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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.
Landscape Restoration in Africa: Prospects and OpportunitieseventWith an estimated 2.8 million hectares of forests lost each year, deforestation and land degradation remain significant challenges in Africa. Bringing together diverse public and private sector voices, alongside Indigenous Peoples, scientists and youth, the 2018 Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) Africa Conference will foster political and community support to implement...
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Our Journey in 2017: Mountain Partnership Secretariat Annual ReportpublicationThe Mountain Partnership Secretariat Annual Report outlines its key achievements in promoting sustainable mountain development last year in its 2017 annual report. The publication documents the Secretariat’s work in the areas of advocacy, communication and knowledge management, promoting International Mountain Day, brokering joint action and leading capacity development initiatives Compiled by...
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Sustainable bioeconomy in the MountainsnewsThe International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain Areas (IPROMO) 2018 came to a close this week after two weeks of lessons dedicated to sustainable mountain development in Ormea and Pieve Tesio, Italy. “IPROMO is a great networking mechanism that allows practitioners from around the world to...
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Mountain Partnership members meet in KyrgyzstannewsThe Mountain Societies Research Institute of the University of Central Asia (MSRI\UCA) hosted a meeting of Mountain Partnership members in Central Asia on 22 June 2018. Representatives of MSRI, Aigine Cultural Research Center, PF EKOIS, Institute for Sustainable Development Strategy Public Fund...
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IPROMO 2018: Bioeconomy in mountain areasnewsThe bioeconomy of the world’s mountains will be under discussion at the 2018 International Programme on Research and Training on Sustainable Management of Mountain Areas (IPROMO) in Ormea and Pieve Tesino, Italy, from 18 June to 2 July. Some 37 technical officers and researchers from more than 20 countries will...
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.jpg "Agreement to improve mountain livelihoods")
Agreement to improve mountain livelihoodsnewsIFOAM - Organics International and FAO signed an agreement on June 1 2018 in Rome, Italy to improve the livelihoods of rural peoples, including mountain smallholders, by strengthening market access and value chains for small-scale producers, enhancing the conservation and use of biodiversity and reducing food loss and food waste. |
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