A number of intergovernmental processes as well as partnerships and projects are focusing on sustainable forest management (SFM), garnering political support as well as working to demonstrate results through research and projects implemented globally.
May 2015: A number of intergovernmental processes as well as partnerships and projects are focusing on sustainable forest management (SFM), garnering political support as well as working to demonstrate results through research and projects implemented globally.
In the political arena, agriculture ministers from Central Europe expressed their support for SFM and the process and policies developed under the framework of FOREST EUROPE. In particular, Ministers from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia called on FOREST EUROPE to continue its role as a high-level political process in support of SFM.
On the ground, projects and partnerships in support of SFM are engaging stakeholders and addressing the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. In Malawi, a partnership with the EU will facilitate the development of sustainable small-scale forestry enterprise. In doing so the project, valued at over 1.2 million Euros, will empower 280 forest dependent communities in addition to benefiting more than 200 private sector stakeholders. In Indonesia, Unilever and the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) have agreed to work towards a deforestation free supply chain while improving the livelihoods of local communities. The partnership comes as the Government of Indonesia extends its moratorium on deforestation permits in primary forests and peatlands, and as the country notes increasing numbers of partnership with the private sector for the sustainable supply of palm oil.
Public-private partnerships are, according to the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) of the CGIAR Consortium, important in order to halt the destruction of natural forests and prevent increased poverty among forest dependent communities. In order to achieve such goals, however, a recent study by CIFOR notes that there is a need to better clarify what is meant by sustainable supply chains in the palm oil industry. In particular, the report calls for a move beyond zero net deforestation roles to also include land tenure and use rights as well as greater inclusion of smallholders. [FOREST EUROPE Press Release] [World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Press Release] [CIFOR Press Release] [Publication: International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) Tropical Timber Market Report – Vol. 19 No. 9]