Forests - challenges and recommendations
Forests are currently threatened by interrelated human activities on a global scale. Continued deforestation and forest degradation, especially of tropical forests, comprise the first set of challenges identified by current assessment reports. Forest decline adversely affects human well-being, health, climate regulation and contributes to the alarming loss of biodiversity. One of the major drivers of forest loss and degradation is land-use change, especially due to conversion to agriculture, which is driven by increasing global consumption demands. A second set of challenges arise from competing interests and conflicts between private and public sectors, this in turn impacts forest-related policies which are often poorly coordinated, underfunded and bogged down as a result.
The sustainability challenges globally faced by forests have prompted four groups of recommendations in the assessment reports studied here. First, to stop deforestation and forest degradation, efforts of restoration and conservation should be combined with the promotion of green finance and enhanced forms of landscape management. Second, regarding governmental policy, better enforcement of regulations and improved land tenure are recommended, alongside the establishment of certification and traceability schemes for supply chains. Third, improved coordination and participation are called for, across sectors as well as in international cooperation. Generally speaking, participatory approaches should be strengthened. Fourth, the reports point out the necessity of behavioural and value change, particularly among consumers in the global North