CPF Dialogue: Climate change, conflicts and food insecurity - forest solutions to tackle effects of crises

May 2, 2022 | 5:30 PM KST - 7:00 PM KST

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Press release: Forests hold solutions - if we act now

A high-level dialogue between the heads of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) agencies with representatives of Major Groups

Forests sequester carbon, support the livelihoods of billions of people and act as vital reservoirs for biodiversity. However, as a valuable resource, sometimes multiple stakeholders have divergent priorities for the same forestland. When one group - whether inadvertently or deliberately - withholds access to a forest resource or to the decision-making process from another user group, non-violent or violent conflict may occur. Conflict can also lead to the inequitable distribution of benefits, disputes over land rights and access, and a lack of engagement with the forest management process.

The issues are closely linked with food security, migration, and social coherence. At the same time, climate change impacts natural resources and people. There is increasing evidence that the loss and degradation of ecosystems, including forests, increases the vulnerability of people to climate change, especially Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The role of forests and trees in enabling people to adapt to climate change and enhancing the resilience of farming systems, other economic sectors and human infrastructure is increasingly recognized and included in national adaptation plans.

Objectives

The Dialogue’s objective is to explore how the complex interrelation of the impacts of the climate crisis, conflicts and other humanitarian emergencies, biodiversity as well as food insecurity can be addressed by solutions that include forests. The Dialogue will be shaped around the following questions:

1. How do conflicts impact forests and where are the knowledge and evidence gaps?
2. Are there any success stories of post-conflict transformations where the forest sector contributed substantially to build peace, food security and at the same time respond to climate and biodiversity challenges?
3. Are current efforts properly harnessing all of forests’ potential to provide solutions to mitigate the effects of and to adapt and build resilience to climate change, including the issue of migration?
4. How can we best address trade-offs and maximize synergies between agrifood systems and forests to truly meet the challenge of producing sufficient, safe and healthy food for a growing population, while turning the tide on deforestation and conserving biodiversity?

Speakers