Transforming food systems can deliver on a multitude of commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). How we produce, process, trade and consume food products influences poverty (SDG 1), good health and well-being (SDG 3), greenhouse gas emissions and the ability to adapt to a changing climate (SDG 13), and biodiversity loss and deforestation (SDG 15)- to name just a few. However, the challenge of achieving healthy, sustainable and inclusive food systems lies in their complexity. Concerted and concurrent actions are required across both forestry and agriculture sectors. These challenges were explored during a World Forestry Week event, held alongside the Committee on Forestry (COFO).   Forest protection has long been a primary strategy to reduce forest conversion, but it has...

The Paris Agreement was adopted at a 2015 international climate conference, galvanizing countries around the world to initiate drastic action to mitigate climate change. It also helped kickstart global recognition of the critical role of indigenous peoples in environmental governance, as their rights, needs, and knowledge are acknowledged in the agreement. To help track progress towards emission reduction goals outlined in this global agreement, countries have been developing and implementing National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS). To create NFMS, countries must recognize indigenous rights and learn to integrate traditional forest monitoring practices. FAO projects around the world are doing just this,...

Covering 31 percent of global land area, forests are major carbon sinks that play an important role in combatting climate change. Despite the critical need to remove carbon from the atmosphere, forests continue to face ongoing threats from deforestation and forest degradation. Governance interventions are needed to dramatically slow the loss of forest area. As part of these interventions, recognition of the tenure rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities is a key step towards reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Countries such as Nepal, Peru, Tanzania, Liberia, Indonesia and Zambia, among others, have begun to promote the recognition of...

Climate finance options for forests are proliferating – but which ones can help countries reduce greenhouse gas emission at scale? There is a need and an opportunity for countries to learn from each other on using climate finance to support their development objectives. To provide a forum for exchange, the FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) jointly ran a Climate Finance Seminar series “Opportunities and challenges associated with emerging carbon finance in forestry and land use.” Thirty-four countries from Asia, Latin America and Africa participated in the exchange and eleven countries shared specific insights. The...

During the 25th session of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Committee on Forestry, the High-Level Dialogue on “Turning the Tide on Deforestation” engaged government, civil society, private sector actors, and representatives of FAO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Held on 6 October 2020, this event was a rallying call for innovative solutions and catalytic partnerships to halt deforestation and transform food systems.   In light of the key role forests play in fighting climate change, biodiversity loss and poverty, as well as current trends in the state of forests, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has called for strong efforts to turn the tide on deforestation, asking FAO to co-lead UN system efforts to accelerate progress...