Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute.
REDD-plus and Forest-DRR Research and Development Center.

Restoring degraded tropical forests:

Reconciling carbon, biodiversity and community resilience

Report

This side event focused on the problems of tropical forest degradation and discussed the relationships among forest landscape restoration, sustainable supply chains, community resilience, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Opening speech was given by Mr. Koji Hongo, Deputy Director General of Forestry Agency, Japan.

A keynote speech titled 'The importance of "Green" supply chains in tropical forest landscape restoration' was given by Dr. Gerhard Dieterle, the Executive Director of International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). In the speech, he indicated that tropical forests are net carbon emitters due to degradation, and the continuous increase in the global population will result in further deforestation and forest degradation, which would make it almost impossible to achieve the climate target under the Paris Agreement. On the other hand, massive investment in forest landscape restoration linked to sustainable supply chains for timber and other forest products offered a viable solution. Dr. Dieterle also explained that such investment would bring rural jobs, poverty reduction, improved resilience of local communities, wood security, and additional mitigation of climate change and conservation of biodiversity. Moreover, he explained that ITTO is implementing the Sustainable Wood for a Sustainable World initiative with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Bank, the World Wildlife Fund and other initiatives, and showed the importance of legal and sustainable supply chain initiatives.

Dr. Tamotsu Sato of Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI), Japan, gave a presentation titled 'How to evaluate forest degradation? A forest ecologist's view', which explained the scientific significance of evaluating forest degradation, including the difficulty of accurately perceiving forest degradation in a wide area and the impacts of fire on forest quality and species composition. He also spoke about the potential role of satellite-borne LiDAR and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in evaluating forest degradation at various spatial scales.

Ms. Ahoussi Delphine, President of the MALEBI Women's Association and a member of the African Women's Network for Community Management of Forests, Côte d'Ivoire, spoke on one of ITTO's successful projects that has turned forest restoration by women into a profitable business venture during her presentation on 'Forest restoration and rehabilitation activities and women empowerment: MALEBI's experience in Côte d'Ivoire'. MALEBI turned to ITTO for technical and financial support to restore 100 hectares of the Ahua gazetted forest using teak and acacia trees, inter-planted with cassava. Now, the members of the MALEBI women's association have a stable source of income and a secure supply of timber for charcoal production. The project has changed perceptions of women empowerment in the management of natural resources in her country, she mentioned. A video introducing these scenes was screened at the venue and it got a favorable reception.

A presentation by Ms. Malgorzata Buszko-Briggs of FAO titled 'Snapshot of FAO's work related to forest and landscape restoration' introduced the efforts of FAO in forestry and landscape restoration. She explained the Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which pays special attention to reforestation, the outcome of the recent Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which highlighted the importance of cross-sectoral work for mainstreaming biodiversity, and cooperation on restoration, including with ITTO.

In the panel discussion, the speakers and audience actively discussed on the topics including the establishment of ITTO's verification or certification scheme for the supply-chains initiative, the range of perceptions among stakeholders on the conditions of achieving forest landscape restoration, the latest technologies for monitoring forest degradation.

Detailed outline of the event is available at the website of ITTO:

https://www.itto.int/news_releases/id=5902

Presentation documents (pdf files)

Restoring degraded tropical forests:

Reconciling carbon, biodiversity and community resilience

Schedule

13th December 2018 (Thu) 16:45-18:15

Venue

Room Pieniny, COP24 Side Event, Katowice, Poland

Summary

Carbon losses from forest degradation are estimated to be higher than form deforestation. Restoring degraded tropical forest landscapes is a big opportunity ahead. Policy changes incentivizing such restoration. Good practices are needed to reconcile carbon, biodiversity and community resilience. This event will focus on the recent best practices and enhance discussions to contribute to the challenge of tropical forest restorations around the world.

Tentative programme

Moderator: Ms. Sheam Satkuru, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)

Opening Remarks: Mr. Koji Hongo, Deputy Director General, Forestry Agency, Japan

Speakers:

・Dr. Gerhard Dieterle, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)

・Dr. Tamotsu Sato, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI), Japan

・Ms. Ahoussi Delphine, MALEBI Women's Association and member of the AfricanWomen’s Network for Community Management of Forests, Côte d'Ivoire

・Ms. Malgorzata Buszko-Briggs, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Panel discussion

Contact

REDD R&D Center, FFPRI, Japan; Dr. Tamotsu Sato, climate@ffpri.affrc.go.jp

Flyer of this Event (0.8Mb)