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.
![]() Why the Central Asian mountains matterpublicationPolicy brief presented at Rio+20
The Central Asian mountains provide an astonishing array of essential ecosystem goods and services not only to mountain inhabitants but also to people in the lowlands and around the globe. These goods and services include forest products and land for food production;... Download » |
![]() Why the Hindu Kush Himalaya matterspublicationPolicy brief presented at Rio+20
As the ‘water tower of Asia’, the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) mountains are the source of 10 major river systems and provide vital ecosystem goods and services to more than 1.4 billion people. The region includes four global biodiversity hotspots, 488 protected... Download » |
![]() Why mountains of the Southeast Asia and Pacific region matterpublicationPolicy brief presented at Rio+20
Mountains of the Southeast Asia and Pacific (SEAP) region spread across mainland Asia and the island/archipelagic states in the Pacific Ocean. These countries host one of the world’s highest and most severely threatened biodiversity and gene pools. Many of the region’s indigenous... Download » |
![]() Why mountains matter in global sustainable developmentpublicationPolicy brief presented at Rio+20
Mountains provide vital goods and services for the benefit of all humankind, for supporting sustainable development at a global level, and for moving the world towards a greener economy. But provision of these goods and services is at risk. The global... Download » |
![]() Why mountains matter for North AmericapublicationPolicy brief presented at Rio+20
North America’s mountains are a primary source of fresh water. Other natural resources, such as coal and natural gas, are pillars of North American energy economies. The recreation and tourism industry – the lifeblood of many mountain communities – contributes significant revenues... Download » |
![]() Why the Andes matterpublicationPolicy brief presented at Rio+20
The Andes, covering 33% of the area of the Andean countries, are vital for the livelihoods of the majority of the region’s population and the countries’ economies. However, increasing pressure, fuelled by growing population numbers, changes in land use, unsustainable exploitation of... Download » |
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