The role of forests in FSN varies by the services it provides and its benefits across different regions. Sustainability at this point directly depends on governance and management of forest resources. In cases with uncontrolled access to forests ensures necessary food and nutrients to users, but at the same time deforestation as a result of overlogging, pasturing and timber collection occurs. On another hand overregulation of forestries can lead to the reduction of subsistence sources for the local communitites.
It may seem like double-ended stick. There are however decisions available to find the compromise.
- Payment for Ecosystem Services (monetary and non-monetary) approach may increase the responsibility of users towards sustainable use of forests. For this more knowledge sharing regarding forest ecosystem is needed. Increasing awareness about the value of underutilized species in forests may influence on more careful attitude to biodiversity in forests.
- Agroforestry - as a tool for reducing the load on forest resources by using byproducts and advantages of trees for farming. E.g. Allowing to grow trees on empty spaces for further grazing (or crop farming) and using of tree byproducts may motivate communities for increasing the afforestation plots near forests. That could lead to better food security (communities will start depend less on forests, especially to those living in forest margins).
Afforestation of degraded land and using such plots under efficient agroforestry farm could extend land capitals of farmers and strengthen their food security.
Along with food and nutriotion forestry is considered to have vast variety of option prices that also should be taken into, since more diverse opportunity costs for using the forest increases its value consequantly leading to its more sustainable and responsible utilizaion.
Agroforestry on sloped lands can decrease soil erosion, nutrient runoff and water pollution.
Those needs more institutional (property rights, regulatory rights, mechanisms for governance and allocation of resources) and informational (awareness raising, research, education, capacity building etc.) support of such activities with respect to the ecological, socio-economic and political frameworks of each region.
Klara Dzhakypbekova