The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) launched a framework methodology to analyze the vulnerability of forests and forest-dependent people to climate change. FAO launched the methodology at an event on the sidelines of the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP25) to the UNFCCC.

Forests and trees play a critical role in reducing the vulnerability of communities to climate change, but, FAO stresses, it can be challenging to determine the extent to which a forest and its dependent community are vulnerable to climate impacts. Within this context, the ‘FAO Framework Methodology for Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments of Forests and Forest Dependent People,’ aims to provide a simple approach to conducting such assessments. The methodology brings together common elements among many available methods and provides step-by-step guidance on its implementation.

The tool will enable assessments that are “indispensable for ground-level action to adapt to climate change.”

FAO Forestry Department Assistant Director-General, Hiroto Mitsugi, said the tool, released on 6 December 2019, will enable assessments that are “indispensable for ground-level action to adapt to climate change.” FAO has called for immediate action to “increase forest resilience and reduce the threat posed to the livelihoods and well-being of forest-dependent households.”

Also on forest assessments, the FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) held a six-day training event to build the capacity of five African island countries to conduct the FRA 2020 Global Remote Sensing Survey. The survey aims to produce consistent, independent estimates of forest area and changes over time at biome, regional and global levels. Participants from Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion/Mayotte and Seychelles attended the December 2019 training. [FAO Press Release on Methodology] [IISD RS Coverage of COP 25] [FAO Press Release on FRA Training]