Manila - Representatives from government forestry ministries and agencies, inter-governmental and non-governmental bodies, the private sector and organizations in Asia will meet this week to strengthen policies and practice on sustainable forest management in the region.

Jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the three-day workshop brings together current and potential users of forestry sustainability indicators, with the view to develop a roadmap for strengthening their use, promoting sustainable forestry practices.

Criteria and indicators are used to define, guide and assess progress towards sustainable forest management, and have emerged as a powerful tool in promoting sustainable forestry practices.  Since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, several different international processes and initiatives have developed criteria and indicators as a framework for sustainable forest management. Criteria and Indicators provide a framework that characterizes the essential components of sustainable forest management, and recognise forests as ecosystems that provide a wide range of environmental, economic and social benefits to society.

“Over the last decade, the focus has gradually shifted from developing forestry indicators to using these tools to promote and demonstrate sustainability, hence enhance performance and increase accountability,” said José Luis Fernández, FAO Representative in the Philippines.

“The emerging framework of sustainable development goals provides a strong opportunity to address cross-sectoral issues that impact on the sustainability of forests,” Fernández added. “And this workshop provides an excellent opportunity to chart a concrete way forward on this.” 

Promoting sustainable forest management

Sustainable forest management provides livelihoods for more than a billion people and are vital for conservation of biodiversity, energy supply, and soil and water protection. FAO promotes sustainable forest management by working at the international level and through collaborative partnerships to address and help solve regional and global forest-related issues.

FAO also helps countries overcome forest management challenges by providing policy advice as well as supporting capacity building through field projects, workshops, seminars and hands-on training. The Organization assists countries in the assessment of their forest resources, definition of the elements of sustainable forest management and monitoring their progress towards it. In addition, FAO provides assistance to identify, test and promote innovative, multipurpose forest management approaches and techniques that respond to the need for mitigating and adapting to a changing climate, increased demand for wood and non-wood forest products and services, and threats from fires, pests and natural disasters.

Regional outcomes

This workshop kicks off a series of regional workshops to set the way forward for further developing and improving the use of forest indicators for different purposes in forest-related policy and practice. Delegates attending include forestry associations, forest community and producer organizations, and other relevant regional stakeholders.

The recommendations from this three-day workshop will not only help future work in the region, but will also be used as inputs to upcoming global forestry meetings and fora, including the XIV World Forestry Congress in South Africa in September 2015, which will bring together the global forestry community to review and analyse the key issues and share ways of addressing them.