9 September 2015
UN-REDD/IIED Brief Explores the Potential of a Green Economy Approach to Africa’s Forest Sector
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A brief produced by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in partnership with the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD) indicates that scaling up interventions focused on sustainability across Africa could help meet increased demand for timber while enabling sustainable forest management, as long as they are accompanied by actions to create an enabling environment.

growing_a_green_economy_africaAugust 2015: A brief produced by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in partnership with the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD) indicates that scaling up interventions focused on sustainability across Africa could help meet increased demand for timber while enabling sustainable forest management, as long as they are accompanied by actions to create an enabling environment.

Titled ‘Growing a Green Economy in Africa: Why Forests Matter,’ the brief serves as a summary of the publication, ‘The Role of Forests in a Green Economy Transformation in Africa’ launched at the XIV World Forestry Congress. It notes that there is economic potential in African forests, but it is threatened by an increasing demand for forest products, and by encroachment from other sectors. It explores the potential of a green economy approach to the forest sector, which seeks to improve human well-being and social equity while reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. The brief highlights that interventions across Africa that aim to conserve, enhance and restore natural capital; increase resource efficiency; or promote sustainable consumption, show how forests could help drive a green economy transformation. A scenario analysis indicates that a selection of such interventions, when scaled up, could help meet increased demand for timber while enabling sustainable forest management, but this outcome would also require actions to create an enabling environment.

Key messages in the brief point to the need for: improved forest governance that involves all stakeholders in decision-making processes, including local people with traditional claims to forest resources; new ways to engage with communities, giving local people more control to spread benefits, reduce social risks and provide a better long-term investment prospect; an improved climate for investors and the channeling of public funds to enabling activities at the local level; and further research to better understand the value of forest assets and ecosystem services. [Publication: Growing a Green Economy in Africa: Why Forests Matter] [Publication: The Role of Forests in a Green Economy Transformation in Africa]


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