and how to enhance them. This is a very significant debate at UN level.

The CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) welcomes this report, and is proud to have significantly contributed to its elaboration by providing science and knowledge. The project team leader for the report, Terry Sunderland, a Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) scientist, is also a research cluster leader for FTA.

Forest and trees: key to food security and nutrition

FTA Director Vincent Gitz speaks during the launch of the HLPE report at FAO Headquarters in Rome. Photo ©FAO/Giulio Napolitano

The report presents a very compelling argument for the contribution of forests across the four major dimensions of food security and nutrition, which are availability, access, utilization and stability.

Forests and trees contribute directly and indirectly to food security and nutrition in many ways: the provision of food, primary energy (wood fuel for cooking), employment and income, and ecosystems services such as water regulation, soil protection, pest control pollination, and protection of biodiversity, which are all critical for sustainable food security and nutrition.

In addition, they play an important role in climate change mitigation at the global level, and adaptation at the local level, particularly in certain areas of the world and especially for those communities, often the most marginalized, that rely on forests for their livelihoods.

A new perspective, beyond arbitrary divides

A novelty of this report is that it goes beyond and leaves behind the traditional and somewhat arbitrary divides and distinctions between forest types and definitions, toward a more holistic approach to the roles of forests and trees, and the diversity of situations and roles of trees in landscapes, agriculture, farms and food systems, as key contributors to sustainable development, food security and nutrition.

Recommendations

The report makes 37 recommendations, grouped under the following seven headings, which pave the way for an action agenda on forests and trees for food security and nutrition:

  1. Rapporteur Francois Pythoud (left to right), FAO Deputy Director-General Climate and Natural Resources Maria Helena Semedo, HLPE Chairperson Patrick Caron, CFS Chairperson Amira Gornass, Project Team Leader Terry Sunderland and HLPE Coordinator Nathanael Pingault launch the report at FAO Headquarters. Photo ©FAO/Giulio Napolitano

    Develop and use policy-relevant knowledge on the direct and indirect contributions of forests and trees to FSN

  2. Enhance the role of forests in environmental processes at all scales without compromising the right to adequate food of forest-dependent people
  3. Support the contributions of forests to improve livelihoods and economies for FSN
  4. Promote multifunctional landscapes for FSN that integrate forests and trees as key components
  5. Acknowledge the importance and strengthen the role of forests and trees in enhancing resilience at landscape, community and household levels for FSN 
  6. Recognize and respect land and natural resource tenure and use rights over forests and trees for FSN
  7. Strengthen inclusive forest governance systems across sectors and scales for FSN

Implications for the research agenda, and for FTA

This report, at the same time as taking stock of the breadth of existing knowledge on the role of forests and tree-based systems for FSN and their potential contribution to reducing global hunger and malnutrition, also highlights the need for further data collection and analysis that will enable the case-by-case assessment all of these contributions, whom they benefit, and at which geographical and temporal scales.

Project Team Leader Terry Sunderland presents during the HLPE report launch at FAO Headquarters. Photo ©FAO/Giulio Napolitano

The HLPE report also shows the need for a better understanding of the drivers of change, and of the dynamics at play in landscapes — all areas that are at the heart of FTA research.

Situations are very diverse, socio-economical contexts are very different, and this shows the need for options-by-contexts to make the most of this potential. In FTA, we have good examples of what works, and how this can work in partnership for impact.

FTA can provide the evidence and tools to generate, pilot and, with partners (governments, the private sector, foresters and farmers), to scale-up and scale-out a range of solutions, according to a diversity of contexts.

We look forward to the discussion and the expressions of need in relation to research that will be discussed in the CFS policy convergence process, which will lead to decisions at the upcoming CFS 44 plenary on October 9-13, 2017.

We will use the results of that process to inform FTA’s future research priorities, and to fine-tune these to the needs of stakeholders for even greater relevance, legitimacy and effectiveness in the work we do.

By Vincent Gitz, FTA Director.

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  • Yes, we could and we did. Gender specialists share success stories

Yes, we could and we did. Gender specialists share success stories


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By Markus Ihalainen

The event “Gender Matters in Forestry – Challenges and Opportunities”, during the World Forestry Congress in Durban, South Africa, brought together policy makers, practitioners and researchers to look at what is already being done to address gender in forest policy and practice. The panel featured: Esther Mwangi, Principal Scientist (CIFOR), Heidrun Ströbert-Beloud, Gender Officer (GIZ), Patricia Rosete Xotlanihua, Deputy Director of Intersectoral Cooperation, Mexican National Forestry Commission, Eva Müller, Director at the FAO Forest Economics, Policy and Products Division, Bhaswati Thakurta, PhD candidate, University of Calcutta and Åsa Torkelsson, Economic Empowerment Advisor, UN Women.

Photo: FAO
Gender matters in forestry. Photo: FAO

We know gender matters in forestry. An ever-increasing body of research has time and again demonstrated that. We know that cultural norms and power relations often assign men and women different roles in forest use and management; gender inequalities persist in access and control over forest resources, benefit distribution as well as participation in decision-making. These inequalities are further likely to be exacerbated by climate change.

We also know that empowering women in forest management and use is crucial for realizing their rights. It is also often likely to bring about more egalitarian policy outcomes and environmental benefits.

So instead of discussing whether gender matters or not, why not look at what is already being done in terms of addressing gender in forest policy and practice? Our event tried to do just that.

Examining various initiatives and approaches, and understanding what works, what doesn’t, and why, is of crucial importance, also to allow for compiling and up-scaling best practices and identifying the enabling conditions, under which certain approaches to integrating gender translate into the desired outcomes.

Empowering women benefits the forestry sector. Photo: Simon Maina/FAO
Empowering women in forestry also benefits the environment. Photo: Simon Maina/FAO

In Uganda and Nicaragua, CIFOR researchers worked alongside communities to jointly identify and address barriers to equal participation in decision-making. They used a participatory research approach titled Adaptive Collaborative Management (ACM). After five years, women’s representation in forest executive committees is now on par with men’s, compared to the baseline figure of 16% at the inception stage. Involving both women and men in the process also made it easier for men to accept women’s leadership, said presenter Esther Mwangi

Promoting equal participation in forest decision-making also benefits the environment. In her research in India, Bhaswati Thakurta found that laws for equal participation in forest administration groups were often not enforced. Before women were included, it was the responsibility of men to guard the forest area, but they were idle and drank alcohol. This depraved their families of income so that the women saw themselves forced to cut trees illegally to sell them for livelihood.

The West Bengal state forest department changed the scenario radically. They included women in the forest management program and created Forest Protection Committees that were exclusively managed by women. So the illegal felling stopped.

Working with the male-dominated Moroccan Forest Administration on gender mainstreaming, Heidrun Ströbert-Beloud and the GIZ project team asked how the Moroccan forest sector could support gender-equal participation on the local forest user level, if the institution itself is not gender-inclusive? To change this, GIZ trained forest officials on gender issues and helped to bring more women into the forest administration. Since female representation is slowly but constantly increasing and staff are more aware of gender issues, both factors are expected to contribute to a more gender inclusive forest policy.

In Mexico, women’s land ownership and participation in forest decision-making is very limited. To address these issues, CONAFOR has adopted a twofold approach. First, the commission promotes women’s participation through gender-specific programs. These programs focus both on building women’s capacity as well as raising awareness of gender issues among men. Second, the commission – much like GIZ in Morocco – actively works to increase awareness of gender within CONAFOR. This involves studies, stakeholder consultations and building the capacity of staff. For the past two years, CONAFOR has devoted 10% of their budget to gender-specific activities, and their advances in integrating gender considerations into policy were hailed as a “shining example” by Lorena Aguilar from IUCN in the Huffington Post.

Eva Müller stated that women’s participation is increasing in many countries, but their access to decision-making and leadership positions continues to be limited. A study by FAO and RECOFTC suggests that while gender-responsive policies are crucial, they might not be enough to reduce pervasive gender inequalities in forestry. Instead, policies should be supported by a number of additional measures, such as: 1) gender sensitization seminars and workshops for decision-makers; 2) supporting institutions to facilitate incremental learning and knowledge exchange; 3) facilitating coordination between technical line ministries and women’s groups and their alliances; and 4) strengthening the capacity of women’s organizations, user networks to engage in forestry-related consultations.

There is need for further alignment of the sustainability and gender agendas, said Åsa Torkelsson from UN Women. There is no sustainable development without everyone on board. Women are relatively most impacted by climatic changes. UN Women’s forthcoming work with UNEP–UNDP-PEI Africa and World Bank estimates the substantive Cost of the Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity, and explores the impact on agricultural production and national income. This gap exists because women frequently have unequal access to key agricultural inputs, such as land, labor, knowledge, fertilizer and improved seeds. Sticky areas for gender inequalities remain and new areas emerge: land, access to technologies. UN Women’s Alliance for Women in Technologies proposes to increase women’s productivity and time-saving and reduce post-harvest losses.

All presentations showed that working jointly with forestry departments and local communities to raise awareness and build their capacity in gender issues, encouraging equal representation and offering continued support, are measures that have the potential of resulting in more gender-responsive policies and outcomes.

Throughout the presentations, the importance of involving boys and men in the process of changing gender relations was stressed as a key factor for ensuring both immediate and long-term success. Unequal power-relations are often deeply rooted in norms and institutions, and thus rarely questioned. By identifying and discussing privileges and power that groups have over one another, and pointing at both the injustice of inequality and the collective benefits of equality, perceptions of what is “normal” can slowly begin to change.

 

 

 

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