Press release: World Forestry Congress sets out vision for future of forests

Local people from Asia heard by governments, forest stakeholders at the World Forestry Congress

11 September 2015, Durban - The world's forests must be recognized as "more than trees", the XIV World Forestry Congress meeting in Durban, South Africa, concluded today.

Instead, forests hold vast potential to play a decisive role in ending hunger, improving livelihoods and combating climate change.

The largest gathering on forests this decade set out its vision of how forests and forestry should look in 2050, adopting the Durban Declaration after a week of debate. 

The vision calls for the forests of the future to be "fundamental" for food security and improved livelihoods. 

Forests and trees must also be integrated with other land uses such as agriculture in order to address the causes of deforestation and conflict over land, according to the declaration. 

Finally, sustainably managed forests must be an "essential solution" to combating climate change, optimizing their ability to absorb and store carbon while also providing other environmental services. 

Investment and partnerships critical 

The declaration outlines a series of actions needed to realize the vision, including further investment in forest education, communication, research and the creation of jobs, especially for young people. 

It also stresses the need for new partnerships among the forest, agriculture, finance, energy, water and other sectors, and strong engagement with indigenous peoples and local communities. 

"The declaration reflects the extremely rich and diverse set of viewpoints and experiences of all participants in the Congress, who recommended ways to make the vision a reality," said Tiina Vähänen, Deputy Director of FAO's Forest Assessment, Management and Conservation Division. 

Almost 4,000 delegates from 142 countries attended the congress, including representatives from civil society, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities and the private sector as well as around 30 ministers and deputy ministers. 

Message on Sustainable Development Goals 

The Congress underlined that forests are critical to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a message to the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, which will meet later this month in New York to adopt the 2030 development agenda. 

While SDG 15 addresses the need to sustainably manage forests, trees and forests are also a key to achieving several of the other 16 goals, including those related to ending poverty, achieving food security, promoting sustainable agriculture and ensuring sustainable energy for all, the message says. 

Message on climate change 

The Congress also issued a message to the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, set to meet in Paris in December 2015 to hash out a new global climate change agreement. 

Climate change poses a serious threat to the planet, forests and forest-dependent people. However, at the same time countries' responses to climate change can present new opportunities for forests, such as additional sources of financing and greater political support for forest governance. 

Congress participants recommended a set of actions that include increasing understanding among governments and other stakeholders of both the challenges and opportunities that climate change presents. 

Forests and water action plan 

The Congress also saw the launch of an international five-year forests and water action plan to recognize the role of trees and forests in maintaining the water cycle, and to ensure appropriate management of one of the world's largest sources of freshwater. 

The World Forestry Congress is held every six years. Under the theme Forests and People: Investing in a sustainable future, this year's event was hosted by the Republic of South Africa with technical support from FAO and marked the first time the Congress was held on African soil since its inception in 1926. 

Local community participation from Asia 

Six local community members, along with RECOFTC staff, comprised RECOFTC’s delegation to the World Forestry Congress. 

The local community members are: 

1. Ms. Theya Chaw, Naga ethnic group, Layshee township, Sagaing region, Myanmar. Ms. Chaw is a trainer on REDD+ on the sub-national level. 

2. Mr. Krirk Meemungkit, forest farm smallholder and branch manager of Tree Bank, Srakaew province, Thailand. 

3. Ms Hoang Thi Chuyen, Tay ethnic group, and member of the Women’s Union of Ba Khe village, Cat Thinh Commune, Viet Nam. 

4. Mr. Em Sophoan, Deputy Chief of Chrous Svay Community Forest, Cambodia. 

5. Mr. Khun Zaw, Youth representative, Myanmar. 

6. Mr. Kriengkrai Cheechaung, a member of the Karen ethnic group of Thailand. 

Each of them raised their voices in over 30 World Forestry Congress events, discussions and activities over the duration of the five-day World Forestry Congress. 

“Despite knowing the importance of conserving the forest, local communities must still struggle for our livelihoods. Local people in Naga need to develop commercially sustainable forest enterprises that will contribute to their household incomes. Only if our necessities are fulfilled and we have effective ways of making a living beyond the subsistence level, will forests and wildlife be conserved effectively,” said Theya Chaw, who is a member of the Naga ethnic group from Myanmar. “Now that I have taken the messages of local communities to the World Forestry Congress, I am happy to be bringing the outcomes of the World Forestry Congress back to my community.” 

“If we can plant trees mixed in our farms, we can harvest them and help release us from the poverty cycle or debt, and live with hope. The issue many farmers face is that trees grown on government-owned agricultural land are legally owned by the state and complex procedures control their management thereby not motivating people to grow trees in the first place,” said Mr. Krirk Meemungkit, forest farm smallholder from Thailand. “A real forest is a network of people helping to take care of the forest. The government should provide more support on local peoples’ rights to get the maximum benefit from afforestation.” 

“From 1993 to 2009, I observed a great loss of forests through over-harvesting and a lack of participation from the community to manage the forest. With support from RECOFTC and the Forestry Administration, we established a community forest,” said Mr. Em Sophoan, Deputy Chief of Chrous Svay Community Forest, Cambodia, “I learnt about enterprise management, and established a bamboo business, along with 150 other families. In 2014 our bamboo enterprise brought USD 8,754. These profits are divided into the Community Forestry Development Fund, capital for the enterprise group, administration costs and an emergency fund. Each member of our group earns about USD 56 per year after this, which may not be a lot, but is a needed source of income during the rice-planting season. We hope that with further capacity development, we can improve our business in future.” 

“In Viet Nam, individuals have legal rights to their land through the Red Book. This helps me protect the forest, so outsiders can no longer cut my trees. This helped my family and other villagers get out of poverty. Nowadays, forest accounts for 70% of the total village area. While the Red Book plays an important role in securing ownership, it’s only the first step: sustainability requires appropriate capacity, and a plan for the areas of protection, trading, planting, and more,” said Ms Hoang Thi Chuyen, Viet Nam. “RECOFTC’s delegation was unique in that it included so many local people. I noticed that overall, there were few local people participating in the World Forestry Congress. I hope that in future, more local people can directly participate in the Congress like we did.” 

These messages, brought to the World Forestry Congress, contributed to the prioritization of local communities rights in the Durban Declaration, which states in the first clause that "Forests are more than trees and are fundamental for food security and improved livelihoods. The forests of the future will increase the resilience of communities by providing food, wood energy, shelter, fodder and fibre; generating income and employment to allow communities and societies to prosper."

For more information:

Caroline Liou, RECOFTC, caroline.liou@recoftc.org