January 2013: The Global Insight 2013 published an interview with Jan McAlpine, Director of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF), and Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF).

McAlpine emphasizes the role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation, noting that the social, economic and environmental aspects of forests need to be considered in addition to carbon sequestration and storage if sustainable forest management is to be achieved. McAlpine also stresses the importance of addressing forest governance issues including land tenure and forest use rights, benefit sharing and law enforcement.

McAlpine further noted the importance of capacity building, especially for indigenous peoples and rural communities. Such capacity building, according to McAlpine, requires sustainable forest financing mechanisms as well as cross-sectoral polices and strategies. Finally, UNFF Director recalls the importance of a landscape approach to forest management, which places forests within the entire landscape from water to agriculture.

Rojas-Briales states that the period of the worst deforestation has passed, however there remain a number of challenges including increasing pressure on forested land and a lack of trained foresters in many developing countries. Rojas-Briales praises Asia for addressing deforestation and notes that successes are increasing in Africa and Latin America.

In terms of looking forward, Rojas-Briales emphasizes the need to adopt a landscape approach to forest management, the importance of capturing and disseminating good practices and lessons learned and capacity building, especially within the public forest sector. [Publication: Global Briefing – First Quarter 2013]