SDG indicators 15.1.1 and 15.2.1 - Forest area and sustainable forest management
This course has been developed to guide countries in reporting on Indicators 15.1.1 and 15.2.1. It illustrates the rationale of the indicators, the definitions and methodologies on which monitoring activities are based, and explains the process and the tools available for compiling data related to the two indicators through the Global Forest Resources Assessment Programme (available in English, French and Spanish).
Mountains cover around 27 percent of the earth’s land surface, and forests cover more than 40 percent of the global mountain area.
Healthy mountain forests are crucial to the ecological health of the world. They protect watersheds that supply freshwater to more than half of humankind. They also harbour wildlife, provide food and fodder for mountain peoples and are important sources of timber and non-wood products. Moreover, they protect the earth and contribute to shielding the atmosphere from CO2 emissions.
Protecting these forests and making sure they are carefully managed is an important step towards sustainable mountain development. In the last decades, tropical mountain forests have been disappearing at an astounding rate. Deforestation is generally driven by population growth, the expansion of intensive agriculture, uncertain land tenure, inequitable land distribution and the absence of strong and stable institutions.
Crucially, mountain forests perform a protective function against natural hazards, so that when forest cover is lost and the land is left unprotected, runoff and soil erosion increase, provoking landslides, avalanches and floods, to the detriment of villages, transport systems, human infrastructure and of the food security of vulnerable populations.
Putting power back into the hands of mountain people is one important step towards alleviating their poverty and, in turn, protecting mountain forests. Measures that could accomplish these aims include providing incentives for biodiversity and agro-biodiversity conservation as well as the inclusion sustainable forest management plans into national policies.
![]() 2030 Agenda for Mountains - Framework for ActionpublicationOn International Mountain Day (11 December) 2017, a Framework for Action to support concrete actions, put in place long-lasting processes, and establish policies to strengthen the resilience of mountain peoples and environments was launched at the fifth Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership. The Framework will aim to ensure that sustainable... Download » |
Le Programme 2030 pour les Montagnes - Cadre d’actionpublicationOn International Mountain Day (11 December) 2017, a Framework for Action to support concrete actions, put in place long-lasting processes, and establish policies to strengthen the resilience of mountain peoples and environments was launched at the fifth Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership. The Framework will aim to ensure that sustainable...
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Повестки Дня На Период До 2030 Года Для Гор - Рамочная программа действийpublicationOn International Mountain Day (11 December) 2017, a Framework for Action to support concrete actions, put in place long-lasting processes, and establish policies to strengthen the resilience of mountain peoples and environments was launched at the fifth Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership. The Framework will aim to ensure that sustainable...
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La Agenda 2030 para las Montañas - Marco de acciónpublicationOn International Mountain Day (11 December) 2017, a Framework for Action to support concrete actions, put in place long-lasting processes, and establish policies to strengthen the resilience of mountain peoples and environments was launched at the fifth Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership. The Framework will aim to ensure that sustainable...
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![]() First West African Mountain Forum held in TogonewsThe first West African Mountain Forum was held in Kpalime, Togo on 5-8 October 2017. Although West African mountains are not the world’s highest, they have a key role for the food security of the area, are rich in biodiversity and are important to the overall sustainable development of the... Read more » |
![]() Call for input, sustainable development reportnewsAn opportunity has arisen to propose an inclusion on mountains in the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) 2019, which has been mandated by the United Nations Member States and is being drafted by the Independent Group of Scientists and Experts (IGSE). The GSDR aims to strengthen the science-policy... Read more » |
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