Bangkok Student Debate Highlights the Close Link between Forests and Energy

In celebration of the International Day of Forests (IDF), eight student debate teams from high schools and universities from the Bangkok area took part in a student debate about Forests and Energy issues. The debate was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization Regional Office for Asia Pacific (FAO-RAP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests. The debate aimed to raise public awareness about the potential and the challenges of energy production from forests.

Participating students were from six high schools and two universities in the Bangkok area: Anglo Singapore International School, Bangkok International Preparatory & Secondary School, Garden International School, Mahidol University International Demonstration School, Panyarat High School, Wells International School, Asian Institute of Technology and Thammasat University.

The students debated the following topics, highlighting the linkages between forests and energy,  (1) Forests are the future of sustainable energy, (2) Wood energy mitigates (lessens) impacts of climate change, (3) Wood energy helps to reduce rural poverty and (4) Greater investment in sustainably managed forests is the key to increasing renewable energy sources.

Ms Kundhavi Kadiresan, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative of FAO RAP, and Dr David Ganz, RECOFTC Executive Director, opened the event. Ms Kadiresan underlined the importance of this year’s theme, “Climate change, forests and energy are critical challenges affecting all regions and countries but hitting hardest those already living in poverty and food insecurity. I am highly encouraged to see so many young people coming here today to discuss these important matters seriously. I strongly hope that the debate will be fruitful and that today’s event will contribute to building greater awareness among students and the general public on the importance of forests and energy.”

Dr Ganz emphasized how the topic is as relevant to policy makers as to students who are trying to learn and debate on various angles of argument, “Ultimately what you are going to be debating today is no different than what the politicians debate on a day to day basis. This is as good a learning experience for you as it is for us to learn from you how you debate this particular issue. There are clearly a lot of opportunities for forests and wood to help minimize the impact of climate change on communities and countries in Southeast Asia. I hope this helps to inspire more thinking and more innovations throughout the region.”

The student debaters showcased their debate skills and articulated their arguments supported by research. Key points students raised in the debates included:

• Wood is still providing about 40% of the global renewable energy supply. This is as much as solar, hydroelectric and wind power combined.
• Nearly 50% of the global wood production (almost 2 billion cubic meters) is used as energy for cooking, heating, and electricity generation.
• For more than 2 billion people worldwide, wood fuel means a cooked meal, boiled water for safe drinking, and a warm dwelling. This is especially important for poor people in rural areas of developing countries, where wood is often the only energy source available.
• Almost 900 million people in developing countries are employed in the wood energy sector, so wood fuel is of fundamental importance for the livelihoods of millions of people.
• This has brought serious challenges, such as: Much of the current production of wood energy is unsustainable, contributing to the degradation of forests and soils, and to the emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
• In many regions, the conversion to charcoal is often done using rudimentary and polluting methods.
• Wood is a renewable source of energy that can be part of a sustainable future. But for this to become reality, some current trends must be turned around. We need, for instance, to adopt improved technologies for energy conversion.

More than 60 people attended the debate event, including participants, peer students, teachers, parents and forestry practitioners from different UN organizations. The debate event, which has been organized annually for the past four years, took place on Tuesday, 21 March 2017 at the FAO RAP office.