1 April 2013: Jan McAlpine, Director of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF), discussed her expectations and hopes for the tenth session of the UNFF with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). The dialogue has been featured in the April edition of the DESA News.

In the interview, McAlpine stresses the importance of recognizing the links between forests and economic development and the multiple economic, environmental and social values of forests. The Director provides a number of examples of forests providing water, food, livelihoods, income and habitat.

McAlpine notes that forest financing has been declining over the past 22 years, and that this trend must be reversed if the current challenges to forests are to be met.

With regard to challenge, McAlpine cites the continued lack of equitable participation of women in forest management, the lack of integrated forest data and the related poor coordination between the multiple sectors and industries using and benefiting from forests. McAlpine calls especially for governments to bring different forest sectors together in order to better balance forest products with forest ecosystem services and the sustainable use of forests. [Publication: DESA Newsletter Vol. 17 No. 4]