23 June 2015: The publication, ‘State of the World’s Forests 2014: Enhancing the socio-economic benefits from forests,’ (SOFO), was presented at the opening of the 22nd Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Committee on Forestry (COFO).
The report shows that a significant proportion of the world’s population relies on forest products to meet basic needs for energy, shelter and some aspects of primary healthcare. It explains that these socioeconomic benefits are often inadequately addressed in forest and other relevant policies, despite their potential to contribute to poverty reduction, rural development and greener economies. It states that the role of forests in food security is also often overlooked.
Addressing the report, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva stressed that food security and sustainable development cannot be ensured without responsibly preserving and using forest resources.
The report describes how wood energy is often the only accessible and affordable fuel for the majority of people in developing countries, with one in three households dependent on it for cooking. However, it points out that much remains to be done to improve wood energy production, increase sustainability and reduce the burden on women and children who collect 85% of all firewood used in homes.
The FAO report underscores that providing local communities and families with access to forests and markets, as well as strengthening forest tenure rights are important means of enhancing the socioeconomic benefits of forests and reducing poverty in rural areas. It highlights the need to: improve private sector productivity; increase accountability for the sustainable management of resources on which forest enterprises depend; and give greater recognition to the role of forest environmental services, and payment mechanisms to ensure those services are maintained.
The report argues that this may require reorienting current national policies to explicitly address the role of forests in providing food, energy and shelter. It further suggests how information might be improved and policies adjusted, to ensure that socioeconomic benefits from forests can be enhanced in the future. [FAO Press Release] [Publication: State of the World’s Forests 2014: Enhancing the Socio-economic Benefits from Forests]