2. Sustainable forest management
• “The stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, that
maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity,
vitality and their potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant
ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and
global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems”.
In simpler terms,
• the concept can be described as the attainment of balance – balance
between society's increasing demands for forest products and
benefits, and the preservation of forest health and diversity..
3.
4. Pros of Sustainable Forestry
• Ecological benefits: It helps to preserve and enhance the ecological functions of forests.
This includes protecting biodiversity, maintaining ecosystem services, and reducing
the impacts of climate change.
• Economic benefits: It includes the production of timber, non-timber forest products,
and other forest-based goods and services. It can also create jobs and generate income
for local communities.
• Social benefits: It contributes to social development by providing access to forest
resources, promoting community involvement in forest management, and supporting
traditional forest-related livelihoods.
• Climate benefits: Forests are important carbon sinks and sustainable forest
management can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate
change.
5. Potential Cons
Implementation challenges: Implementing SFM practices can be difficult and
costly, particularly in developing countries with limited resources and capacity.
Conflicts of interest: Conflicts can arise between different stakeholders, such as
indigenous communities, government agencies, and private sector companies,
over how forests should be managed and who should benefit from forest
resources.
Limited economic returns: SFM practices may not always be as profitable as less
sustainable practices, particularly in the short term. This can make it difficult to
incentivize private sector actors to adopt sustainable practices.
Limited impact: SFM alone may not be enough to address larger-scale
challenges such as deforestation, illegal logging, and climate change. Additional
policies and measures may be necessary to achieve long-term sustainability.
6. India: In India, forest management is a critical issue due to the country's
high population density and increasing demand for natural resources.
• The government has implemented various policies and programs
1. National Forest Policy, which aims to increase forest cover and
promote forest-based livelihoods.
2. Joint Forest Management program : It involves local communities in
forest management and aims to ensure their participation in decision-
making processes.
The role of forest management in India and outside India
7. Outside India: Sustainable forest management is a global
issue that affects the entire planet.
• Forests are critical for regulating the global climate,
providing habitat for wildlife, and supporting local and
global economies.
• Many countries outside India have also implemented
policies and programs to promote sustainable forest
management,
• European Union's Forest Strategy, which focuses on
protecting forests, increasing forest resilience, and
promoting sustainable forest management practices.
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC),
• Paris Agreement, and the Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) certification program.
8. • It allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn
certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one ton of
CO2.
• These CERs can be traded and sold, and used by industrialized countries to
meet a part of their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
• The mechanism stimulates sustainable development and emission
reductions while giving industrialized countries some flexibility in how they
meet their emission reduction limitation targets.
• The CDM is the main source of income for the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund,
which was established to finance adaptation projects and programmes in
developing countries Parties to the Kyoto Protocol that are particularly
vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
• The Adaptation Fund is financed by a 2% levy on CERs issued by the CDM
Clean development mechanism
9. Objective
• To help developed countries fulfill their commitments to reduce emissions
• To assist developing countries in achieving sustainable development.
Benefits of CDM projects
1. Investment in climate change mitigation projects in developing countries,
2. Transfer or diffusion of technology in the host countries,
3. Improvement in the livelihood of communities through the creation of
employment or increased economic activity.
10. Steps of the CDM Project Cycle
Project Design : Handled by Project Participant
National approval : Handled by Designated National Authority
Validation : Handled by Designated Operational Entity
Registration: Handled by Executive Board
Monitoring : Handled by Project Participant
Verification : Handled by Designated Operational Entity
CER issuance: Handled by Executive Board
11.
12. Aim: To encourage developing countries to contribute to climate change
mitigation efforts .
Framework for REDD+
The framework is commonly referred as the Warsaw Framework for
REDD+ (WFR) adopted at Conference of the Parties (COP) 19 in
Warsaw, December 2013
It provides the complete methodological and financing guidance for
the implementation of REDD+ activities.
REDD+ is also recognized in Article 5 of the Paris Agreement
WFR is a foundation for Parties engaged in REDD+ to fulfill the
highest level of commitment to climate actions in the forest sector.
13. Countries interested in REDD+ are required to progress through three phases
Readiness phase
• Development of national strategies or action plans and capacity building;
Implementation phase
• National strategies that involve in further capacity building, technology
development and transfer, and results-based demonstration activities
Payment for results
• Results-based actions that must be fully measured, reported and verified.
REDD+ results-based finance
• The COP decided that results-based finance provided to REDD+ countries for
the full implementation of REDD+ activities.
• There are many different initiatives, organizations and donors that provide
funding for REDD+ activities, many of which share information on their
activities via the REDD+ Web Platform.
14. Reporting to the UNFCCC
Information that needs to be reported to be eligible for results-based finance
includes:
• The assessed results (tons CO2 per year) for each relevant period;
• The assessed forest reference level (tons CO2 per year);
• The summary of information on how all of the REDD+ safeguards are being
addressed and respected;
• A link to the REDD+ national strategy or action plan
• Information on the national forest monitoring system.
• Once reported, all of the information above is available on the central Lima
Information Hub for REDD+
The strength of the WFR is the trust it creates between actors by providing
transparency on the implementation of REDD+ results-based actions.
15. As of January 2020, a total of 50 developing countries have
submitted a REDD+ forest reference level or forest reference
emission level for technical assessment to the UNFCCC, covering
more than 70% of the total forest area in developing countries.
15 countries have submitted a summary of information on how
safeguards are being addressed and respected,
12 countries have submitted a national strategy or action plan.
6 countries are listed in the Lima Information Hub for REDD+,
having all elements in place to be eligible to seek and obtain
results-based finance for REDD+.
In total, the REDD+ activities listed in the Lima Information Hub for
REDD+ resulted in emission reductions of 6.3 billion t CO2 eq.
Current status of REDD+ implementation
16. UN-REDD was launched in 2008
It builds on the convening capacity and technical expertise of the food and
agriculture organization of the united nations (FAO), the united nations
development programme (UNDP) and the united nations environment
programme (UNEP).
Goal : to help realise forest solutions to the climate emergency by avoiding
carbon emissions and fostering carbon sequestration.
2025 goals
1. Forest emissions reduced by 1 gigaton per year
2. USD 5 billion mobilized by 2025
3. Over 15 countries enhanced forest ambitions in NDCs
It helps 65 partner countries to advance the implementation of the Paris
agreement, particularly articles 5 and 6, in order to reduce deforestation,
promote sustainable land uses.
The United Nations : Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and
Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD)
17. Work areas
• Forest tenure, governance & carbon rights
Clear and legitimate tenure rights, good governance and clarity on
carbon rights over forests.
• Forest landscape restoration
It helps restore habitats and ecosystems, creates jobs and income and is
an effective nature-based solution to climate change.
• National forest monitoring
A country needs monitoring systems that provide accurate data on
emissions.
• Social inclusion
Participatory, rights-based policies, finance, and benefit-sharing are
essential to realizing the full potential of forests as a solution to climate
change
18. • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988
• The IPCC's assessments are based on the scientific, technical, and socio-
economic literature related to climate change and inputs from experts,
stakeholders, and governments.
• The assessments are produced by a team of hundreds of experts from
around the world who volunteer their time and expertise to review and
synthesize the available information on climate change.
• The IPCC's assessments are used by policymakers, governments, and
other stakeholders to guide their climate change mitigation and
adaptation decisions.
• The IPCC has played a critical role in shaping the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is an
international treaty that aims to prevent dangerous human interference
with the climate system.
IPCC : Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
19. • The IPCC's assessments have shown that forests play a critical
role in sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and
mitigating climate change, as well as in providing other
ecosystem services.
• The IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report, published in 2014, noted
that sustainable forest management can help to increase the
resilience of forests to climate change as well as to provide
multiple benefits to society.
• The IPCC has also played a role in shaping international policy
on sustainable forest management.
• IPCC's assessments have informed the development of the
REDD+ program under the UNFCCC, which aims to provide
incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation and promote sustainable
forest management.
20. UNFCC
• It was established in 1992 Headquarter located in Bonn, Germany.
• The Convention has near universal membership (199 Parties) and is the parent treaty
of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
• The objective is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a
level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a
time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable
development.
• It supports a complex architecture of bodies that serve to advance the implementation
of the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.
• It provides technical expertise and assists in the analysis and review of climate change
information reported by Parties and in the implementation of the Kyoto mechanisms.
• It also maintains the registry for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
established under the Paris Agreement, a key aspect of the implementation of the
Paris Agreement
21. Sustainable Development Goals
• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals.
• It was adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to
end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy
peace and prosperity.
• The 17 SDGs are integrated - they recognize that action in one area will
affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social,
economic and environmental sustainability.
• Countries have committed to prioritize progress for those who're furthest
behind. The SDGs are designed to end poverty, hunger, AIDS, and
discrimination against women and girls.
• The creativity, technology and financial resources from all of society is
necessary to achieve the SDGs in every context.
