External links
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).
SDG 15 - Indicators of sustainable forests and mountains
Mountain forests
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.
Outcomes of the 2016 World Mountain ForumnewsThe 2016 World Mountain Forum (WMF) provided a platform to discuss sustainable mountain development (SMD) in the context of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WMF 2016 resulted in a Mbale Call for Scaling Up Action, themed 'Don’t leave the mountains behind,' which...
|
In memory of Lawrence S. HamiltonnewsMountain expert and environmental leader Lawrence “Larry” S. Hamilton passed away on 6 October 2016. During his lifetime, Larry Hamilton was a global leader in researching and raising awareness about mountain issues. He was a member of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) of the International Union...
|
National climate change plans cite mountainspeak to peakIssue 96 – Month 9 – Year 2016 The September issue of Peak to Peak reveals that 48 countries mentioned mountains in their national climate change plans to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The newsletter continues with stories about an agro-ecology training in the... Download » |
Mountains at the World Conservation CongressnewsThis year the World Conservation Congress, hosted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will feature a number of events that address mountains on 1-10 September in Hawaii, USA. The discussions will revolve around the theme of “Planet at the crossroads”, signifying that “the ecosystems...
|
Environmental calendar drawn up in ArgentinanewsAn environmental calendar was created in the first half of 2016, with the support of CONICET, in Santa Catalina, a town situated in the high elevations of the Argentinian province of Jujuy. The result of intercultural efforts, the calendar was requested by various communities who wanted to record their local...
|
Partnerships boosting mountain businessesnewsThe habitat offered by the Monti Sibillini National Park, Central Italy, suits the wild boar so well, there comes a point when wild boars are too prolific, and as part of the Park’s conservation work, a studied and controlled cull is agreed. Mountain writer Tamara Griffiths spoke with Amedeo Tuccini, who...
|
Mountain Partnership
| Our work
| Focus areas
| Follow Us
Subscribe to Peak to Peak Newsletter
|
